Enduring psychobiological effects of childhood adversity

This "mini-review" by Ulrike Ehlert at the University of Zurich in Switzerland appeared in the September issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology:

There is increasing evidence of a strong interconnectivity between genetic dispositions, epigenetic processes, stress-related hormonal systems and immune parameters in all forms of (mal)-adjustment to adverse living conditions. Unfavorable constellations of these dispositions and systems, such as low cortisol levels and elevated markers of inflammation in maltreated children, seem to promote the (co)-occurrence of psychiatric and physical pathologies such as posttraumatic stress disorder, obesity, or diabetes.

Although findings from prospective study designs support a deepened understanding of causal relations between adverse living conditions, including traumatic experiences, during childhood and its psychobiological effects, so far, little is known about the temporal coincidence of stress-sensitive developmental stages during childhood and adolescence and trauma consequences.

Taken together, childhood adversity is a severe risk factor for the onset of psychobiological (mal)-adjustment, which has to be explained under consideration of diverse physiological systems and developmental stages of childhood and adolescence.

Here's a link to the abstract: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306453013002242