Dataset Information

Hyperarousal Symptom Severity in Women with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Might Be Associated with LINE-1 Hypomethylation in Childhood Sexual Abuse Victims.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Sexual assault and a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) development. Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE-1) are transposable elements, and their methylation is used to infer DNA global methylation. DNA methylation can be affected by trauma exposition which in turn would be associated with PTSD. Thus, we investigated if the LINE-1 methylation pattern is related to PTSD symptoms in females with a history of CSA.

Methods

This is a case-control study that examined, at baseline (W1), 64 women victims of sexual assault diagnosed with PTSD and 31 patients with PTSD who completed the 1-year follow-up (W2). Participants were categorized into two groups according to the presence of CSA (PTSDCSA+: NW1 = 19, NW2 = 10; PTSDCSA-: NW1 = 45, NW2 = 21). PTSD symptoms (re-experiencing, avoidance, hyperarousal, alterations in cognition/mood) were assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, and the history of CSA was assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. LINE-1 methylation was measured in three sites (CpG1, CpG2, CpG3) located in the 5'UTR region using bisulfite conversion followed by pyrosequencing. Linear regression models were performed to test the relation between LINE-1 CpG sites methylation and PTSD symptoms.

Results

We found a negative association between CpG2 methylation and hyperarousal symptoms among those in the PTSDCSA+ group in W1 (adjusted p = 0.003) compared to the PTSDCSA- group (p > 0.05). Still, no association was observed between other PTSD symptoms and other CpG sites. Further, in the longitudinal analysis, LINE-1 hypomethylation was no longer observed in PTSD participants exposed to CSA.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that LINE-1 methylation may help understand the relationship between trauma and PTSD. However, more studies are needed to investigate LINE-1 as an epigenetic marker of psychiatric disorders.

SUBMITTER: Carvalho CM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10080193 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Hyperarousal Symptom Severity in Women with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Might Be Associated with LINE-1 Hypomethylation in Childhood Sexual Abuse Victims.

Carvalho Carolina Muniz CM Coimbra Bruno Messina BM Bugiga Amanda A Marques Diogo Ferri DF Kiyomi Ota Vanessa V Mello Andrea Feijó AF Mello Marcelo Feijó MF Belangero Sintia Iole SI

Complex psychiatry 20230101 1-4

<h4>Introduction</h4>Sexual assault and a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) development. Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINE-1) are transposable elements, and their methylation is used to infer DNA global methylation. DNA methylation can be affected by trauma exposition which in turn would be associated with PTSD. Thus, we investigated if the LINE-1 methylation pattern is related to PTSD symptoms in females with a history of CSA.<h4> ...[more]

PMID: 37034826

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Project description:BackgroundPrevious empirical literature has examined the associations between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and smoking. However, few studies examined symptom-level associations between smoking and PTSD among CSA victims. Thus, the aims of this study were 1) to explore symptom-level associations between smoking and PTSD among combustible cigarette (CC) and electronic cigarette (EC) users exposed to CSA and 2) to compare the differences manifested in two network structures between EC and CC users with CSA experiences.MethodsThis cross-sectional study covers all 63 universities and colleges in Jilin province, China, from October 26 to November 18, 2021. A total of 117 769 students participated in this study, while 3479 young adults were exposed to CSA (3.62%, 95% CI = 3.50%-3.73%). Childhood sexual abuse, PTSD, and smoking symptoms were measured using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), 10-item Trauma Screening Questionnaire (TSQ-10), and the 6-item Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND-6), respectively. In addition, network analysis was applied to analyse psychopathological symptoms between EC and CC users with CSA experiences. Both the edges and centralities were computed, and the network properties were compared among the two groups.ResultsFour symptoms of PTSD (i.e. emotional cue reactivity, hypervigilance, nightmares, and difficulty concentrating) were both central and bridge symptoms between PTSD and smoking among EC and CC users with CSA experiences. Moreover, compared with CC users with CSA, there were significantly stronger associations between "nightmares" - "difficulty with restrictions" and "irritability / anger" - "more during wake up" among young EC users with CSA.ConclusionsThe four symptoms (i.e. emotional cue reactivity, hypervigilance, nightmares, and difficulty concentrating) were keystones for treatments or interventions targeting these CSA victims with PTSD and smoking symptoms. Increasing efforts should be taken to restrict morning smoking among EC users with CSA. In addition, target interventions and strategies founded on these core symptoms and associations should be implemented to relieve the comorbid PTSD and smoking in EC and CC users with CSA experiences.

Project description:The aims of this review are (i) to summarize and evaluate current knowledge on the association between childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in pregnant and postpartum women, (ii) to provide suggestions for future research on this topic, and (iii) to highlight some clinical implications. Relevant publications were identified through literature searches of four databases (PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, and PsycARTICLES) using keywords such as "child abuse," "posttraumatic stress," "pregnancy," and "postpartum". Five studies were included in this review. Findings across all studies were consistent with higher prevalence of PTSD diagnosis or symptomatology among women with history of CSA. However, only findings from two studies were statistically significant. One study observed higher overall PTSD scores in women with CSA history compared to women with non-CSA trauma history or no trauma history during pregnancy (mean?±?SD 1.47 (0.51) vs. 1.33 (0.41) vs. 1.22 (0.29), p?<?0.001), at 2 months postpartum (mean?±?SD 1.43 (0.49) vs. 1.26 (0.38) vs. 1.19 (0.35), p?<?0.001), and at 6 months postpartum (mean?±?SD 1.36 (1.43) vs. 1.20 (0.33) vs. 1.14 (0.27), p?<?0.001). Another study observed that the prevalence of PTSD during pregnancy was 4.1 % in women with no history of physical or sexual abuse, 11.4 % in women with adult physical or sexual abuse history, 16.0 % in women with childhood physical or sexual abuse history, and 39.0 % in women exposed to both childhood and adult physical or sexual abuse (p?<?0.001); in a subsequent analysis, the investigators reported that pregnant women with PTSD had over 5-fold odds of having a history of childhood completed rape compared to counterparts without PTSD (OR = 5.3, 95 % CI 3.2, 8.7). Overall, available evidence suggests positive associations of CSA with clinical PTSD or PTSD symptomatology among pregnant and postpartum women.

Project description:Sexual abuse contributes to the development of multiple forms of psychopathology, including anxiety and depression, but the extent to which genetics contributes to these disorders among sexual abuse victims remains unclear. In this translational study, we first examined gene expression in the brains of rodents exposed to different early-life conditions (long, brief or no maternal separation). Hypothesizing that genes revealing changes in expression may have relevance for psychiatric symptoms later in life, we examined possible association of those genes with symptoms of anxiety and depression in a human sample of sexual abuse victims. Changes in rodent brain gene expression were evaluated by means of correspondence and significance analyses of microarrays by comparing brains of rodents exposed to different early-life conditions. Tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of resulting candidate genes were genotyped and tested for their association with symptoms of anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) in a sample of 361 sexual abuse victims, using multinomial logistic regression. False discovery rate was applied to account for multiple testing in the genetic association study, with q-value of 0.05 accepted as significant. We identified four genes showing differential expression among animals subjected to different early-life conditions as well as having potential relevance to neural development or disorders: Notch1, Gabrr1, Plk5 and Zfp644. In the human sample, significant associations were observed for two NOTCH1 tag SNPs: rs11145770 (OR=2.21, q=0.043) and rs3013302 (OR=2.15, q=0.043). Our overall findings provide preliminary evidence that NOTCH1 may be implicated in the susceptibility to anxiety and depression among sexual abuse victims. The study also underscores the potential importance of animal models for future studies on the health consequences of early-life stress and the mechanisms underlying increased risk for psychiatric disorders.

Dataset Information

Hyperarousal Symptom Severity in Women with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Might Be Associated with LINE-1 Hypomethylation in Childhood Sexual Abuse Victims.

Introduction

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Hyperarousal Symptom Severity in Women with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Might Be Associated with LINE-1 Hypomethylation in Childhood Sexual Abuse Victims.

Similar Datasets

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