Background. A history of childhood maltreatment (CM), in the form of abuse and neglect, or early-dysfunctional relationships, increases the susceptibility to develop psychopathologies later in life. CM is known to alter the homeostasis of the whole body. However, the precise biological mechanisms underlying psychopathological risk in CM individuals are still not clear. Moreover, there is a fundamental lack of early biomarkers that could predict psychopathological outcomes in CM subjects.
According to recent studies experiencing stressful life events early in life affects cellular aging through shortening telomere length. This parameter has been found altered both in individuals with a history of childhood maltreatment and in the ones affected by psychopathologies.
Objective. Therefore, the aim of this joint project is to investigate how CM can shape cellular aging, in order to predict psychopathological risk.
Methodology. Individuals who experienced different types of CM or normal early-environment will be exposed to a screening aimed at evaluating the history of childhood maltreatment, levels of early parental care, attachment styles and psychopathological risk. Genetic analysis to detect telomeres length will be performed.
Expected Results. Through this examination, we intend to explore the role of telomere length as biomarker of psychopathological risk in individuals with a history of CM.
Within the psychiatric field, the use of biomarkers (i.e. biological features used as objective indicator of a dysregulation in the homeostasis of the organism) would be enormously helpful to assist in making clearer diagnostic decisions, given the aspecificity in the tests employed for the diagnoses and the overlapping symptomatology between psychiatric disorders (Venigalla et al, Mental Health in Fam Med, 2017).
Overall, the strength of this project is based on the fact that for the first time telomere length will be used in a transdiagnostic perspective, in order to understand how it can foresee an increased risk of developing psychopathologies in individuals with a history of maltreatment.
Moreover, the levels of biomarkers are not stable, but tend to follow the fluctuations of the pathology, becoming in turn potential diagnostic indicators of therapeutic trend (Lenzenweger, Depression and Anxiety, 2013).