Telomere Length and Psychopathology: Specificity and Direction of Effects Within the Bucharest Early Intervention Project

Abstract

Objective: Telomere length (TL) has been linked to several psychiatric conditions in children and adults. Telomere shortening is accelerated by early adversity, including maltreatment and psychosocial deprivation. These experiences also increase the risk of psychopathology in many domains. Two fundamental issues remain unresolved. The first concerns the specificity of the relations between TL and different dimensions of psychopathology; and the second relates to the direction of association between TL and psychopathology.

Method: This study addressed these shortcomings in a 2-fold manner. First, the association between TL and statistically independent general, internalizing, and externalizing psychopathology factors was examined to determine the specificity of this relation. Second, a 2-wave longitudinal cross-lagged model was used to explicitly examine the direction of the relation between TL and each psychopathology factor. Data were drawn from the Bucharest Early Intervention Project, a longitudinal study exploring the impact of severe psychosocial deprivation on child health and development (N = 195). At 8 to 10 and 12 to 14 years of age, buccal DNA was collected and teachers and/or caregivers reported on different domains of psychopathology.

Results: Longitudinal path analyses showed that shorter TL was specifically associated with higher internalizing psychopathology at 8 to 10 years of age. In contrast, at 12 to 14 years, shorter TL was associated with higher general psychopathology. Most telling, internalizing psychopathology at 8 to 10 years predicted shorter TL at 12 to 14 years, with no reciprocal effects.

Conclusion: Results suggest that telomere erosion could be a consequence of distress-related psychopathology rather than a selection mechanism for later psychiatric problems.

Clinical trial registration information: The Bucharest Early Intervention Project; https://ichgcp.net/clinical-trials-registry/NCT00747396" title="See in ClinicalTrials.gov">NCT00747396.

Keywords: early adversity; externalizing problems; general psychopathology; internalizing problems; telomere length.

Copyright © 2019 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figures

Figure 1.. Longitudinal Path Model Linking Telomere Length and Psychopathology Factor Scores at Age 8–10 and Age 12–14

Note. Parameters are standardized β coefficients. Psychopathology factors are factor scores saved from the latent bi-factor model and used as manifest variables. Only relations between telomere length and psychopathology are shown. See Table 1 for associations between psychopathology factor scores. EIG = ever-institutionalized group; NIG = never-institutionalized. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.