Traumatic life experiences and major depression: an overview

Titolo Rivista INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY TRAUMA STUDIES
Autori/Curatori Luisa De Risio, Claudia Battaglia, Giovanni Camardese, Bruna Mattioli, Marco Di Nicola, Federica Vellante, Vittoria Ardino, Luigi Janiri
Anno di pubblicazione 2016 Fascicolo 2016/1
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 16 P. 31-46 Dimensione file 258 KB
DOI 10.3280/IJM2016-001004
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The relationship between traumatic experiences and major depressive disorder provides relevant insight into the etiopathogenesis of major depression. The purpose of the current paper is to provide a narrative review on the role of both early-life trauma and recent stressful life events in the onset and maintenance of major depression. We searched for studies using PubMed, PsycLIT, PsycINFO and EBSCOhost electronic databases. The review of the studies suggests that most episodes of major depression are preceded by some stressful life events, mostly involving interpersonal loss. The central role of childhood adversity (parental death, divorce and marital discord, parental mental illness and substance abuse, exposure to family violence, neglect, and sexual and physical abuse) has also been extensively investigated. Evidence in current literature supports the notion that the impact of childhood traumatic experiences is more enduring and profound and leads to cumulative effects of stressful or traumatic events later in life. Furthermore, recent research has explored possible mediators of the trauma-depression relationship focusing on the identification of factors associated with resilient responses to traumatic stressors. Genetic influences, neurobiological pathways and psychosocial determinants have been found to be primarily involved in mediating resilient phenotypes.

La relazione esistente fra le esperienze traumatiche e il disturbo depressivo maggiore fornisce alcune considerazioni che possono aiutare a comprendere meglio l’eziopatogenesi della depressione maggiore. Lo scopo di questo articolo è di fornire una revisione narrativa del ruolo sia del trauma precoce che degli eventi di vita stressanti recenti sull’insorgenza e il mantenimento della depressione maggiore. Per la ricerca degli studi sono stati utilizzati database elettronici quali PubMed, PsycLIT, PsycINFO and EBSCOhost. La revisione della letteratura condotta suggerisce che gran parte degli episodi depressivi maggiori sono preceduti da eventi di vita stressanti, soprattutto la perdita di persone care. È stato ampiamente indagato anche il ruolo centrale che sembrano avere gli eventi di vita avversi del¬l’infanzia come la morte dei genitori, il conflitto o il divorzio dei genitori, la malattia mentale o l’abuso di sostanze dei genitori, l’esposizione alla violenza familiare, l’abbandono o la violenza sessuale o fisica. Le evidenze nella letteratura corrente supportano l’idea che l’esito delle esperienze traumatiche dell’infanzia sia più duraturo e profondo e conduca a degli effetti cumulativi con gli eventi di vita stressanti o traumatici successivi. Inoltre alcune ricerche recenti hanno esplorato possibili mediatori della relazione tra trauma e depressione focalizzandosi sull’i¬den¬tifi¬cazione di fattori associati a risposte resilienti a stressors traumatici. Le influenze genetiche, le vie neurobiologiche e le caratteristiche psicosociali sembrerebbero primariamente coinvolte nella costituzione di fenotipi resilienti.

Keywords:Depressione maggiore, trauma infantile, eventi di vita stressanti, interazioni gene-ambiente, resilienza.

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Luisa De Risio, Claudia Battaglia, Giovanni Camardese, Bruna Mattioli, Marco Di Nicola, Federica Vellante, Vittoria Ardino, Luigi Janiri, Traumatic life experiences and major depression: an overview in "INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY TRAUMA STUDIES" 1/2016, pp 31-46, DOI: 10.3280/IJM2016-001004