Emotion Dysregulation and Inflammation in African-American Women with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation, has been associated with major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic risk factor for many psychological disorders associated with chronic inflammatory state. The objective of this study was to determine whether inflammation is associated with emotion dysregulation in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We examined associations between trauma exposure, MDD, PTSD, emotion dysregulation, and CRP among 40 African-American women with T2DM recruited from an urban hospital. Emotion dysregulation was measured using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. PTSD and MDD were measured with structured clinical interviews. Child abuse and lifetime trauma load were also assessed. Analyses showed that both emotion dysregulation and current MDD were significantly associated with higher levels of CRP (p < 0.01). Current PTSD was not significantly related to CRP. In a regression model, emotion dysregulation was significantly associated with higher CRP (p < 0.001) independent of body mass index, trauma exposure, and MDD diagnosis. These findings suggest that emotion dysregulation may be an important risk factor for chronic inflammation beyond already known risk factors among women with T2DM, though a causal relationship cannot be determined from this study.

C‐Reactive Protein: Marker of risk for post‐traumatic stress disorder and its potential for a mechanistic role in trauma response and recovery

“…In contrast, depressive symptoms after terrorist acts were associated with higher CRP levels in men ( Melamed et al, 2004 ). While investigating the relationship between trauma and metabolic disorders, Powers and colleagues noted a significant association between CRP and emotional dysregulation among urban African American women ( n = 40) with Type 2 Diabetes as well as high rates of childhood trauma ( Powers et al, 2016 ). As evidence by this body of research, the relationship between CRP and PTSD symptom domains may be determined by the interplay with trauma type (e.g., childhood trauma), gender, environment, and other lifestyle factors.…”

El afecto emocional en pacientes diabéticos mexicanos

“…Un factor adicional que puede generar desregulación emocional en pacientes con diabetes Tipo 2, independientemente del IMC, la depresión y la exposición a lesiones, es el riesgo por inflamación crónica según datos obtenidos en mujeres con ese padecimiento (Powers et al, 2016).…”

“…Además del control glicémico, las tendencias depresivas están asociadas con un marcador inflamatorio sistémico, la proteína reactiva C. Los trastornos depresivos se presentan con frecuencia en los cuadros diabéticos (Powers et al, 2016).…”

Mast Cell Activation in Brain Injury, Stress, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenesis

“…A recent report indicates that chronic stress and anxiety increases the rate of PTSD (Zass et al, 2017 ). Systemic inflammation marker, CRP is increased in depression as well as in PTSD patients, indicating that PTSD patients show enhanced inflammatory responses (Powers et al, 2016 ; Miller et al, 2017 ; Solomon et al, 2017 ). Thus, it has been suggested that certain inflammatory markers can be used as biomarkers for PTSD (Cohen et al, 2011 ).…”