Dr. Audrey Tyrka is the director of research at Butler Hospital and associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown. She was lead author of a recent study linking childhood trauma and genetic damage and other negative health outcomes.
PBN: Your study shows a link between traumatic events during childhood with enduring DNA damage resulting from the stress. How revolutionary is your finding, and are you receiving pushback on it in any form?
TYRKA: This is the first study to show alterations of mitochondrial density in association with stress or trauma. Mitochondria are critical for providing cellular energy, and also play a role in many other critical cellular processes, so this finding is important. No pushback per se, but it is important to note that this study doesn’t address what has caused the mitochondrial proliferation, and that’s what we’re planning next.
PBN: Is it fair to say that the loss of a parent for a child is something that compounds over time – that there is the initial loss and all the psychological damage it produces but then physical costs stemming from the stress that can present decades later?
TYRKA: Yes, often the physical effects of childhood stress exposure appear later in adulthood, as an acceleration of the normal wear and tear that occurs with aging. This is especially likely when stress is chronic or there are repeated traumas or losses, so the effects are really compounding over time. However, when a loss or other trauma occurs in the context of a nurturing environment there may be no appreciable physical effects.
PBN: How good a bet is it when a patient turns up at Butler that he or she has experienced one or more of the stressors that your study examines?
TYRKA: Childhood abuse, neglect, and other major stressors are very common among psychiatric patients. However, it also true that many people with psychiatric disorders have not had traumatic experiences in childhood.
PBN: What looks to be the single largest health risk stemming from the DNA damage caused by early life stress?
TYRKA: We think that the effects of childhood stress and other toxic influences are widespread and these cellular changes may influence numerous organ systems throughout the body. For example, stress and trauma are linked to a cluster of problems called the Metabolic Syndrome, which includes obesity – especially abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol, and this syndrome increases risk for heart disease and stroke.
PBN: Do the results of this study argue for earlier interventions in the lives of children exposed to toxic levels of stress? If not, what types of new treatment do spring to mind with the knowledge that your study brings?
TYRKA: Yes! Early intervention is key to preventing the long term effects of stress exposure. Often these adverse experiences cluster together and children in poverty are disproportionately exposed to maltreatment and other stressors. Poverty influences the physical environment, including nourishment, shelter, neighborhood, and schooling, and also influences the emotional stability and availability of caregivers and other members of the community. So, providing better environments and more support to families is key. In terms of interventions, there is good support for parenting interventions and trauma-focused treatments for children and their caregivers.
