The bodies of children and adolescents who have experienced child abuse seem to be in a state of alert for too long, and this situation can affect several body systems, such as the neuroendocrine, immune, and metabolic systems. Prolonged use of this alarm response results in cumulative wear and tear on all biological systems that normally respond to stress. This is a phenomenon known as “stress.” allostatic load. Additionally, victims who have experienced more abuse of various types have also been shown to have higher rates of mental disorders.
But is it possible to identify children who are biologically more vulnerable to child abuse and the development of mental health disorders?
Now, a study was published in a magazine. Affective Disorders Journal present a methodology that may help identify the greater biological and clinical vulnerability profile of children and adolescents exposed to maltreatment. This study identified a set of biomarkers that may indicate significant wear and tear on biological systems that facilitate adaptation to the stress caused by abusive trauma.
The study is led by Lourdes Fañanas, professor at the Department of Biology at the University of Barcelona and researcher at the Institute of Biomedical Research (IBUB) and member of the CIBER Mental Health Area (CIBERSAM).
Other key experts in this study include Laia Marquez Faixa and Nerea San Martín (UB, IBUB, CIBERSAM), and Soledad Romero (Hospital Clinic, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM).
Child abuse: situations of chronic stress
Child abuse is a form of chronic stress that is particularly important from a mental health perspective because it occurs while the brain is still developing and maturing.
These experiences usually occur within the child’s familiar environment and attachment context, which can place the child in a particularly ambiguous position. In other words, children need protection, care, and bonding with the very same person who may be causing them emotional, physical, or relational harm. ”
Laia Marquez Faixa and Lourdes Fañanas, UB Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences
The study analyzed maltreatment, including psychological neglect, physical neglect, emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse, in 187 children and adolescents between the ages of 7 and 17, with and without psychiatric diagnoses. “All these experiences were analyzed cumulatively by creating an index, because in reality it has been shown that many experiences do not occur alone in a child’s life story, but rather in combination,” says Marquez Faixa, lead author of the article.
Peripheral biomarkers, the brain, and vulnerability to abuse
This study focused on identifying whether there are biological markers that may reflect greater biological vulnerability to the effects of maltreatment. To achieve this objective, a comprehensive index was designed that reflects this allostatic load through 10 biomarkers from different systems of the body, including the neuroendocrine, immune, metabolic, and anthropometric systems.
Maltreated children had a higher number of biomarkers that exceeded risk thresholds described in the general population. Additionally, a particularly beneficial combination of three biomarkers was identified: high daytime cortisol levels, elevated serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and high waist-to-height ratio (referred to in the study as AL3).
“This combination may help identify greater biological and clinical vulnerability profiles in children and adolescents exposed to maltreatment,” the authors explain.
Additionally, Fañanas says, recent research by Professor Ed Bullmore’s team at the University of Cambridge suggests that some of the association between early abuse and the brain changes detected by neuroimaging in exposed subjects may be explained by biologically mediated pathways, such as low-grade systemic inflammation as measured by C-reactive protein, or metabolic and physical factors such as body mass index or abdominal obesity.
In this regard, findings on allostatic load provide a further piece of the puzzle in understanding how early-life stress is biologically hardwired into individuals and how it is related to brain changes and mental health problems during childhood and adulthood.
In this regard, findings on allostatic load will provide more information for understanding how early life stress is biologically hardwired into individuals and how it is related to brain changes and mental health problems during childhood and adulthood.
Protecting children from child abuse
Finally, this paper reinforces the idea that child abuse is not associated with a specific psychiatric diagnosis, but should be understood as a cross-cutting vulnerability factor, since it manifests itself in the early stages of life in the form of psychological distress and, above all, in the form of difficulties in emotional, behavioral and relational control.
Although differences in outcomes between boys and girls are not clear, the authors highlight the need for research on the effects of child maltreatment on mental health from a gender perspective, especially during adolescence, which is characterized by hormonal, neuroendocrine, and physical changes.
Ensuring the safety of children and preventing abuse and neglect is the first step in combating child abuse. Early detection, family and social support, and professional psychological treatment for trauma are other measures to consider.
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Reference magazines:
Marquez Faixa, L., Others. (2026). Allostatic load as a moderator between exposure to child abuse and mental health problems in children and adolescents: A study based on the EPI_Young_Stress project. Journal of Affective Disorders. Doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2026.122108. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032726009602
