Telomere length is associated with childhood trauma in patients with severe mental disorders

摘要

=?148.9, p??0.001). Patients with a history of childhood sexual, physical or emotional abuse had shorter TL relative to HC and to patients without a history of childhood abuse (F?=?6.93, p?=?0.006, Cohen's d?=?0.16). After adjusting for childhood abuse, no difference in TL was observed between patients and HC (p?=?0.12). There was no statistically significant difference in reported childhood abuse exposure or TL between SZ and BD. Our analyses revealed no significant associations between TL and clinical characteristics or brain morphometry. We demonstrate shorter TL in SZ and BD compared with HC and showed that TL is sensitive to childhood trauma experiences. Further studies are needed to identify the biological mechanisms of this relationship.