Childhood trauma and adulthood adverse experiences and risk of new-onset depression across the lifespan

BACKGROUND: Exposure to childhood trauma or adverse adulthood experiences (AAEs) may increase depression risk. However, the relationships between these factors and age of depression onset remain unclear. AIMS: We aimed to investigate the associations of childhood trauma and AAEs with depression risk across life stages, and their joint effects on lifetime depression risk. METHOD: A total of 118 164 participants without prior depression from UK Biobank (UKB) were included. Adverse experiences during childhood and adulthood were assessed through the online mental health questionnaire in 2016, primarily including physical neglect, physical abuse, emotional neglect, emotional abuse and sexual abuse. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to explore the independent and joint effects of childhood trauma and AAEs on the age of depression onset. RESULTS: > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to childhood trauma or AAEs presented a more detrimental effect on the early onset of depression compared with later stages throughout the lifespan. Our findings advise paying attention to traumatic events at any life stage, and the instigation of prompt intervention strategies following traumatic events, to minimise the risk of lifetime depression.