Objective:To explore the effects of childhood trauma on resting blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability in patients with depression.Methods:A cross-sectional study was designed to prospectively collect clinical data on a total of 163 patients with depression, including 47 males and 116 females, aged 18-50 years,with mean[ M( Q1, Q3)] [29.0, (21.0, 37.0)]years, who were either the outpatients or the inpatients in the Mental Health Center of the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University from September 2022 to June 2024. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short form (CTQ-SF) was used to assess the experience of abuse and neglect during childhood. According to the CTQ-SF score, the subjects were divided into a trauma group ( n=80) and a non-trauma group ( n=83). The 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD 17) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were used to assess depressive and anxiety symptoms in the participants, respectively. A digital blood pressure monitor and an autonomic nervous system response detector were employed to measure resting blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability (HRV). Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between childhood trauma and resting blood pressure, heart rate, and HRV. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to analyze factors influencing these parameters. The Bootstrap method was employed to test the potential mediating role of parasympathetic nervous system activity in the relationships between childhood trauma and resting blood pressure, and heart rate. Results:No significant difference was observed in resting heart rate between the trauma and non-trauma groups ( P>0.05). However, the trauma group exhibited higher resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure [(123.3±9.1) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) vs(116.9±10.8) mmHg, (80.0±8.6) mmHg vs (77.0±8.0) mmHg; Z=4.08, 2.24, all P<0.05]. HRV indices, including the standard deviation of normal to normal interval (SDNN), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), total power (TP), low frequency (LF), and high frequency (HF), were significantly lower in the trauma group [25.3 (19.4, 30.4) me vs 36.3 (27.4, 49.0) ms, 18.3 (12.9, 27.2) me vs 26.2 (19.0, 38.5) ms, 6.0(5.4, 6.5)ms 2vs 7.0(6.3, 7.4)ms 2,4.4(3.7,5.3)ms 2vs 5.8(4.9,6.3)ms 2, 4.2(3.4, 5.2)ms 2vs 5.2(4.6, 6.1)ms 2, respectively; all P<0.001]. Spearman correlation analysis showed that childhood trauma experiences in patients with depression were positively correlated with resting systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure ( r=0.309, 0.236; P<0.01), childhood trauma was negatively correlated with HRV (SDNN, RMSSD, TP, LF, HF) ( r=-0.264, -0.274, -0.271, -0.235, -0.279; all P<0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that childhood trauma was positively correlated with resting-state systolic blood pressure and resting-state diastolic blood pressure ( β=0.305, 0.291; all P<0.001). Childhood trauma was negatively correlated with RMSSD, TP, LF, and HF( β=-0.244, -0.249, -0.233, -0.263; all P<0.01). Mediation effect analysis showed that parasympathetic activity partially mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and resting systolic blood pressure (effect size 0.04, standard error 0.02, 95% CI=0.01-0.09), accounting for 14.29% (0.04/0.28) of the total effect. Conclusion:Childhood trauma experiences are associated with elevated resting blood pressure and reduced HRV in patients with depression. Decreased parasympathetic activity partially mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and elevated resting systolic blood pressure in these patients.

Objective:To explore the effects of childhood trauma on resting blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability in patients with depression.Methods:A cross-sectional study was designed to prospectively collect clinical data on a total of 163 patients with depression, including 47 males and 116 females, aged 18-50 years,with mean[ M( Q1, Q3)] [29.0, (21.0, 37.0)]years, who were either the outpatients or the inpatients in the Mental Health Center of the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University from September 2022 to June 2024. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short form (CTQ-SF) was used to assess the experience of abuse and neglect during childhood. According to the CTQ-SF score, the subjects were divided into a trauma group ( n=80) and a non-trauma group ( n=83). The 17-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD 17) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were used to assess depressive and anxiety symptoms in the participants, respectively. A digital blood pressure monitor and an autonomic nervous system response detector were employed to measure resting blood pressure, heart rate, and heart rate variability (HRV). Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between childhood trauma and resting blood pressure, heart rate, and HRV. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to analyze factors influencing these parameters. The Bootstrap method was employed to test the potential mediating role of parasympathetic nervous system activity in the relationships between childhood trauma and resting blood pressure, and heart rate. Results:No significant difference was observed in resting heart rate between the trauma and non-trauma groups ( P>0.05). However, the trauma group exhibited higher resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure [(123.3±9.1) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa) vs(116.9±10.8) mmHg, (80.0±8.6) mmHg vs (77.0±8.0) mmHg; Z=4.08, 2.24, all P<0.05]. HRV indices, including the standard deviation of normal to normal interval (SDNN), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), total power (TP), low frequency (LF), and high frequency (HF), were significantly lower in the trauma group [25.3 (19.4, 30.4) me vs 36.3 (27.4, 49.0) ms, 18.3 (12.9, 27.2) me vs 26.2 (19.0, 38.5) ms, 6.0(5.4, 6.5)ms 2vs 7.0(6.3, 7.4)ms 2,4.4(3.7,5.3)ms 2vs 5.8(4.9,6.3)ms 2, 4.2(3.4, 5.2)ms 2vs 5.2(4.6, 6.1)ms 2, respectively; all P<0.001]. Spearman correlation analysis showed that childhood trauma experiences in patients with depression were positively correlated with resting systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure ( r=0.309, 0.236; P<0.01), childhood trauma was negatively correlated with HRV (SDNN, RMSSD, TP, LF, HF) ( r=-0.264, -0.274, -0.271, -0.235, -0.279; all P<0.01). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that childhood trauma was positively correlated with resting-state systolic blood pressure and resting-state diastolic blood pressure ( β=0.305, 0.291; all P<0.001). Childhood trauma was negatively correlated with RMSSD, TP, LF, and HF( β=-0.244, -0.249, -0.233, -0.263; all P<0.01). Mediation effect analysis showed that parasympathetic activity partially mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and resting systolic blood pressure (effect size 0.04, standard error 0.02, 95% CI=0.01-0.09), accounting for 14.29% (0.04/0.28) of the total effect. Conclusion:Childhood trauma experiences are associated with elevated resting blood pressure and reduced HRV in patients with depression. Decreased parasympathetic activity partially mediates the relationship between childhood trauma and elevated resting systolic blood pressure in these patients.