मनोविज्ञान में अनुसंधान और समीक्षाएँ

Preliminary evidence for a compromised T cell compartment in maltreated children with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder

Hannes Bielas

Objective: Adverse childhood experiences, such as maltreatment, and affective disorders associate with a pro-inflammatory state and/or variably compromised counts in lymphocyte subsets in adults. Animal models of social stress indicate that recent thymic emigrant (RTE) cells, which maintain the T cell compartment, are affected. Methods: We evaluate the link between lymphocyte subsets, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 16 maltreated children (ages 6-17 years) one to three years after the intervention of a child protection team and among 14 healthy age-matched controls. The participants completed psychological assessment and had blood drawn for fluorescent activated cell sorting analysis. Results: Among maltreated children and adolescents, depression was associated with lower counts of RTEs and helper T cells, after controlling for age. We found additional trends and large effect sizes with regard to the percentages of these cells, as well as for related lymphocyte subsets. Similar effects were found for PTSD, associated with lower counts of na