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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Substantial evidence indicates that experiencing physical abuse and neglect during childhood significantly elevates the likelihood of developing depression in adulthood. Nevertheless, there remains a dearth of understanding regarding the mechanisms underpinning this correlation.
OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to examine the associations of childhood physical abuse and physical neglect with depression using follow-up data from UK Biobank and quantified the contribution of smoking, insomnia, and BMI in these associations. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTINGS: This study included 144,704 participants (64,168 men and 80,536 women) from UK Biobank, most of whom were white (97 %).
METHODS: Physical abuse and physical neglect were measured using two items of Childhood Trauma Screener (CTS). Data on the incidence of depression were obtained from primary care, hospital inpatient records, self-reported medical conditions, and death registries. We used a sequential mediation analysis based on the "g-formula" approach to explore the individual and joint effects of potential mediators.
RESULTS: The depression incidence rate was 1.85 per 1000 person-years for men and 2.83 per 1000 person-years for women, respectively.
RESULTS of Cox proportional risk regression showed that physical abuse (HRs: 1.39-1.53, P < 0.001) and physical neglect (HRs: 1.43-1.60, P < 0.001) are associated with depression. Smoking, insomnia, and BMI together mediated 3 %-26 % of the associations.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings contribute to our understanding of how physical abuse and physical neglect influence depression. Furthermore, a more effective reduction in the burden of depression can be achieved by managing modifiable mediators.
Language: en |