A new study in Germany reported that women who survived childhood sexual abuse tended to have higher ghrelin levels in their blood serum. Women who experienced severe emotional neglect also tended to have higher levels of ghrelin in their blood than those who did not. The study was published in Translational Psychiatry.
Ghrelin is a hormone primarily produced in the stomach and small intestine. It plays a crucial role in regulating appetite and hunger. Ghrelin levels typically increase before meals, signaling to the brain that the body needs nourishment. This hormone stimulates the release of growth hormone and increases food intake, leading to a sensation of hunger.
Ghrelin levels tend to decrease after eating, helping to control appetite and reduce food intake. Dysregulation of ghrelin production and sensitivity is associated with appetite disorders and obesity, making it a significant focus of research in the field of nutrition and metabolism.
However, ghrelin levels also increase when the body is under stress. Studies on animals show increased levels of ghrelin in blood serum when animals are subjected to both acute and chronic stress. One study on human adolescents reported that elevated levels of ghrelin in blood remained long after the stressful experience ended.
Another study on anorexic patients reported a link between increased ghrelin levels and childhood traumatization. Several other studies also produced results indicating that there might be a link between ghrelin levels in adulthood and childhood trauma. However, these were all studies on very specific cohorts and small groups.
Study author Dirk Alexander Wittekind and his colleagues wanted to investigate the association between ghrelin levels and childhood trauma in a large sample from the general population. They noted that given a large share of the population has childhood trauma experiences, it is important to understand their health effects in adulthood. They hypothesized that individuals with more intense childhood trauma experiences would have higher blood ghrelin levels as adults.
Data for their analysis came from the LIFE-Adult Study run by the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases. This study includes over 10,000 adult participants, mainly between 40 and 79 years of age, from Leipzig, a large city in Germany. For this analysis, the researchers used data of 1,086 participants — 454 were females and their average age was 57 years.
Ghrelin and cortisol measurements came from participants’ blood samples. These were collected in the morning, between 7:30 and 10:30 a.m., after the participant had not eaten for at least 8 hours. Researchers asked participants to also refrain from smoking during those 8 hours before giving blood. Participants completed an assessment of childhood trauma (the German version of the Childhood Trauma Screener) and reported their alcohol and tobacco consumption habits through another questionnaire and in an interview. Researchers measured the body weight and height of participants and used these data to calculate their body mass index.
Approximately 32% of participants reported having experienced childhood trauma. Responses of 7.5% indicated emotional neglect, 8% reported physical abuse, 7% emotional abuse, 5.5% sexual abuse, and 19% reported physical neglect. The most frequent combination of traumas was physical neglect without other types of trauma, followed by physical abuse without other types of trauma. 68% of participants reported not experiencing any type of trauma in childhood.
Women, younger, and leaner (with lower body mass index) participants tended to have higher ghrelin levels in their blood. On average, women reported experiencing more emotional neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and physical abuse than men.
Overall, experiences of childhood trauma (regardless of type) were not associated with higher ghrelin levels. However, analysis by gender revealed that women reporting severe emotional neglect in childhood tended to have higher ghrelin levels. Also, women, but not men, reporting severe or medium sexual abuse in childhood tended to have higher ghrelin levels.
“In this study we showed that childhood sexual abuse was positively associated with ghrelin serum levels in the total sample and in women, but not in men. Women who had experienced severe emotional neglect had higher ghrelin serum levels than those who did not,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on links between memories of childhood trauma and ghrelin levels in adulthood. However, it should be noted that the study solely relied on self-reported experiences of childhood trauma. For the average study participant, these experiences happened almost half a century ago. Memories might have been changed over this long period and the ability to recall childhood experiences might also be a factor influencing the results. This leaves a lot of room for recall bias to affect the results. Finally, the study design does not allow any cause-and-effect conclusions to be drawn.
The study, “Childhood sexual abuse is associated with higher total ghrelin serum levels in adulthood: results from a large, population-based study”, was authored by Dirk Alexander Wittekind, Jürgen Kratzsch, Roland Mergl, Kerstin Wirkner, Ronny Baber, Christian Sander, A. Veronica Witte, Arno Villringer, and Michael Kluge.
