Childhood Trauma and Depressive Symptoms in Type 1 Diabetes

BACKGROUND: To examine the relationship of childhood trauma to depressive symptoms in type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease in which the frequency of depression is increased. METHOD: One hundred fifty African American patients with type 1 diabetes seen between August 1993 and January 1998 completed the Beck Depression Inventory and Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. They were also genotyped for a functional serotonin transporter promoter polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) that modulates resiliency. Patients who had Beck Depression Inventory scores above and below 14 were compared. RESULTS: Diabetic patients who had Beck Depression Inventory scores ≥ 14 had experienced significantly more different types of childhood trauma than those with Beck Depression Inventory scores < 14 (P < .001), independent of potential interaction with 5-HTTLPR genotype. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood trauma appears to be a determinant of depressive symptoms in type 1 diabetes, independently of genotype of a functional locus modulating resiliency.