TY - JOUR
T1 - Childhood adversity increases vulnerability for behavioral symptoms and immune dysregulation in women with breast cancer
AU - Witek Janusek, Linda
AU - Tell, Dina
AU - Albuquerque, Kevin
AU - Mathews, Herbert L.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors gratefully acknowledge the women who participated in this study. Special thanks to Cheryl Peterson, RN, Karen Fishe, RN, MSN, and Valerie Bednar, RN, MA, for their assistance in recruitment of subjects, data procurement/entry and to Teresa Konley, BS for laboratory analyses. Supported by NIH RO1 CA125455 to L.W.J. and H.L.M.
PY - 2013/3/15
Y1 - 2013/3/15
N2 - Women respond differentially to the stress-associated with breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, with some women experiencing more intense and/or sustained behavioral symptoms and immune dysregulation than others. Childhood adversity has been identified to produce long-term dysregulation of stress response systems, increasing reactivity to stressors encountered during adulthood. This study determined whether childhood adversity increased vulnerability for more intense and sustained behavioral symptoms (fatigue, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms), poorer quality of life, and greater immune dysregulation in women (. N=. 40) with breast cancer. Evaluation was after breast surgery and through early survivorship. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine intra-individual and inter-individual differences with respect to initial status and to the pattern of change (i.e. trajectory) of outcomes. At initial assessment, women exposed to childhood emotional neglect/abuse had greater perceived stress, fatigue, depressive symptoms and poorer quality of life, as well as lower natural killer cell activity (NKCA). Although these outcomes improved over time, women with greater childhood emotional neglect/abuse exhibited worse outcomes through early survivorship. No effect was observed on the pattern of change for these outcomes. In contrast, childhood physical neglect predicted sustained trajectories of greater perceived stress, worse quality of life, and elevated plasma IL-6; with no effect observed at initial assessment. Thus, childhood adversity leaves an enduring imprint, increasing vulnerability for behavioral symptoms, poor quality of life, and elevations in IL-6 in women with breast cancer. Further, childhood adversity predisposes to lower NKCA at a critical time when this immune-effector mechanism is most effective at halting nascent tumor seeding.
AB - Women respond differentially to the stress-associated with breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, with some women experiencing more intense and/or sustained behavioral symptoms and immune dysregulation than others. Childhood adversity has been identified to produce long-term dysregulation of stress response systems, increasing reactivity to stressors encountered during adulthood. This study determined whether childhood adversity increased vulnerability for more intense and sustained behavioral symptoms (fatigue, perceived stress, and depressive symptoms), poorer quality of life, and greater immune dysregulation in women (. N=. 40) with breast cancer. Evaluation was after breast surgery and through early survivorship. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine intra-individual and inter-individual differences with respect to initial status and to the pattern of change (i.e. trajectory) of outcomes. At initial assessment, women exposed to childhood emotional neglect/abuse had greater perceived stress, fatigue, depressive symptoms and poorer quality of life, as well as lower natural killer cell activity (NKCA). Although these outcomes improved over time, women with greater childhood emotional neglect/abuse exhibited worse outcomes through early survivorship. No effect was observed on the pattern of change for these outcomes. In contrast, childhood physical neglect predicted sustained trajectories of greater perceived stress, worse quality of life, and elevated plasma IL-6; with no effect observed at initial assessment. Thus, childhood adversity leaves an enduring imprint, increasing vulnerability for behavioral symptoms, poor quality of life, and elevations in IL-6 in women with breast cancer. Further, childhood adversity predisposes to lower NKCA at a critical time when this immune-effector mechanism is most effective at halting nascent tumor seeding.
KW - Breast cancer
KW - Childhood adversity
KW - Childhood emotional neglect/abuse
KW - Childhood physical neglect/abuse
KW - Depression
KW - Fatigue
KW - IL-6
KW - Natural killer cell activity
KW - Perceived stress
KW - Quality of life
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.05.014
DO - 10.1016/j.bbi.2012.05.014
M3 - Article
C2 - 22659062
AN - SCOPUS:84875365484
SN - 0889-1591
VL - 30
SP - S149-S162
JO - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
JF - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
IS - SUPPL.
ER -