Biological links between psychological factors and adolescent depression: childhood trauma, rumination, and resilience

Description

Background:The psychosocial factors play an important role in the development of depression in adolescents. However, whether adolescent depression induced by psychosocial factors leads to biological alterations remains unclear. Here, we used metabolomics techniques to explore the links among childhood trauma, rumination, resilience, and adolescent depression.Methods: We selected 57 adolescent depression patients and recruited 53 healthy adolescents as the normal group in the same period. We used the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Resilience Inventory (CD-RISC), and Redundant Thoughts Response Scale (RRS) to assess the adolescent group psychologically. According to the CTQ, CD-RISC, and RRS scores using 27% high and low grouping basis, 30 cases were categorized into 30 cases in the high childhood trauma group , 30 cases in the low childhood trauma group , 30 cases in the low redundancy group, 30 cases in the high redundancy group , 30 cases in the low resilience group, and 30 cases in the high resilience group. Blood specimens were collected from all adolescents and metabolic data were obtained using LC-MS. The data were statistically analyzed using SPSS.25 software, SIMCA software (version 16.0.2).Results: We found that resilience, childhood trauma, and rumination were significantly associated with the development of adolescent depression. There were significant differences in metabolites between adolescent depression and healthy individuals, between individuals with high childhood trauma and low childhood trauma, between individuals with high redundancy of thoughts and low redundancy of thoughts, and between individuals with high resilience and low resilience. The two important common metabolic differentiators between childhood trauma and depression are dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), LPA(22:6) . The two important common metabolic differentiators between rumination and depression are N-Acetyl-L-aspartic acid, DHEAS. The two important common metabolic differentiators between resilience and depression are LPA(22:6), Pseudouridine.Conclusion: DHEAS and LPA(22:6) may be protective factors for the development of depression in adolescents. Rumination thinking may mediate the onset of adolescent depression by suppressing DHEAS levels. Childhood trauma and resilience may both mediate the onset of adolescent depression by modulating LPA(22:6) levels.

Categories

Funding

Licence