2016-04-07, Koenig, Alexandra M., Schury, Katharina, Reister, Frank, Köhler-Dauner, Franziska, Schauer, Maggie, Ruf-Leuschner, Martina, Gündel, Harald, Ziegenhain, Ute, Fegert, Jörg, Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana

Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) can increase the risk of psychosocial risk factors in adulthood (e. g. intimate partner violence, financial problems, substance abuse or medical problems). The transition to parenthood presents those affected by CM with particular challenges, in addition to usual birth-related stressors.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study a total of 240 women were interviewed in the puerperium with respect to CM experiences, using the German version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Current psychosocial risk factors (e. g. financial concerns, maternal mental illness, single parent) were assessed using the Constance Index (KINDEX) for early childhood risk factors. Associations between CM experience and psychosocial risk factors were calculated using simple correlation.
Results: The average age of participants was 33 years. On the CTQ 13.8 % of participants reported emotional abuse, 6.7 % physical abuse and 12.5 % sexual abuse, while 32.1 % reported emotional neglect and 7.5 % physical neglect during childhood. With rising severity of CM, more psychosocial risk factors (KINDEX) were present.
Conclusions: This study shows a clear association between experiences of maltreatment during childhood and the presence of psychosocial stressors among women in the puerperium. Regular screening for a history of CM and parental psychosocial stressors should be conducted early, i.e. during pregnancy, to avoid negative consequences for the child.

2016, Koenig, Alexandra Maria, Karabatsiakis, Alexander, Wilker, Sarah, Hamuni, Gilava, Kolassa, Stephan, Renu, Durairaj, Kadereit, Suzanne, Schauer, Maggie, Hennessy, Thomas, Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with an increased risk for adverse physical health outcomes. However, the underlying biomolecular processes and associated pathways remain to be further elucidated. The metabolome represents all detectable small bioactive molecules (metabolites) in a given biological sample. Metabolites are the ultimate products of environmentally shaped gene expression and protein activity and are hence closely linked with the individual health status. The untargeted and holistic investigation of the metabolome (termed metabolite fingerprinting) in biological samples might lead to novel insights in PTSD pathophysiology.

Methods: Serum samples from 20 individuals with PTSD and 18 healthy controls were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to a Quadrupole/Time-Of-Flight (TOF) mass spectrometer. Groups were matched based on age and ethnicity. Univariate and multivariate approaches, namely Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), were applied for statistical analyses.

Results: The group comparison revealed 13 metabolites, which were significantly altered in PTSD, including four glycerophospholipids and one metabolite involved in endocannabinoid signaling. In the multivariate approach, a metabolite profile of 19 biomolecules predicted PTSD status with an accuracy of 85%.

Conclusions: This study illustrates the potential of metabolite fingerprinting for the identification of novel, trauma and stress-associated pathophysiological underpinning and further provides the possibility to highlight associated biomolecular pathways, such as lipid-derived and endocannabinoid signaling in PTSD.

2006, Elbert, Thomas, Rockstroh, Brigitte, Kolassa, Iris-Tatjana, Schauer, Maggie, Neuner, Frank