Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37349303›Full record

ArticleTranslational psychiatry2023

Childhood sexual abuse is associated with higher total ghrelin serum levels in adulthood: results from a large, population-based study.

Dirk Alexander Wittekind, Jürgen Kratzsch, Roland Mergl, Kerstin Wirkner, Ronny Baber, Christian Sander, A Veronica Witte, Arno Villringer, Michael Kluge

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Translational psychiatry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 54% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Energy constraint on human health.Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM · 2026
    Review
  2. An Emerging Role for Gut-Brain Signaling Involving Ghrelin in Chronic Stress.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Dirk Alexander WittekindInstitute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany. dirkalexander.wittekind@medizin.uni-leipzig.de.ORCID 0000-0001-5349-8189
Jürgen KratzschInstitute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Roland MerglInstitute of Psychology, University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Neubiberg, Germany.
Kerstin WirknerLeipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases (LIFE), University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Ronny BaberInstitute of Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Christian SanderDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
A Veronica WitteClinic of Cognitive Neurology, University of Leipzig, and Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-9054-6688
Arno VillringerClinic of Cognitive Neurology, University of Leipzig, and Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-2604-2404
Michael KlugeDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
Leipzig University · DEMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences · DEUniversität der Bundeswehr München · DE

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) 209933838
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide hormone synthesized in times of stress and hunger and alterations of the ghrelin system following acute stressors could be repeatedly shown in humans. However, little data exists on long-term effects of trauma on the ghrelin system. We aimed to investigate the influence of childhood trauma on total ghrelin serum levels in a large, population-based study. Total serum ghrelin was measured in 1666 participants of a population-based cross-sectional study ('LIFE study'). The Childhood Trauma Screener (CTS) was used for the assessment of childhood trauma in the final sample (n = 1086; mean age: 57.10 ± 16.23 years; 632 males, 454 females). Multiple linear regression analyses and generalized linear models were chosen to examine the association between childhood trauma and total serum ghrelin concentrations. Childhood sexual abuse went along with significantly higher ghrelin serum levels in the total sample (β = 0.114, t = 3.958; p = 0.00008) and in women (β = 0.142, t = 3.115; p = 0.002), but not in men (β = 0.055; t = 1.388; p = 0.166). Women with severe emotional neglect in the childhood had higher ghrelin levels than those without (odds ratio = 1.204; p = 0.018). For the CTS Sum Score and other CTS sub-scale scores, no significant association with ghrelin serum levels was found. Our study is the first to show associations between childhood sexual trauma and total ghrelin levels in adults in a large, community-based sample. Our results should initiate further research of the role of ghrelin in human stress response in prospective study designs.

Indexed as

Child AbuseSex OffensesAdultAgedChildCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGhrelinHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesGhrelin

Identifiers

PMID37349303
PMCPMC10287627
OpenAlexW4381681882

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.