Gender differences in influences of childhood trauma on intimate trust and interleukin-6 of persons with depressive symptoms

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Childhood trauma as a potent risk factor for developing depression in adulthood affects intimate trust and also contributes to a pro-inflammatory state. Female gender has been found to further increase vulnerability for depression. This study aims to test whether childhood trauma is associated with dysregulation of inflammatory system as well as reduced intimate trust, and also explore role of gender. METHODS: 194 persons who were engaging in a close relationship were screened by Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and recruited from the community. Childhood trauma questionnaire, trust scale (TS) and hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS) were measured as well as interleukin-6 (IL-6) as an inflammatory marker. Correlation analyses were conducted for male and female separately. RESULTS: Mean age was 56.3 (SD=8.1). The majority were female (71.6%) and male participants were older [58.4 (9.3) vs 55.5 (7.5), p=.027]. For younger female (Age < 60), sexual abuse (SA) score was positively associated with anxiety (r=0.329, p=.001) and depression scores (r=0.198, p=.049); while for younger male (<60), depression score was positively associated with physical neglect (PN) (r=0.388, p=.037) and emotional neglect (EN) (r=0.431, p=.019). Interestingly, we found different patterns in the associations of childhood trauma and intimate trust between male and female. TS was negatively associated with PN (r=-0.448, p=.004), EN (r=-0.510, p=.001) for older female (≥60), and with SA (r=-0.313, p=.002) for younger female, but was positively associated with physical abuse (r=0.431, p=.028) and emotional abuse (r=0.465, p=.017) for older male. In addition, there was positive association between IL-6 level and trauma scale for male (r=0.351, p=.014), but not for female (r=-0.022, p=.829). IL-6 level was negatively associated with CES-D score (r=-0.328, p=.023) and HADS-anxiety score (r=- 0.307, p=.034) for male. No any significant association was found in female. CONCLUSION: Psychological distress was significantly associated with sexual abuse for female and physical/emotional neglect for male. Gender differences in the influences of childhood trauma on intimate trust and immune response were found. Thus, clinical care for persons with childhood trauma may need be adjusted by gender accordingly.