Maus-tratos na infância, estresse e envelhecimento celular

Abstract

We aimed this thesis to explore biological mechanisms of childhood maltreatment exposure in two articles. The first article is an extensive meta-analysis assessing basal and dynamic levels of cortisol in children and adults who have experienced early life stress. We found that children during early childhood exhibit lower basal cortisol levels and lower activation of the HPA axis during stress exposure. Also, we found a biological ecophenotype within individuals with mental disorder and history of childhood maltreatment. In the second article we evaluated children and adolescents in a longitudinal study to assess the impact of early life stress on biomarkers of cell aging. We found that children exposed to maltreatment presented a greater number of behavioral problems, a higher rate of psychiatric diagnosis and accelerated cellular aging compared to children without traumatic exposure. Accelerated cell aging was identified through Telomere Length, Mitochondrial DNA copy number and ND4, being the first study with children to report these variables in association with traumatic experiences.