Stress sensitization: Does childhood adversity modify trauma effects on memory?

Authors

Gina E Nam, Junxian Liu, Mary Thoma, Lindsay C Kobayashi, Karestan C Koenen, Zachary J Kunicki, Eleanor Hayes-Larson

Published in

Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD. Pages 13872877261476095. Aug 17, 2026. Epub Aug 17, 2026.

Abstract

BackgroundTrauma across the lifecourse is implicated in adverse health outcomes, yet whether earlier adversity shapes vulnerability to effects of later trauma on cognitive decline, an important contributor to Alzheimer's disease, remains unclear.ObjectiveWe examined the impact of adult incident traumatic experiences (ITEs) on late-life memory decline, and whether this association is modified by childhood adversity.MethodsWe leveraged 2006-2020 data from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal cohort of US adults aged ≥50 years. ITEs were self-reported stressful or life-threatening experiences in 2006-2012 (any versus none). Childhood adversity (any versus none) included retrospective reports of abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction before age 18. Memory was assessed biennially from 2010-2020 using standardized scores. Linear mixed-effects models estimated associations between ITEs and decline in memory z-score, adjusted for demographics, childhood socioeconomic status, and self-rated health. Stratified analyses examined effect modification by childhood adversity.ResultsAmong 2971 participants, mean baseline age was 67.3 years (SD 9.2); 60% were female and 86% were White. Individuals with ITEs experienced a faster memory decline than those without ITEs (β= -0.014 SD units/year, 95% CI -0.024, -0.003). Childhood adversity did not modify this association. Findings were consistent across sensitivity analyses using alternative exposure and outcome definitions.ConclusionsITEs were associated with accelerated memory decline in later life, and childhood adversity did not modify this relationship. Identifying resilience factors that mitigate the cognitive effects of adult traumatic experiences may inform prevention strategies for Alzheimer's disease.

PMID:
42606294
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 17 Aug 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.