The Counterintuitive Relationship between Telomerase Activity and Childhood Emotional Abuse : Culture and Complexity
Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews (RGC: 21, 22, 62) › 21_Publication in refereed journal › peer-review
Author(s)
Related Research Unit(s)
Detail(s)
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 1619 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal / Publication | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 4 |
Online published | 8 Feb 2021 |
Publication status | Published - Feb 2021 |
Link(s)
DOI | DOI |
---|---|
Attachment(s) | Documents
Publisher's Copyright Statement
|
Link to Scopus | https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85100493042&origin=recordpage |
Permanent Link | https://scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/publications/publication(3b49faed-735b-422c-a059-be985eefdbaf).html |
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A burgeoning literature has found relationships between telomere length, telomerase activity, and human health and longevity. Although some research links a history of childhood adversity with shortened telomere length, our review found no prior research on the relationship between child maltreatment history and telomerase activity in adulthood. We hypothesized a negative relationship between child maltreatment and telomerase activity and hypothesized that the association would be moderated by sex. METHODS: These relationships were tested on a sample of 262 Hong Kong Chinese adults (200 females versus 62 males) with mild to moderate depression. RESULTS: Counterintuitively, emotional abuse was positively associated with telomerase activity, while other maltreatment types were non-significant. The positive relationship between emotional abuse and telomerase activity was significantly moderated by the sex of the participant. CONCLUSIONS: We advance two possible explanations for this finding (1) a culturally informed resilience explanation and (2) a homeostatic complexity explanation. The two explanations are not mutually exclusive. This trial is registered under Hong Kong Clinical Trial Register number HKCTR-1929. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Emotional abuse was significantly positively associated with telomerase activity. There are at least two non-mutually exclusive explanations for the findings. Simply put, either (1) in the cultural context of Hong Kong emotional abuse was not a risk factor, and/or (2) the conceptualization of telomerase activity as a straightforward indicator of longevity is overly simplistic. The first story we might term a ”resilience explanation” while the second we might call a ”homeostatic complexity” story.
Research Area(s)
- Child emotional abuse, Child maltreatment, Chinese, Later adulthood, Long-term consequences, Telomerase activity
Citation Format(s)
The Counterintuitive Relationship between Telomerase Activity and Childhood Emotional Abuse : Culture and Complexity. / Emery, Clifton R.; Xie, Qian-Wen; Chan, Jessie S. M.; Leng, Ling-Li; Chan, Celia H. Y.; So, Kwok-Fai; Li, Ang; Po, Kevin K. T.; Chouliara, Zoe; Chan, Cecilia Lai Wan; Choi, Anna W. M.; Yuen, L. P.; Ku, Kam Shing; Kung, Winnie; Ng, Siu-Man.
In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 18, No. 4, 1619, 02.2021.Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews (RGC: 21, 22, 62) › 21_Publication in refereed journal › peer-review
Download Statistics
No data available