TY - JOUR
PY - 2021//
TI - Risky emotional family environment in childhood and depression-related cytokines in adulthood: the protective role of compassion
JO - Developmental psychobiology
A1 - Jalkanen, Sirpa
A1 - Raitakari, Olli
A1 - Lehtimäki, Terho
A1 - Salmi, Marko
A1 - Ahola-Olli, Ari
A1 - Dobewall, Henrik
A1 - Hintsanen, Mirka
A1 - Keltikangas-Järvinen, Liisa
A1 - Saarinen, Aino
SP - ePub
EP - ePub
VL - ePub
IS - ePub
N2 - BACKGROUND: Previously, compassion has been found to protect against depressive symptoms, while emotional adversities in childhood are suggested to increase inflammatory responses. The current study investigated (a) whether emotional family environment in childhood predicts levels of such cytokines in adulthood that are previously found to be elevated in depression (interleukin [IL]-2, IL-6, IL-1b, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, interferon-gamma [IFN-γ], and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α]) and (b) whether these associations are modified by compassion in adulthood.
METHODS: The participants (N = 1,198-1,523) came from the prospective population-based Young Finns data. Emotional family environment and parental socioeconomic factors were evaluated in 1980; participants' compassion in 2001; and participants' cytokine levels and adulthood covariates in 2007.
RESULTS: Risky emotional family environment in childhood predicted higher levels of IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α in adulthood. Additionally, there were significant interaction effects between compassion and emotional risk in childhood, when predicting IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-α. Specifically, individuals who grew up in a risky emotional family environment had on average higher levels of IL-2, IL-6, and TNF-α in adulthood when combined with low compassion.
CONCLUSIONS: In individuals coming from risky emotional family environments, high compassion for others may protect against elevated levels of cytokines previously linked with depression.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0012-1630 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/dev.22070 ID - ref1 ER -