Objective: To examine the relationship between childhood trauma and prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) (either coronary disease or stroke) in Type 1 diabetes (DM).
Methods: From an original cohort of 725 African Americana with Type 1 DM, 444 (61.2%) were reexamined as part of a 6-year follow-up. In both examinations, patients underwent a structured clinical interview to determine their medical history and a detailed ocular examination. At follow-up, patients completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Hostility and Direction of Hostility Questionnaire, and Beck Depression Inventory. Diabetic patients who had CVD and those had not developed CVD at the 6-year follow-up were compared for their experience of childhood trauma at the same time controlling for the presence of known risk factors for CVD.
Results: Of the 393 patients at risk, 60 (15.3%) had developed any CVD, 52 (12.9%) had coronary disease, and 16 (3.8%) had a stroke at the 6-year follow-up. On univariate analysis, childhood trauma was significantly associated with 6-year incidence of any CVD (p < .01), coronary disease (p < .05), and stroke (p < .01). Childhood trauma scores were also significantly associated with depression (p < .001) and hostility (p < .001) scores, age (p < .05), and renal disease (p < .05). In primary multivariate analyses, childhood trauma predicted CVD independent of age, body mass index, blood pressure, and proteinuria. Secondary analyses suggested that association between the 6-year incidence of CVD and childhood trauma was also independent of depression ratings.
Conclusion: Childhood seems to be an independent risk factor for the incidence of CVD in Type 1 DM.