Early family life stress raises psoriasis risk

New longitudinal research reveals that severe stress caused by changes in family structure—such as divorce or separation—experienced during the first year of life may triple the risk of developing psoriasis later in life. The results of the study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, emphasize the need to protect young children from stressful life factors that threaten their security and emotional well-being.

According to a press release, this is the first study to investigate early childhood stress in relation to psoriasis. Previous studies had focused on stress just prior to the diagnosis of psoriasis.

Using data on 17,055 children participating in the longitudinal All Babies in Southeast Sweden large birth cohort study, researchers tracked stressful life factors at ages 1, 3, 5, and 8 years. They identified 121 participants who were later diagnosed with psoriasis. The most significant finding was that changes in family structure during the first year of life increased the risk of developing psoriasis later in life by threefold.

“Changes in family structure like divorce or separation of parents, death in the family, and/or new adult or new/step siblings leading to an acute sense of insecurity and fear for the young child, seems to make the child extra vulnerable when it happens in the first year of life,” said lead investigator of the study Johnny Ludvigsson, MD, PhD, in the release. “This fits with the knowledge that very young individuals seem to be more vulnerable to the immunomodulatory effects of stressful life factors than older children and adults.” Dr. Ludvigsson is Professor Emeritus in the Division of Pediatrics, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, at Linköping University in Sweden.

“The reason for the effects may be that these factors lead to a defence response that includes increased cortisol concentrations, which in turn influence the immune system.”

The researchers note that the cohort is limited to a population with low diversity and heterogeneity in southeast Sweden, so caution should be exercised before generalizing results.

“Our results show—to our knowledge—a previously unreported fact that very stressful life factors early in life influence the immune system and increase the risk for autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis,” said Dr. Ludvigsson. “There is no simple advice to avoid these factors, but everything that can be done should be done to protect young children from stressful life factors that threaten their security and emotional well-being.”