scholarly journals The Effect of a Mindfulness-Based Stress Intervention On Neurobiological and Symptom Measures in Adolescents With Early Life Stress: A Randomized Feasibility Study

Author(s):  
Zsofia Cohen ◽  
Kelly Cosgrove ◽  
Elisabeth Akeman ◽  
Sara Coffey ◽  
Kent Teague ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Early life stress (ELS) has been linked to poor mental and physical health outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Mindfulness reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and improves cognitive and social outcomes in both youth and adults. However, little is known whether mindfulness can mitigate against the adverse neurobiological and psychological effects of ELS. This study aimed to examine the feasibility of conducting a group mindfulness intervention in adolescents with ELS and provide preliminary indication of potential effects on stress-related biomarkers and mental health symptoms.Methods: Forty adolescents were randomized to receive either eight sessions of Mindfulness- Based Stress Reduction for Teens in group format (MBSR-T; n = 21) or Treatment as Usual Control group (CTRL; n = 17). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and follow-up and included measures associated with neurobiological functioning (immune and endocrine biomarkers) and self-reported mental health (depressive) symptoms. Linear mixed effects models were used to assess the effects of group and time on these outcome measures.Results: Sixteen of the 21 adolescents completed the intervention, attending an average of 6.5 sessions. The model examining cortisol responses to stress induction revealed medium effects trending toward significance (Cohen’s d = .56) for anticipatory cortisol levels in the MBSR-T relative to CTRL groups. No significant effects were found in models examining C-reactive protein or interleukin 6 inflammatory markers. The model examining depressive symptoms revealed a medium effect for symptom reduction (Cohen’s d = .69) in the MBSR-T relative to CTRL groups. Conclusions: This study demonstrated feasibility of conducting a group-based MBSR intervention for adolescents with ELS. There was some evidence for efficacy on a symptom level 73 with potential subtle changes on a biological level. Future larger studies are needed to determine 74 the efficacy of group-based mindfulness interventions in this population.Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier #NCT03633903, registered 16/08/2018.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsofia P. Cohen ◽  
Kelly T. Cosgrove ◽  
Elisabeth Akeman ◽  
Sara Coffey ◽  
Kent Teague ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Early life stress (ELS) has been linked to poor mental and physical health outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Mindfulness reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and improves cognitive and social outcomes in both youth and adults. However, little is known whether mindfulness can mitigate against the adverse neurobiological and psychological effects of ELS. This study aimed to examine the feasibility of conducting a group mindfulness intervention in adolescents with ELS and provide preliminary indication of potential effects on stress-related biomarkers and mental health symptoms. Methods Forty adolescents were randomized to receive either eight sessions of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Teens in group format (MBSR-T; n = 21) or Treatment as Usual Control group (CTRL; n = 17). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and follow-up and included measures associated with neurobiological functioning (immune and endocrine biomarkers) and self-reported mental health (depressive) symptoms. Linear mixed effects models were used to assess the effects of group and time on these outcome measures. Results Sixteen of the 21 adolescents completed the intervention, attending an average of 6.5 sessions. The model examining cortisol responses to stress induction revealed medium effects trending toward significance (Cohen’s d = .56) for anticipatory cortisol levels in the MBSR-T relative to CTRL groups. No significant effects were found in models examining C-reactive protein or interleukin 6 inflammatory markers. The model examining depressive symptoms revealed a medium effect for symptom reduction (Cohen’s d = .69) in the MBSR-T relative to CTRL groups. Conclusions This study demonstrated feasibility of conducting a group-based MBSR-T intervention for adolescents with ELS. There was some evidence for efficacy on a symptom level with potential subtle changes on a biological level. Future larger studies are needed to determine the efficacy of group-based mindfulness interventions in this population. Trial registration Identifier #NCT03633903, registered 16/08/2018.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsofia Cohen ◽  
Kelly T. Cosgrove ◽  
Elisabeth Akeman ◽  
Sara Coffey ◽  
Kent Teague ◽  
...  

Background Early life stress (ELS) has been linked to poor mental and physical health outcomes in adolescence and adulthood. Mindfulness reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and improves cognitive and social outcomes in both youth and adults. However, little is known whether mindfulness can mitigate against the adverse neurobiological and psychological effects of ELS. This study aimed to examine the feasibility of conducting a group mindfulness intervention in adolescents with ELS and provide preliminary indication of potential effects on stress-related biomarkers and mental health symptoms. Methods Forty adolescents were randomized to receive either eight sessions of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Teens in group format (MBSR-T; n = 21) or Control (CTRL; n = 17). Outcomes were assessed at baseline and follow-up and included measures associated with neurobiological functioning (immune and endocrine biomarkers) and self-reported mental health symptoms. Linear mixed effects models were used to assess the effects of group and time on these outcome measures. ResultsSixteen of the 21 adolescents completed the intervention, attending an average of 6.5 sessions. The model examining depressive symptoms revealed a medium effect for symptom reduction [Cohen’s d = .69] in the MBSR-T relateive to CTRL groups.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated feasibilility of conducting a group-based MBSR intervention for adolescents with ELS. There was some evidence for efficacy on a symptom level with potential subtle changes on a biological level. Future larger studies are needed to determine the efficacy of group-based mindfulness interventions in this population.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reut Avinun ◽  
Ahmad R. Hariri

ABSTRACTBackgroundIncreasing childhood overweight and obesity rates are associated with not only adverse physical, but also mental health outcomes, including depression. These negative outcomes may be caused and/or exacerbated by the bullying and shaming overweight individuals experience. As body mass index (BMI) can be highly heritable, we hypothesized that a genetic risk toward higher BMI, will predict higher early life stress (ELS), which in turn will predict higher depressive symptoms in adulthood. Such a process will reflect an evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE) wherein an individual’s genetically influenced phenotype evokes a reaction from the environment that subsequently shapes the individual’s health.MethodsWe modeled genetic risk using a polygenic score of BMI derived from a recent large GWAS meta-analysis. Self-reports were used for the assessment of ELS and depressive symptoms in adulthood. The discovery sample consisted of 524 non-Hispanic Caucasian university students from the Duke Neurogenetics Study (DNS; 278 women, mean age 19.78±1.23 years) and the independent replication sample consisted of 5 930 white British individuals from the UK biobank (UKB; 3 128 women, mean age 62.66±7.38 years).ResultsA significant mediation effect was found in the DNS (indirect effect=.207, bootstrapped SE=.10, 95% CI: .014 to .421), and then replicated in the UKB (indirect effect=.04, bootstrapped SE=.01, 95% CI: .018 to .066). Higher BMI polygenic scores were associated with higher depressive symptoms through the experience of higher ELS.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that evocative rGE may contribute to weight-related mental health problems and stress the need for interventions that aim to reduce weight bias, specifically during childhood.


Author(s):  
Rebecka Keijser ◽  
Susanne Olofsdotter ◽  
Kent W. Nilsson ◽  
Cecilia Åslund

AbstractFKBP5 gene–environment interaction (cG × E) studies have shown diverse results, some indicating significant interaction effects between the gene and environmental stressors on depression, while others lack such results. Moreover, FKBP5 has a potential role in the diathesis stress and differential susceptibility theorem. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether a cG × E interaction effect of FKBP5 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or haplotype and early life stress (ELS) on depressive symptoms among young adults was moderated by a positive parenting style (PASCQpos), through the frameworks of the diathesis stress and differential susceptibility theorem. Data were obtained from the Survey of Adolescent Life in Västmanland Cohort Study, including 1006 participants and their guardians. Data were collected during 2012, when the participants were 13 and 15 years old (Wave I: DNA), 2015, when participants were 16 and 18 years old (Wave II: PASCQpos, depressive symptomology and ELS) and 2018, when participants were 19 and 21 years old (Wave III: depressive symptomology). Significant three-way interactions were found for the FKBP5 SNPs rs1360780, rs4713916, rs7748266 and rs9394309, moderated by ELS and PASCQpos, on depressive symptoms among young adults. Diathesis stress patterns of interaction were observed for the FKBP5 SNPs rs1360780, rs4713916 and rs9394309, and differential susceptibility patterns of interaction were observed for the FKBP5 SNP rs7748266. Findings emphasize the possible role of FKBP5 in the development of depressive symptoms among young adults and contribute to the understanding of possible differential susceptibility effects of FKBP5.


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1039-1058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn J. Essex ◽  
Elizabeth A. Shirtcliff ◽  
Linnea R. Burk ◽  
Paula L. Ruttle ◽  
Marjorie H. Klein ◽  
...  

AbstractThe hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is a primary mechanism in the allostatic process through which early life stress (ELS) contributes to disease. Studies of the influence of ELS on children's HPA axis functioning have yielded inconsistent findings. To address this issue, the present study considers multiple types of ELS (maternal depression, paternal depression, and family expressed anger), mental health symptoms, and two components of HPA functioning (traitlike and epoch-specific activity) in a long-term prospective community study of 357 children. ELS was assessed during the infancy and preschool periods; mental health symptoms and cortisol were assessed at child ages 9, 11, 13, and 15 years. A three-level hierarchical linear model addressed questions regarding the influences of ELS on HPA functioning and its covariation with mental health symptoms. ELS influenced traitlike cortisol level and slope, with both hyper- and hypoarousal evident depending on type of ELS. Further, type(s) of ELS influenced covariation of epoch-specific HPA functioning and mental health symptoms, with a tighter coupling of HPA alterations with symptom severity among children exposed previously to ELS. Results highlight the importance of examining multiple types of ELS and dynamic HPA functioning in order to capture the allostatic process unfolding across the transition into adolescence.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Gotlib ◽  
Lauren Borchers ◽  
Rajpreet Chahal ◽  
Anthony Gifuni ◽  
Giana Isabella Teresi ◽  
...  

Background: Exposure to early life stress (ELS) is alarmingly prevalent, and has been linked to the high rates of depression documented in adolescence. Researchers have theorized that ELS may increase adolescents’ vulnerability or reactivity to the effects of subsequent stressors, placing them at higher risk for developing symptoms of depression. Methods: We tested this formulation in a longitudinal study by assessing levels of stress and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of adolescents from the San Francisco Bay Area (N=100; 43 male; ages 13-20 years) who had been characterized 4-7 years earlier (M=5.27, SD=0.75 years) with respect to exposure to ELS and symptoms of depression. Results: As expected, severity of ELS predicted levels of depressive symptoms during the pandemic (r(98)=0.25, p=.012), which were higher in females than in males (t(98)=-3.36, p=.001). Importantly, the association between ELS and depression was mediated by adolescents’ reported levels of stress, even after controlling for demographic and other COVID-19-related variables. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of monitoring the mental health of vulnerable children and adolescents during this pandemic and targeting perceived stress and isolation in high-risk youth.


2016 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 869-877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jari Lahti ◽  
Heidi Ala-Mikkula ◽  
Eero Kajantie ◽  
Kadri Haljas ◽  
Johan G. Eriksson ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 59-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.A. Gethin ◽  
K.E. Lythe ◽  
C.I. Workman ◽  
A. Mayes ◽  
J. Moll ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground:There is contradictory evidence regarding negative memory biases in major depressive disorder (MDD) and whether these persist into remission, which would suggest their role as vulnerability traits rather than correlates of mood state. Early life stress (ELS), common in patients with psychiatric disorders, has independently been associated with memory biases, and confounds MDD versus control group comparisons. Furthermore, in most studies negative biases could have resulted from executive impairments rather than memory difficulties per se.Methods:To investigate whether memory biases are relevant to MDD vulnerability and how they are influenced by ELS, we developed an associative recognition memory task for temporo-spatial contexts of social actions with low executive demands, which were matched across conditions (self-blame, other-blame, self-praise, other-praise). We included fifty-three medication-free remitted MDD (25 with ELS, 28 without) and 24 healthy control (HC) participants without ELS.Results:Only MDD patients with ELS showed a reduced bias (accuracy/speed ratio) towards memory for positive vs. negative materials when compared with MDD without ELS and with HC participants; attenuated positive biases correlated with number of past major depressive episodes, but not current symptoms. There were no biases towards self-blaming or self-praising memories.Conclusions:This demonstrates that reduced positive biases in associative memory were specific to MDD patients with ELS rather than a general feature of MDD, and were associated with lifetime recurrence risk which may reflect a scarring effect. If replicated, our results would call for stratifying MDD patients by history of ELS when assessing and treating emotional memories.


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