Inter-correlations among Childhood Trauma Questionnaire subscales.

<p>Note: All correlations were deemed significant at p<.01. Correlations were calculated as Pearson<i>r</i>values, except for correlations with PA and SA. Given the skewness>2.50, coefficients involving these subscales refer to Spearman's rho. Abbreviations. EA = Emotional Abuse. PA = Physical Abuse. SA = Sexual Abuse. EN = Emotional Neglect. PN = Physical Neglect. ENm = Emotional Neglect Modified. PNm = Physical Neglect Modified.</p

Multiple Indicator Multiple Indicator Cause (MIMIC) Revealing Acceptable Fit Indexes for Adolescents.

<p>Legend: Values are Standardized Regression Weights for Items in the CTQ.</p

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Alternative Five-Factor Model in Overall Sample.

<p>Legend: Values are Standardized Regression Weights for Items in the CTQ.</p

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Original Model in the Overall Sample.

<p>Legend: Values are Standardized Regression Weights for Items in the CTQ.</p

Multiple Indicator Multiple Indicator Cause (MIMIC) Revealing Acceptable Fit Indexes for Adults.

<p>Legend: Values are Standardized Regression Weights for Items in the CTQ.</p

Gene expression analysis in blood of ultra-high risk subjects compared to first-episode of psychosis patients and controls

<div><p></p><p><i>Objectives.</i> This study aimed to investigate peripheral blood gene expression in ultra-high-risk subjects (UHR) compared to first-episode psychosis individuals (FEP) and healthy controls (HC). <i>Methods.</i> We enrolled 22 UHR, 66 FEP and 67 HC and investigated the expression of 12 genes using Taqman assays. We used the Univariate General Linear Model, as well as Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. <i>Results.</i> We found that <i>UFD1L</i> (ubiquitin fusion degradation 1 like (yeast)) gene was upregulated in UHR group compared to HC and FEP (<i>P = </i>3.44 × 10^–6 ; <i>P = </i>9.41 × 10^–6). <i>MBP</i> (myelin basic protein) was downregulated in UHR compared to FEP (<i>P = </i>6.07 × 10^–6). <i>DISC1</i> (disrupted in schizophrenia 1) was also upregulated in UHR compared to FEP but lost statistical significance when corrected for age. <i>Conclusions.</i> These genes are directly related to neurodevelopmental processes and have been associated to schizophrenia. Recent findings described that <i>DISC1</i> overexpression can disrupt <i>MBP</i> expression, thus, we think that these alterations in UHR individuals could be associated with a common process. <i>UFD1L</i> showed a different pattern of expression only for UHR group, suggesting that they can be under an acute endoplasmatic reticulum stress, demanding elevated levels of Ufd1. Further studies can improve knowledge on disease progression and putative targets to preventive strategies.</p></div

Socioeconomic Disadvantage Moderates the Association between Peripheral Biomarkers and Childhood Psychopathology

<div><p>Background</p><p>Socioeconomic disadvantage (SED) has been consistently associated with early life mental health problems. SED has been shown to impact multiple biological systems, including the regulation of neurotrophic proteins, immune-inflammatory and oxidative stress markers, which, conversely, have been reported to be relevant to physiological and pathological neurodevelopment This study investigated the relationship between SED, different domains of psychopathology, serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL6), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We hypothesized that a composite of socioeconomic risk would be associated with psychopathology and altered levels of peripheral biomarkers. In addition, we hypothesized that SED would moderate the associations between mental health problems, IL6, TBARS and BDNF.</p><p>Methods and Findings</p><p>Using a cross-sectional design, we measured the serum levels of IL6, TBARS and BDNF in 495 children aged 6 to 12. We also investigated socio-demographic characteristics and mental health problems using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) DSM-oriented scales. SED was evaluated using a cumulative risk model. Generalized linear models were used to assess associations between SED, biomarkers levels and psychopathology. SED was significantly associated with serum levels of IL6 (RR = 1.026, 95% CI 1.004; 1.049, p = 0.020) and TBARS (RR = 1.077, 95% CI 1.028; 1.127, p = 0.002). The association between SED and BDNF was not statistically significant (RR = 1.031, 95% CI 0.997; 1.066, p = 0.077). SED was also significantly associated with all CBCL DSM-oriented scales (all p < 0.05), whereas serum biomarkers (i.e. IL6, TBARS, BDNF) were associated with specific subscales. Moreover, the associations between serum biomarkers and domains of psychopathology were moderated by SED, with stronger correlations between mental health problems, IL6, TBARS, and BDNF being observed in children with high SED.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>In children, SED is highly associated with mental health problems. Our findings suggest that this association may be moderated via effects on multiple interacting neurobiological systems.</p></div

Effects of interactions between high socioeconomic disadvantage and peripheral biomarkers on CBCL scales.

<p>All analyses included age, gender and ethnicity as covariates.</p

Definitions and descriptive statistics.

<p>Definitions and descriptive statistics.</p

Mental health problems and peripheral biomarkers within socioeconomic disadvantage exposure subgroups.

<p>Correlations between (A) somatic problems and serum IL6; (B) attention deficit/hyperactivity problems and serum TBARS and (C) depressive problems and serum BDNF; within socioeconomic disadvantage exposure subgroups. SED: socioeconomic disadvantage; IL6: interlukin-6; TBARS: thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance; BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor.</p