Helena Moura
H.F. Moura1, J.B. Schuch1, F. Ornell1, F.P. Rebelatto1, J. N. Scherer1, C.E. Bandeira2, D.L. Rovaris2, C.H.D. Bau2, E.H. Grevet2, A.R. Stolf3, R. Massuda4, F.H.P. Kessler1, L. von Diemen1. 1Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil; 2Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMS), Brazil; 3Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Brazil
Background: Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) decreases progressively over the lifespan and is an important biomarker of aging and age-related diseases. Studies have shown that this process can be accelerated by chronic stress, poor diet and drug use. However, little is known about alcohol (AUD) or crack cocaine use disorder (CUD) and telomere attrition.
Methods: AUD, CUD and healthy controls (HC) were selected using SCID-I and Addiction Severity Index Scale (ASI-6). Patients were hospitalized for substance use disorder in an Addiction Psychiatry Unity. HC had no current or lifetime diagnosis of any substance use disorder. Individuals with cardiac, inflammatory or other immunological diseases were excluded. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 47 AUD, 115 CUD and 122 healthy controls (39 for AUD and 83 for CUD). LTL was measured in triplicates with quantitative PCR.
Results: LTL did not differ between groups for both AUD and CUD (p=0.229 and 0.864, respectively). However, childhood trauma was associated with shorter LTL in CUD (p=0.010), but not AUD (p=0.516). Also, in comparison to HC, CUD had significantly higher levels of childhood trauma (p=0.007) and mood disorders (p<0.001), while AUD had significantly more mood disorders than HC (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Childhood trauma, rather than substance use, was associated with shorter telomeres. Nevertheless, since this trauma is common among CUD, it is important to consider potential medical complications in this population.