Serum copeptin in children exposed to maltreatment

National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, a science and technology institute Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) AimChildhood maltreatment (CM) has been related to a persistent reprograming of stress-response. Copeptin is a marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation however, few studies have examined copeptin levels in children exposed to CM. The aim of this study was to compare serum copeptin levels in children reporting child abuse and/or neglect and children with no history of CM. MethodsThis study included 65 children with a positive history of moderate to severe CM, as reported by themselves and their parent(s) during a clinical interview, and 71 children with no history of CM as a comparison group. CM was considered moderate to severe based on the child-reported frequency of being exposed to events related to sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and/or physical neglect. Child psychopathology symptoms were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). We measured serum copeptin concentration using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. ResultsChildren exposed to CM exhibited higher levels of serum copeptin compared to children without CM when controlling for sex, age, and psychiatric morbidity. The CBCL total score, including internalizing and externalizing symptoms, was higher in children with CM. We found no correlation between copeptin and CBCL scores for internalizing symptoms and externalizing symptoms. Conclusion CM is associated with copeptin serum levels independently of age, sex, and symptom severity. Copeptin is a promising new biomarker for children with a history of abuse and/or neglect. Pontifical Catholic Univ Rio Grande Sul PUCRS, DCNL, Ave Ipiranga 6681,Predio 11,Sala 928 Partenon, BR-90619900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Dept Psychiat, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil CNPq, Natl Inst Dev Psychiat Children & Adolescents, Sao Paulo, Brazil Fed Univ Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Psychiat, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Interdisciplinary Lab Clin Neurosci LINC, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Psychiat IPq, Sao Paulo, Brazil Univ Toronto, Univ Hlth Network, MDPU, Toronto, ON, Canada Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Clinical Neurosciences (LINC), Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil CNPq: 573974/2008-0 CNPq: 305141/2011-2 CNPq: 476468/ 2012-4 FAPESP: 2008/57896-8 Web of Science