Elsevier

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 60, Issue 8, 15 October 2006, Pages 819-824
Biological Psychiatry

Original article
Relationship of Early Life Stress and Psychological Functioning to Adult C-Reactive Protein in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.03.016Get rights and content

Background

Low socioeconomic status (SES) and a harsh family environment in childhood have been linked to mental and physical health disorders in adulthood. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate a developmental model of pathways that may help explain these links and to relate them to C-reactive protein (CRP) in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) dataset.

Methods

Participants (n = 3248) in the CARDIA study, age 32 to 47 years, completed measures of childhood SES (CSES), early family environment (risky families [RF]), adult psychosocial functioning (PsyF, a latent factor measured by depression, mastery, and positive and negative social contacts), body mass index (BMI), and C-reactive protein.

Results

Structural equation modeling indicated that CSES and RF are associated with C-reactive protein via their association with PsyF (standardized path coefficients: CSES to RF, RF to PsyF, PsyF to CRP, CSES to CRP, all p < .05), with good overall model fit. The association between PsyF and CRP was partially mediated by BMI (PsyF to BMI, BMI to CRP, both p < .05).

Conclusions

Low childhood SES and a harsh early family environment appear to be related to elevated C-reactive protein in adulthood through pathways involving psychosocial dysfunction and high body mass index.

Section snippets

Participants

The research made use of the Year 15 CARDIA dataset (with the exception of childhood SES, which was measured at baseline). Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults is an ongoing epidemiologic study in which African American and white participants from a broad range of SES backgrounds took part in six assessments over 15 years. The CARDIA study tracks predictors of coronary artery disease as young people transition to adulthood. To be enrolled, participants must have identified

Results

Table 1 presents summary statistics for our overall sample.

Discussion

We proposed a theoretical developmental model to address the robust relations between a harsh early environment in childhood and mental and physical health outcomes in adulthood (Repetti et al 2002). We hypothesized that one underlying mechanism may be elevated C-reactive protein, which has been tied to both depression and to physical health outcomes. To test the model, we related childhood SES and risky family background to elevations in C-reactive protein via psychosocial functioning and body

Limitations

There are several limitations to the present findings. The model does not include variability in CRP that is due to genetic factors or unmeasured health behaviors. Genetic factors are estimated to account for 13% to 30% of the intraindividual variability in CRP (Pankow et al 2001). Second is the fact that, with the exception of childhood SES, the data are largely cross-sectional, not longitudinal. Consequently, we have inferred causal paths from correlational data. Experimental tests of these

Conclusions

This study suggests that low SES and a harsh family environment in childhood may be related to inflammatory processes in adulthood via psychosocial functioning (depression, mastery, social support) and body mass index. The results underscore the potential role of childhood SES and early family environment in a trajectory of emotional distress, poor social functioning, obesity, and inflammatory processes in later years. As such, the results have implications for understanding the development of

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