Mechanisms Linking Early Life Stress to Adult Health Outcomes

Overview

Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Specialty Science

Date 2010 May 6

PMID 20442329

Citations 152

Authors

Shelley E Taylor

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Research relating stress to health has progressed from anecdotal evidence in the 1930s and 1940s to complex multivariate models that identify underlying longitudinal mechanisms. Enduring questions that have guided our research are: How does the early life environment affect health outcomes into adulthood? How is the latent damage stored and what processes are set into motion that link early life stress to health disorders in the later years? An emerging perspective focuses on the accumulation of interacting dysregulations in multiple physiological systems that compromise the systems' abilities to respond flexibly to stressful circumstances. Our research explores: the antecedents of these processes, including genetic predispositions, the harshness of the early environment, and their interaction; the mediating roles of neural regulation in the brain and psychological and social resources; and health-related outcomes, such as metabolic functioning and inflammatory processes.

Citing Articles

Comprehensive assessment of heavy metal (HMs) contamination and associated health risks in agricultural soils and groundwater proximal to industrial sites.

Sharafi S, Salehi F Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):7518.

PMID: 40032931 PMC: 11876665. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-91453-7.

Coping, meaning in life, and quality of life during ongoing conflict: insights from Israeli populations.

Sarid O, Hamama L, Hamama-Raz Y Isr J Health Policy Res. 2025; 14(1):1.

PMID: 39780281 PMC: 11715607. DOI: 10.1186/s13584-024-00665-1.

The effects of adverse life events on brain development in the ABCD study®: a propensity-weighted analysis.

Elton A, Lewis B, Nixon S Mol Psychiatry. 2024; .

PMID: 39578521 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02850-9.

Factors associated with posttraumatic stress severity and treatment response in a retrospective, naturalistic sample of homicidally bereaved children and young people.

Soydas S, Boelen P, Goodfellow B, Wilson R, Smid G Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2024; 15(1):2407223.

PMID: 39569576 PMC: 11583325. DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2024.2407223.

Methods for Modeling Early Life Stress in Rodents.

Choe J, Jones H Methods Mol Biol. 2024; 2868:205-219.

PMID: 39546232 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4200-9_11.

References

Way B, Taylor S, Eisenberger N . Variation in the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) is associated with dispositional and neural sensitivity to social rejection. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009; 106(35):15079-84. PMC: 2736434. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0812612106. View

Holmes T, RAHE R . The Social Readjustment Rating Scale. J Psychosom Res. 1967; 11(2):213-8. DOI: 10.1016/0022-3999(67)90010-4. View

Allen M, Matthews K, Sherman F . Cardiovascular reactivity to stress and left ventricular mass in youth. Hypertension. 1997; 30(4):782-7. DOI: 10.1161/01.hyp.30.4.782. View

Taylor S, Burklund L, Eisenberger N, Lehman B, Hilmert C, Lieberman M . Neural bases of moderation of cortisol stress responses by psychosocial resources. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2008; 95(1):197-211. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.95.1.197. View

Lieberman M, Eisenberger N, Crockett M, Tom S, Pfeifer J, Way B . Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychol Sci. 2007; 18(5):421-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01916.x. View

Taylor S, Lerner J, Sherman D, Sage R, McDowell N . Are self-enhancing cognitions associated with healthy or unhealthy biological profiles?. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003; 85(4):605-15. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.85.4.605. View

Way B, Taylor S . Social influences on health: is serotonin a critical mediator?. Psychosom Med. 2010; 72(2):107-12. DOI: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181ce6a7d. View

Liu D, Diorio J, Tannenbaum B, Caldji C, Francis D, FREEDMAN A . Maternal care, hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses to stress. Science. 1997; 277(5332):1659-62. DOI: 10.1126/science.277.5332.1659. View

Taylor S, Lehman B, Kiefe C, Seeman T . Relationship of early life stress and psychological functioning to adult C-reactive protein in the coronary artery risk development in young adults study. Biol Psychiatry. 2006; 60(8):819-24. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.03.016. View

10.

Weaver I, Cervoni N, Champagne F, DAlessio A, Sharma S, Seckl J . Epigenetic programming by maternal behavior. Nat Neurosci. 2004; 7(8):847-54. DOI: 10.1038/nn1276. View

11.

Lehman B, Taylor S, Kiefe C, Seeman T . Relation of childhood socioeconomic status and family environment to adult metabolic functioning in the CARDIA study. Psychosom Med. 2005; 67(6):846-54. DOI: 10.1097/01.psy.0000188443.48405.eb. View

12.

House J, Landis K, Umberson D . Social relationships and health. Science. 1988; 241(4865):540-5. DOI: 10.1126/science.3399889. View

13.

Engel G . A life setting conducive to illness. The giving-up--give-up comples. Ann Intern Med. 1968; 69(2):293-300. DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-69-2-293. View

14.

Meaney M, Szyf M . Environmental programming of stress responses through DNA methylation: life at the interface between a dynamic environment and a fixed genome. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2005; 7(2):103-23. PMC: 3181727. View

15.

Caspi A, Sugden K, Moffitt T, Taylor A, Craig I, Harrington H . Influence of life stress on depression: moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene. Science. 2003; 301(5631):386-9. DOI: 10.1126/science.1083968. View

16.

Taylor S, Brown J . Illusion and well-being: a social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychol Bull. 1988; 103(2):193-210. View

17.

Glaser R, Rice J, SPEICHER C, Stout J, Kiecolt-Glaser J . Stress depresses interferon production by leukocytes concomitant with a decrease in natural killer cell activity. Behav Neurosci. 1986; 100(5):675-8. DOI: 10.1037//0735-7044.100.5.675. View

18.

Baum A . Stress, intrusive imagery, and chronic distress. Health Psychol. 1990; 9(6):653-75. DOI: 10.1037//0278-6133.9.6.653. View

19.

Eisenberger N, Lieberman M, Williams K . Does rejection hurt? An FMRI study of social exclusion. Science. 2003; 302(5643):290-2. DOI: 10.1126/science.1089134. View

20.

Way B, Taylor S . The serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism is associated with cortisol response to psychosocial stress. Biol Psychiatry. 2009; 67(5):487-92. PMC: 2824040. DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.10.021. View