title: Antinuclear antibodies and thyroid function in sexually abused girls.
abstract: Sexually abused girls manifest dysregulation of physiological stress response systems. In this exploratory investigation, 14 sexually abused and 13 control girls, ages 8-15 years, recruited from a prospective, longitudinal study, underwent plasma antinuclear antibody and thyroid function tests. Thyroid function tests and plasma antinuclear antibody titers did not differ between sexually abused and control girls. However, a significantly higher incidence of plasma antinuclear antibody titers was seen in abused subjects when compared with the frequency of positive antinuclear antibody titers in a sample of 22 adult healthy female volunteers, ages 20-58 years. These findings suggest that sexually abused girls may show evidence of an alteration in normal immune homeostatic function.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213-2593, USA.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: De Bellis
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: P K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Trickett
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Putnam
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002650:Child Abuse, Sexual / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology*; D013960:Thyroid Function Tests
chemical_list: D000974:Antibodies, Antinuclear