Epigenetic Differences in Stress Response from Abusive vs Accidental Injuries
Research By: Kathi Makoroff, MD
Post Date: July 1, 2023 | Publish Date: July 2023
Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children | Top Scientific Achievement
A pilot study conducted at two leading children’s hospitals indicates that child abuse can show up in the genetic code in ways that differ from accidental injury.
Specifically, children who suffered abusive injuries had lower methylation of the FKBP5 promoter gene in buccal and blood cells, even after controlling for injury severity, socioeconomic status and psychosocial risk factors.
“These findings show that early childhood physical abuse may impact the epigenetic regulation of the stress response system, even at the earliest indication of abuse. These findings are important because unmitigated stress is associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life-course,” says co-author Kathi Makoroff, MD, Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children.
The study involved 82 injured children, ages 4 years and younger, who received care at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital or Cincinnati Children’s between August 2015 and October 2018. An expert panel including a pediatric emergency physician, a child abuse expert and an injury biomechanics expert classified each injury as abusive, accidental or indeterminate.
Prior studies, primarily including older individuals with a remote history of maltreatment, had implicated changes in the FKBP5 gene as one mechanism that may link abuse to lifelong health issues. This study expands the findings to include a much younger set of abused children.
The co-authors say these findings have significant implications for long-term health because FKBP5 dysregulation has been associated with psychiatric conditions, cognitive function, asthma, insulin resistance and other chronic diseases. Looking ahead, the co-authors say more testing is needed to verify the pilot study results among larger sample sizes.
Co-authors included experts with the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, Emory University, and the University of Louisville.
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| Original title: | Epigenetic differences in stress response gene FKBP5 among children with abusive vs accidental injuries |
| Published in: | Pediatric Research |
| Publish date: | July 2023 |
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