Effect of childhood physical abuse on cortisol stress response

• Published in: Psychopharmacology 2011-03, Vol.214 (1), p.367-375
• Main Authors: Carpenter, Linda L., Shattuck, Thaddeus T., Tyrka, Audrey R., Geracioti, Thomas D., Price, Lawrence H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Adult Survivors of Child Abuse - psychology; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Case-Control Studies; Child abuse & neglect; Computer software industry; Corticosteroids; Effects; Estrogen; Female; Hormones; Humans; Hydrocortisone - metabolism; Mental illness; Middle Aged; Neurosciences; Original Investigation; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Physiological aspects; Psychiatry; Saliva - metabolism; Steroids; Stress; Stress, Psychological - metabolism; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0033-3158; 1432-2072
• DOI: 10.1007/s00213-010-2007-4

Rationale Abuse and neglect are highly prevalent in children and have enduring neurobiological effects. Stressful early life environments perturb the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, which in turn may predispose to psychiatric disorders in adulthood. However, studies of childhood maltreatment and adult HPA function have not yet rigorously investigated the differential effects of maltreatment subtypes, including physical abuse. Objective In this study, we sought to replicate our previous finding that childhood maltreatment was associated with attenuated cortisol responses to stress and determine whether the type of maltreatment was a determinant of the stress response. Methods Salivary cortisol response to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) was examined in a non-clinical sample of women ( n  = 110). Subjects had no acute medical problems and were not seeking psychiatric treatment. Effects of five maltreatment types, as measured by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, on cortisol response to the TSST were investigated. To further examine the significant ( p