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Published on: May 6, 2013
Childhood trauma and depressive symptoms in type 1 diabetes
Alec Roy1, Monique Roy, David Goldman
1Psychiatry Service (116A), Department of Veterans Affairs, NJHCS, East Orange, NJ 07018, USA. Alec.Roy@va.gov
Background:
To examine the relationship of childhood trauma to depressive symptoms in type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease in which the frequency of depression is increased.
Method:
One hundred fifty African American patients with type 1 diabetes seen between August 1993 and January 1998 completed the Beck Depression Inventory and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. They were also genotyped for a functional serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) that modulates resiliency. Patients who had Beck Depression Inventory scores above and below 14 were compared.
Results:
Diabetic patients who had Beck Depression Inventory scores ≥ 14 had experienced significantly more different types of childhood trauma than those with Beck Depression Inventory scores < 14 (P < .001), independent of potential interaction with 5-HTTLPR genotype.
Conclusions:
Childhood trauma appears to be a determinant of depressive symptoms in type 1 diabetes, independently of genotype of a functional locus modulating resiliency.
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