Children who have persistently raised inflammation are at a higher risk of experiencing serious mental health disorders including psychosis and depression in early adulthood, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry . The research led by the University of Birmingham also found that those who had experienced inflammation at a young age were at a higher risk of developing cardiometabolic diseases such as insulin resistance—an early form of diabetes. The study used data collected by the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)—also known as Children of the 90s—and included a total of 6,556 participants of whom 50.
4% were female. Inflammation was identified by increased levels of the general inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) recorded in participants at ages 9, 15 and 17 years. Of the two groups identified with persistently raised inflammation throughout their developing years, the researchers discovered that it was the group whose CRP levels peaked earlier in childhood, around age 9, that were most associated with subsequent higher risks of depression and psychosis at age 24.
Lead author on the study, Edward Palmer of the University of Birmingham said, "There's growing evidence of an association between inflammation and psychotic, depressive and cardiometabolic disorders, however little has been done to explore the different trajectories of inflammation during childhood and the association between those and both mental and physical health.