Physical and sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence and leukocyte telomere length: A pooled analysis of the study on psychosocial stress, spirituality, and health.

Abstract

IntroductionWe examined whether abuse in childhood and/or adolescence was associated with shorter telomere length in a pooled analysis of 3,232 participants from five diverse cohorts. We also assessed whether religion or spirituality (R/S) could buffer deleterious effects of abuse.MethodsPhysical and sexual abuse in childhood (age ResultsCompared to no abuse, severe sexual abuse was associated with lower RTL z-scores, in childhood: -15.6%, 95% CI: -25.9, -4.9; p-trend = 0.04; p-heterogeneity = 0.58 and in adolescence: -16.5%, 95% CI: -28.1, -3.0; p-trend = 0.08; p-heterogeneity = 0.68. Sexual abuse experienced in both childhood and adolescence was associated with 11.3% lower RTL z-scores after adjustment for childhood and demographic covariates (95% CI: -20.5%, -2.0%; p-trend = 0.03; p-heterogeneity = 0.62). There was no evidence of effect modification by R/S. Physical abuse was not associated with telomere length.ConclusionsSexual abuse in childhood or adolescence was associated with a marker of accelerated biological aging, decreased telomere length. The lack of moderation by R/S may be due to inability to capture the appropriate time period for those beliefs and practices.