Association between childhood trauma and catecholamine response to psychological stress in police academy recruits
Received 23 June 2004; received in revised form 30 September 2004; accepted 5 October 2004.
Background
Childhood trauma is a risk factor for anxiety disorders in adulthood. One possible mechanism for this association is an increased neuroendocrine response to stress in adults with a history of childhood trauma.
Methods
In a cross-sectional study, 76 police academy recruits (mean [±SD] age 28 ± 5 years, 10 female) were exposed to a video depicting real-life officers exposed to highly stressful incidents. Salivary cortisol and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylglycol (MHPG, the major metabolite of norepinephrine) were collected at baseline, immediately after the video, and 20 min after the video. Childhood trauma before age 14 was assessed with an interview (Life Stressor Checklist-Revised).
Results
Exposure to the video elicited significant MHPG and cortisol responses in both groups. Recruits with childhood trauma histories (n = 16) had a significantly greater MHPG response, as evidenced by a group effect (F = 8.0, p < .01), and a group × time interaction (F = 4.1, p < .05). The cortisol response did not differ between groups.
Conclusions
Police academy recruits with childhood trauma histories have an increased catecholamine response to psychological stress. This might serve as a risk factor for anxiety disorders in recruits, and these findings might generalize to other groups with a history of childhood trauma.
aDepartment of Psychiatry, University of California
bVeterans Affairs Medical Center, San Francisco, California
cDepartment of Psychiatry, University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
dDepartment of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
eDepartment of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York
Address reprint requests to Christian Otte, M.D., University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Martinistrasse 52, Hamburg 20246, Germany
ABSTRACT