Psychological resilience and the gene regulatory impact of posttraumatic stress in Nepali child soldiers

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Brandon A. Kohrt, Duke University; Carol Worthman, Emory University; Ramesh P. Adhikari, Transcultural Psychosocial Organization; Nagendra P. Luitel, Transcultural Psychosocial Organization; Jesusa M. G. Arevalo, University of California Los Angeles; Jeffrey Ma, University of California Los Angeles; Heather McCreath, University of California Los Angeles; Teresa E. Seeman, University of California Los Angeles; Eileen M. Crimmins, University of Southern California; Steven W. Cole, University of California Los Angeles
• Language: English
• Date: 2016-07-19
• Publisher: National Academy of Sciences
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: 2016 NAS
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1601301113
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Volume: 113
• Issue: 29
• Start Page: 8156
• End Page: 8161
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was supported by the HopeLab Foundation and US National Institutes of Health Grants P30 AG017265 and F31 MH075584.
• Keywords: LEUKOCYTE TRANSCRIPTOME; low-income countries; SOCIAL ECOLOGY; DRIED BLOOD; PTSD SYMPTOM SCALE; NEONATAL BLOOD; biocultural anthropology; Science & Technology - Other Topics; child abuse; IMMUNE-SYSTEM; MENTAL-HEALTH; social genomics; DEPRESSION; Science & Technology; EXPRESSION; Multidisciplinary Sciences; BLOOD SPOTS; global mental health
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Sociology, Public and Social Welfare

Abstract

Adverse social conditions in early life have been linked to increased expression of proinflammatory genes and reduced expression of antiviral genes in circulating immune cells-the conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA). However, it remains unclear whether such effects are specific to the Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) cultural environments in which previous research has been conducted. To assess the roles of early adversity and individual psychological resilience in immune system gene regulation within a non-WEIRD population, we evaluated CTRA gene-expression profiles in 254 former child soldiers and matched noncombatant civilians 5 y after the People's War in Nepal. CTRA gene expression was up-regulated in former child soldiers. These effects were linked to the degree of experienced trauma and associated distress-that is, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity-more than to child soldier status per se. Self-perceived psychological resilience was associated with marked buffering of CTRA activation such that PTSD-affected former child soldiers with high levels of personal resilience showed molecular profiles comparable to those of PTSD-free civilians. These results suggest that CTRA responses to early life adversity are not restricted to WEIRD cultural contexts and they underscore the key role of resilience in determining the molecular impact of adverse environments.