Association between trauma exposure and mood trajectories in patients with mood disorders

Trauma exposure is associated with the development of mood disorders and their phenotypic presentation. Cross-sectional associations between trauma exposure and mood disorders are well documented. Data on the association of trauma with longitudinal mood trajectories are lacking. We investigated the association between trauma exposure and weekly mood trajectories.

Mood disorder patients (N = 107; female = 81; mean age = 37.04 years), assessed for trauma exposure at baseline using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and Life Events Checklist (LEC), completed weekly telephonic mood assessments using the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS) and Altman Self-Rating Mania scale (ASRM) over a 16 week period commencing at one week post-discharge from hospital. Associations between trauma exposure, severity of mood symptoms and mood trajectories were analysed using Pearson's correlations, LS Mean scores, F-statistics, and RMANOVA.

Trauma exposure was persistently associated, albeit with some fluctuation in the strength of the association, with depressive symptomatology. Emotional abuse showed the most persistent association over time. Sexual abuse was minimally associated with depressive symptomatology. The severity of childhood trauma exposure was positively correlated with the severity of depressive symptoms. Lifetime traumatic events were significantly associated with mania scores, however there was no association between childhood trauma exposure and mania symptoms.

Identification of both a history of childhood abuse and neglect and lifetime traumatic event exposure is important in the assessment and management of patients with mood disorders, as trauma can exert a persistent impact on depression trajectories and on symptom severity.