Low-Grade Inflammation – A Novel Link Between Childhood Trauma and Psychosis in Adolescence (2023 – ongoing)

Collaborator: Annette Fjeldstad, Østfold Hospital. The main supervisor is associate professor Anne M. Myhre. Co-supervisors are Dr. Anette Fjeldstad and Dr. Monica Aas (King’s College London)

The purpose of this PhD-project is to investigate low-grade inflammation as a possible link between childhood trauma and psychosis disorders in adolescents (12-18 years). This study will explore whether low-grade inflammation amplifies the clinical picture (e.g., psychotic symptoms, low mood, poor cognitive functioning and global functioning, and lipid levels) of adolescents with early-onset psychosis, who also has a history of childhood trauma.

The prevalence of psychoses in adolescence is low, but accounts for tremendous personal and societal burden. The association between low-grade inflammatory responses and psychotic disorders is predominantly investigated in adult populations. However, puberty is an important neurodevelopmental stage in the maturation of the brain and suggested of critical importance for the development of psychoses in general. It is an imperative need for breakthroughs in prevention, diagnosis, and management of psychotic disorders in youths, which could be achieved by an increased understanding of underlying biological and psychosocial processes and their interplay. 

Childhood trauma is a well-known risk factor for psychoses. Studies on adults with psychoses indicate low-grade inflammation as a biological long-term consequence of early trauma. Low-grade inflammation is suggested to be part of the pathogenesis of psychosis-spectrum disorders. The purpose of this study is to widen our knowledge about the association between childhood trauma and low-grade inflammation over time in adolescents with early-onset psychosis. The study will investigate whether childhood trauma and low-grade inflammation is more frequently observed in adolescents who has developed a psychotic disorder, compared to healthy controls. The study will further investigate whether low-grade inflammation and childhood trauma enhance the clinical expression of adolescents with a psychotic disorder (e.g., the severity of the psychotic symptoms, negative symptoms, cognitive functioning and global functioning). About 70 patients and 100 healthy controls have already been included, with about 50% participating at 3-year follow-up. This provides a unique opportunity to investigate the role of inflammation in early-onset psychoses over time and how stable this relationship is. The inclusion of the patients is ongoing, and will continue so during the entire PhD-study period.