title: Adverse childhood experiences and leukocyte telomere maintenance in depressed and healthy adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with poor physical and mental health outcomes in adulthood. Adverse childhood experiences are also associated with shortened leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in adults, suggesting accelerated cell aging. No studies have yet assessed the relationship of ACEs to LTL in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD), despite the high incidence of antecedent ACEs in individuals with MDD. Further, no studies in any population have assessed the relationship of ACEs to the activity of telomerase, the major enzyme responsible for maintaining LTL, or the relationship between telomerase and LTL in individuals with ACEs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty healthy, unmedicated adults with MDD and 20 healthy age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched controls had ACEs assessed and had blood drawn for LTL and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) resting telomerase activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In healthy controls, greater ACE exposure was associated with shorter LTL (p<.05) but was unassociated with telomerase activity. In MDD, however, the opposite pattern was seen: greater ACE exposure was unrelated to LTL but was associated with increased telomerase activity (p<.05) and with a higher telomerase:LTL ratio (p=.022).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Study limitations include the small sample size, a single timepoint assessment of telomerase activity, and the use of retrospective self-report to assess ACEs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results replicate prior findings of shortened LTL in healthy adults with histories of multiple ACEs. However, in MDD, this relationship was substantially altered, raising the possibility that activation of telomerase in ACE-exposed individuals with MDD could represent a compensatory response to endangered telomeres.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Elissa S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Epel
authors.affiliation: Department of OB-GYN and Reproductive Sciences, UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Synthia H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Mellon
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Victor I
authors.initials: VI
authors.lastname: Reus
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosser
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kupferman
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mahan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, UCSF School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Blackburn
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), School of Medicine, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Electronic address: Owen.Wolkowitz@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Owen M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Wolkowitz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000473:pathology; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere; D059505:Telomere Homeostasis; D059506:Telomere Shortening
chemical_list: D019098:Telomerase
keywords: Childhood adversity; Depression; Telomerase activity; Telomere length