A new study whose findings appeared in the journal Heliyon has found that individuals that suffered neglect, abuse and other forms of maltreatment during their childhood had a notably elevated risk of being diagnosed with chronic immune-related disorders later on in their lives. Psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis were particularly noted in the study subjects and women exhibited a higher likelihood of developing these immune disorders.
The researchers were interested in investigating whether exposure to abuse early in life had a connection with inflammatory disorders that are immune system mediated, such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel conditions, and psoriasis.
Previous studies have suggested that there could be a link between trauma early in life and disorders of the immune system. However, those prior studies had a major limitation given that they relied on self-reported surveys involving small sample sizes. This recent study was intended to address the limitations of those previous studies.
The team used electronic health data taken from GPs in the UK and the data reflected information captured for more than 20 years from 1995 to 2021. The researchers then identified 256,130 people whose records definitively indicated that those individuals had suffered childhood maltreatment. The researchers then matched these selected individuals with 712,478 people who weren’t exposed to childhood maltreatment. The two groups were matched in terms of sex, age, socioeconomic deprivation and the health facility from which their medical records were obtained.
An analysis of the data collected revealed a 39% elevated risk of rheumatoid arthritis development and a 16% elevated risk of psoriasis development among those exposed to maltreatment as kids. When the findings were adjusted for factors like sex, age and other confounding factors, it was observed that the risk was even higher among women. For instance, the rheumatoid arthritis risk increased to 54%.
Joht S. Chandan, one of the study authors, commented that childhood exposure to maltreatment can impact not just mental health but physical health as well. He added that their findings highlight the long term effects of early childhood trauma on an individual’s immune system and make a case for efforts to prevent these long-term effects or support those at risk of developing them.
Several reasons could explain the link documented by this study. For example, it is possible that early childhood trauma could impair the development of the immune system and the person’s stress regulation system. The result of the impaired development of these systems is chronic inflammation. Data shows high levels of markers for inflammation among those with a history of maltreatment, and those same markers are present in people diagnosed with psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.
As more studies are conducted to understand why exactly certain people end up developing immune-related disorders like psoriasis, there is an urgent need to develop more effective treatments to help the affected individuals manage their symptoms. Enterprises like Soligenix Inc. (NASDAQ: SNGX) are focused on developing the next-generation of inflammation therapies and could provide the help needed by people affected by immune system disorders.
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