Analysis of the occurrence of early life stress in adult psychiatric patients: A systematic review.

Objective:The mechanisms involved in the dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, especially in the functioning of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in depressed patients, are not well elucidated. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review of articles that assess the HPA axis activity from GR and MR in depressed patients and healthy controls with or without early life stress.Methods:We conducted a systematic review of articles in PubMed, SCOPUS and SciELO published between 2000 and 2011, using the following search terms:child abuse,depression,HPA axis,dexamethasone,prednisolone,fludrocortisoneandspironolactone. Thirty-four papers were selected for this review.Results:Most studies identified in this review used the dexamethasone/corticotropin-releasing hormone test and dexamethasone suppression test. In these studies, hypercortisolaemia was associated with depression. We identified three studies with the Prednisolone suppression test, only one study with the use of fludrocortisone and one with spironolactone. This review found nine studies that evaluated the HPA axis in individuals with early life stress.Conclusions:The majority of the studies assessed in this review show that early life stress leads to permanent changes in the HPA axis and may lead to development of depression in adults. The most consistent findings in the literature show increased activity of the HPA axis in depression associated with hypercortisolaemia and reduced inhibitory feedback. These findings suggest that this dysregulation of the HPA axis is partially attributable to an imbalance between GR and MR. Evidences have consistently showed that GR function is impaired in major depression, but few studies have assessed the activity of MR in depression and early life stress.

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Inflammatory biomarkers in individuals exposed to early life stress: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Psychoneuroendocrinology ◽

10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.12.086 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 100 ◽

pp. S22

Author(s):

Priya Kainth ◽

Kathy Zhuo ◽

Emily Koos ◽

Julia Nakamura ◽

Afrida Sara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Life Stress ◽

Early Life ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Early Life Stress ◽

Inflammatory Biomarkers

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Relationship Between Depression and Subtypes of Early Life Stress in Adult Psychiatric Patients

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Camila Maria Severi Martins-Monteverde ◽

Cristiane Von Werne Baes ◽

Emilene Reisdorfer ◽

Thalita Padovan ◽

Sandra Marcia de Carvalho Tofoli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Stress ◽

Early Life ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

Early Life Stress

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Early-life stress and inflammation: A systematic review of a key experimental approach in rodents

Brain and Neuroscience Advances ◽

10.1177/2398212820978049 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 239821282097804

Author(s):

Ethan G. Dutcher ◽

E.A. Claudia Pama ◽

Mary-Ellen Lynall ◽

Shahid Khan ◽

Menna R. Clatworthy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Life Stress ◽

Early Life ◽

Maternal Separation ◽

Early Life Stress ◽

Later Life ◽

Interleukin 10 ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Clinical Approach ◽

Necrosis Factor Alpha

Repeated maternal separation is the most widely used pre-clinical approach to investigate the relationship between early-life chronic stress and its neuropsychiatric and physical consequences. In this systematic review, we identified 46 studies that conducted repeated maternal separation or single-episode maternal separation and reported measurements of interleukin-1b, interleukin-6, interleukin-10, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, or microglia activation and density. We report that in the short-term and in the context of later-life stress, repeated maternal separation has pro-inflammatory immune consequences in diverse tissues. Repeated maternal separation animals exhibit greater microglial activation and elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine signalling in key brain regions implicated in human psychiatric disorders. Notably, repeated maternal separation generally has no long-term effect on cytokine expression in any tissue in the absence of later-life stress. These observations suggest that the elevated inflammatory signalling that has been reported in humans with a history of early-life stress may be the joint consequence of ongoing stressor exposure together with potentiated neural and/or immune responsiveness to stressors. Finally, our findings provide detailed guidance for future studies interrogating the causal roles of early-life stress and inflammation in disorders such as major depression.

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How Early Life Stress Impact Maternal Care: A Systematic Review of Rodent Studies

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00197 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Rodrigo Orso ◽

Kerstin Camile Creutzberg ◽

Luis Eduardo Wearick-Silva ◽

Thiago Wendt Viola ◽

Saulo Gantes Tractenberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Maternal Care ◽

Life Stress ◽

Early Life ◽

Early Life Stress

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Early Life Stress and Epigenetics in Late-onset Alzheimer’s Dementia: A Systematic Review

Current Genomics ◽

10.2174/1389202919666171229145156 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 19 (7) ◽

pp. 522-602 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Erwin Lemche

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Life Stress ◽

Early Life ◽

Late Onset ◽

Early Life Stress ◽

Alzheimer’S Dementia ◽

Alzheimer's Dementia

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Alterations of the HPA Axis Observed in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder and Their Relation to Early Life Stress: A Systematic Review

Neuropsychobiology ◽

10.1159/000506484 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 79 (6) ◽

pp. 417-427 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Angela Ceruso ◽

Mayte Martínez-Cengotitabengoa ◽

Araminta Peters-Corbett ◽

Maria Jose Diaz-Gutierrez ◽

Monica Martínez-Cengotitabengoa

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Major Depressive Disorder ◽

Depressive Disorder ◽

Hpa Axis ◽

Life Stress ◽

Early Life ◽

Early Life Stress ◽

Major Depressive ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Manual Search

Background: Alterations of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are common in patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD). Nevertheless, these alterations are not found in every patient. There is evidence to indicate a possible mediating role of early life stress (ELS) in the relation between dysfunction of the HPA axis and MDD. We conducted a systematic review to understand if the alterations of the HPA axis commonly found in patients with MDD are due to early life stress or are caused by the disorder itself. Methods: The review was conducted by following the PRISMA guidelines. Original articles were found in PubMed and via a manual search. Only studies whose design allowed comparison of the HPA functioning in the 4 groups no-MDD/no-ELS, MDD/no-ELS, no-MDD/ELS, and MDD/ELS were included. Results: Hyperactivity or hypoactivity of the HPA axis was found in 8 articles. A greater number of abnormalities and a higher rate of posttraumatic stress disorder comorbidity were found in the MDD/ELS group. Dysfunction of the HPA axis was also found in the no-MDD/ELS groups. Conclusion: HPA dysfunction found in MDD seems to be more related to the presence of ELS rather than to the MDD itself. Future studies are needed to clarify the exact mechanisms involved.

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