Adverse childhood experiences and obesity linked to indicators of gut permeability and inflammation in adult women

• Published in: Physiology & behavior 2023-11, Vol.271, p.114319-114319, Article 114319
• Main Authors: Keirns, Bryant H., Keirns, Natalie G., Tsotsoros, Cindy E., Layman, Harley M., Stout, Madison E., Medlin, Austin R., Sciarrillo, Christina M., Teague, T. Kent, Emerson, Sam R., Hawkins, Misty A.W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute-Phase Proteins - metabolism; Adolescent; Adult; Adverse Childhood Experiences; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Body Mass Index; Cardiovascular disease; Carrier Proteins - blood; Fatty Acid-Binding Proteins - blood; Female; Gut permeability; Humans; Inflammation; Inflammation - blood; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors - blood; Membrane Glycoproteins - blood; Middle Aged; Obesity; Obesity - blood; Obesity - metabolism; Permeability; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0031-9384; 1873-507X; 1873-507X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114319

•3+ ACEs were associated with evidence of gut permeability and inflammation.•Obesity was linked to markers of gut permeability and inflammation.•No combination of ACEs & BMI affected measures of gut integrity and inflammation. Gut permeability may increase cardiovascular disease risk by allowing bacterial components (e.g., lipopolysaccharide or LPS) to enter the bloodstream, leading to low-grade inflammation. People with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) consistently display evidence of chronic inflammation, but the source of this inflammation, and whether gut permeability may contribute, is unknown. Moreover, whether ACE status may further perturb obesity-associated gut permeability and inflammation is unknown. Women (N = 79, aged 18–84y) free of cardiometabolic diseases and inflammatory conditions and not regularly taking anti-inflammatory medications were included in a 2 × 2 factorial design with low or high ACE status (either 0 ACEs or 3+ ACEs) and body mass index (BMI) (either normal-weight [18.5–24.9 kg/m2; NW] or obesity [>30 kg/m2; OB]) as factors (n = 15–27/group). Serum LPS binding protein (LBP), soluble CD14 (sCD14), fatty-acid binding protein-2 (FABP2), LPS core IgM, and the ratio of LBP:sCD14 were used as indicators of gut permeability. Inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and interleukin (IL)-6 were also measured. Data were analyzed using 2-way ANCOVA (age-adjusted). LBP, LBP:sCD14 and FABP2 were higher in OB versus NW, regardless of ACE status (PBMI