Serum copeptin in children exposed to maltreatment.
OBJECTIVE
Childhood maltreatment (CM) has been related to a persistent reprograming of stress-response. Copeptin is a marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation; however, few studies have examined copeptin levels in children exposed to CM. The aim of this study was to compare serum copeptin levels in children reporting child abuse and/or neglect and children with no history of CM.


METHODS
This study included 65 children with a positive history of moderate to severe CM, as reported by themselves and their parent(s) during a clinical interview, and 71 children with no history of CM as a comparison group. CM was considered moderate to severe based on the child-reported frequency of being exposed to events related to sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and/or physical neglect. Child psychopathology symptoms were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). We measured serum copeptin concentration using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.


RESULTS
Children exposed to CM exhibited higher levels of serum copeptin compared to children without CM when controlling for sex, age, and psychiatric morbidity. The CBCL total score, including internalizing and externalizing symptoms, was higher in children with CM. We found no correlation between copeptin and CBCL scores for internalizing symptoms and externalizing symptoms.


CONCLUSIONS
CM is associated with copeptin serum levels independently of age, sex, and symptom severity. Copeptin is a promising new biomarker for children with a history of abuse and/or neglect.
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Roberta
R
Coelho
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.|National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Mateus L
ML
Levandowski
National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit (MDPU), University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Rodrigo B
RB
Mansur
National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Graccielle Rodrigues
GR
da Cunha
National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Elson
E
Asevedo
National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
André
A
Zugman
Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.|National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Giovanni A
GA
Salum
National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Ary
A
Gadelha
National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Pedro M
PM
Pan
Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Lucas B
LB
Rizzo
Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.|National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Gisele
G
Manfro
National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Jair J
JJ
Mari
Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.|National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Institute of Psychiatry (IPq), University of São Paulo (USP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Luis A
LA
Rohde
Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.|National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Eurípedes C
EC
Miguel
National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Rodrigo A
RA
Bressan
National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil.|Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), UNIFESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Elisa
E
Brietzke
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (DCNL), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil. rodrigo.grassi@pucrs.br.|National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil. rodrigo.grassi@pucrs.br.
Rodrigo
R
Grassi-Oliveira
D000293:Adolescent; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse; D005260:Female; D006020:Glycopeptides / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000097:blood*
D006020:Glycopeptides; C048197:copeptins
child abuse; child psychopathology; copeptin; hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; stress