The scars of childhood adversity: minor stress sensitivity and depressive symptoms in remitted recurrently depressed adult patients.
BACKGROUND
Childhood adversity may lead to depressive relapse through its long-lasting influence on stress sensitivity. In line with the stress sensitization hypothesis, minor (daily) stress is associated with depressive relapse. Therefore, we examine the impact of childhood adversity on daily stress and its predictive value on prospectively assessed depressive symptoms in recurrently depressed patients.


METHODS
Daily stress was assessed in recurrently depressed adult patients, enrolled into two randomized trials while remitted. The reported intensity and frequency of dependent and independent daily stress was assessed at baseline. Independent stress is externally generated, for example an accident happening to a friend, while dependent stress is internally generated, for example getting into a fight with a neighbor. Hierarchical regression analyses were performed with childhood adversity, independent and dependent daily stress as predictor variables of prospectively measured depressive symptoms after three months of follow-up (n = 138).


RESULTS
We found that childhood adversity was not significantly associated with a higher frequency and intensity of daily stress. The intensity of both independent and dependent daily stress was predictive of depressive symptom levels at follow-up (unadjusted models respectively: B = 0.47, t = 2.05, p = 0.041, 95% CI = 0.02-0.92; B = 0.29, t = 2.20, p = 0.028, 95% CI = 0.03-0.55). No associations were found between childhood adversity and depressive symptoms at follow-up.


CONCLUSIONS
No evidence was found supporting stress sensitization due to the experience of childhood adversity in this recurrently depressed but remitted patient group. Nevertheless, our research indicates that daily stress might be a target for preventive treatment.


BACKGROUND
Trial A: Nederlands Trial Register NTR1907 Trial B: Nederlands Trial Register NTR2503.
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Gemma
G
Kok
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Gerard
G
van Rijsbergen
Department of General Practice, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands; Interdisciplinary Center for Psychiatric Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Huibert
H
Burger
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Hermien
H
Elgersma
Department of Clinical Psychology and EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University and VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany.
Heleen
H
Riper
Department of Clinical Psychology and EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University and VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany.
Pim
P
Cuijpers
Research Department, Arkin Mental Health Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Clinical Psychology, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Jack
J
Dekker
Department of Clinical Psychology and EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University and VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, EMGO + Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Trimbos Institute (Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction), Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Filip
F
Smit
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Claudi
C
Bockting
D000067576:Child Health; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires