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Observational Study
. 2025 Apr 3;25(1):329.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-06764-w.

Effects of childhood trauma on depression and cognitive function in first-diagnosed, drug-naïve depressed patients: an observational case-control study

Ning Zhao  1 , Mimi Tang  2   3 , Lu Wang  4   5   6 , Ting Liu  2   3 , Tingyu Zhao  2   3 , Kaiqiang Xie  2   3 , Ying Xue  7   8 , Weiwei Zeng  9
Affiliations
Observational Study

Effects of childhood trauma on depression and cognitive function in first-diagnosed, drug-naïve depressed patients: an observational case-control study

Ning Zhao et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Childhood trauma is associated with development of depression, yet a comprehensive investigation into the relationship between childhood trauma and depression severity, as well as cognitive impairment and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) levels remains to be fully explored.

Methods: A total of 97 patients undergoing first-diagnosed, drug-naïve depression and 60 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this study. The evaluation included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Hamilton depression scale (HAMD), Hamilton anxiety scale (HAMA), Beck depression inventory (BDI), Self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), Repeatable battery for the assessment of neuropsychological status (RBANS) scores and n-3 PUFAs levels.

Results: Emotional abuse (p < 0.000), sexual abuse (p = 0.002) and CTQ total scores (p = 0.001) were significantly higher in first-diagnosed, drug-naïve depressed patients compared to healthy controls. Additionally, depressed patients with a history of childhood trauma exhibited higher scores on HAMA (p = 0.043), SAS (p = 0.009) and BDI (p = 0.032), along with lower eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) levels (p = 0.025). Subsequent analysis revealed positive correlations between CTQ total score and HAMA (p = 0.0389), SAS (p = 0.0112), HAMD (p = 0.0398) and BDI scores (p = 0.0323), and negative correlations with EPA level (p = -0.2843) and delayed memory (p = 0.0444), as determined by Pearson correlation analysis.

Conclusions: We report for the first time that first-diagnosed drug-naïve patients experienced more severe childhood trauma than healthy controls. Furthermore, depressed individuals with a history of childhood trauma exhibited more pronounced clinical characteristics of depression and lower level of EPA. Notably, childhood trauma was associated with depression severity, delayed memory impairment and lower EPA levels.

Keywords: Childhood trauma; Childhood trauma questionnaire; Cognitive function; Major depressive disorder; N-3 PUFAs.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (MDD201610). Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable in this section. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Correlations between CTQ total score and depression and anxiety questionnaire scores in patients with first-diagnosed drug-naïve depression * significantly association with CTQ total scores, * p<0.05
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Correlations between CTQ total score and n-3 PUFAs levels in patients with first-diagnosed drug-naïve depression * significantly association with CTQ total scores, * p<0.05
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Correlations between CTQ total score and cognitive function in patients with first-diagnosed drug-naïve depression * significantly association with CTQ total scores, * p<0.05
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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