Adverse and traumatic exposures, posttraumatic stress disorder, telomere length, and hair cortisol - Exploring associations in a high-risk sample of young adult residential care leavers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Childhood adversities (CAs), potentially traumatic exposures (PTEs), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are known to increase the risk for poor health outcomes, including diseases of aging and early mortality. Telomere length (TL) and hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) are biomarkers known to be associated with CA and PTEs, and PTSD, but there is considerable heterogeneity in findings.

Objectives

This study aims to investigate the association of CAs, PTEs, and PTSD with TL and HCC in a high-risk sample of young adults who were previously placed in youth residential care institutions throughout Switzerland.

Method

Our sample includes 130 participants (30.8% women, M _Age = 26.5 ± 3.7 years) with previous youth residential care placements (M

SUBMITTER: Burgin D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9535425 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature