All Publications
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Early Adversity Imprints Multisystem Biological Aging: A Longitudinal Study of Adversity Dimensions and Aging Phenotypes Across Adolescence.
Biological psychiatry global open science
2026; 6 (5): 100782
Abstract
Early-life stress (ELS) is associated with accelerated biological aging; however, it is unclear whether dimensions of adversity such as threat and deprivation produce distinct multisystem aging phenotypes. Here we characterize, for the first time, the multivariate copatterning of stress dimensions and aging biomarkers and examine whether such phenotypes predict psychopathology 6 years later.In a longitudinal sample (N = 225; ages 9-13; 58.7% female) studied across 4 waves (approximately 6 years), 16 measures of stress exposure were reduced via principal component analysis to 3 orthogonal dimensions: cumulative stress & trauma, low parental support, and neighborhood disadvantage. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) related these dimensions to baseline levels and developmental trajectories of 6 aging biomarkers (mitochondrial DNA [mtDNA], telomere length, cortisol, body mass index [BMI], pubertal stage, and brain age gap). Canonical variate (CV) scores predicted internalizing, externalizing, and total problems in late adolescence (n = 142).CCA identified 2 significant CVs at baseline. CV1 linked deprivation-related stress (low parental support/neighborhood disadvantage) to a cellular-metabolic aging profile (higher BMI, older brain age, and lower mtDNA) (r = 0.39, p < .001). CV2 linked cumulative stress and trauma to a threat-responsive neuroendocrine maturation profile (earlier pubertal stage, higher cortisol, higher BMI, and higher mtDNA) (r = 0.24, p = .003). ELS was not associated with biomarker trajectories (ps > .20), consistent with early embedding. Only the threat phenotype (CV2) predicted psychopathology (β = 6.98, p = .004, R 2 = 0.12).ELS is biologically embedded along adversity type-specific pathways detectable by late childhood, supporting a developmental imprinting model. A threat-related multisystem aging phenotype conferred transdiagnostic psychiatric risk in late adolescence, pointing to pre-adolescent development as an important window for prevention.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2026.100782
View details for PubMedID 42602875
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC13475218
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In Utero PFAS Exposure, Inflammation, and Behavioral Problems in Childhood.
Environmental research
2026: 125260
Abstract
Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has been posited to be harmful for neurodevelopment; however, researchers have not yet examined its influence on behavioral problems longitudinally across childhood or the immunological underpinnings of these links.This birth-cohort study followed 264 Singaporean mother-infant dyads from the prenatal period to 10.5 years post-delivery. Concentrations of 9 PFAS and 3 inflammatory markers were assayed from umbilical cord blood. Internalizing and externalizing problems were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist when children were ages 2, 3, 4, 7, and 10.5 years. Linear mixed effect models estimated the associations of PFAS with children's internalizing and externalizing problems as children aged. For the PFAS that were significantly associated with children's behavioral problems, we tested whether levels of inflammatory cytokines statistically mediated the associations.Higher cord blood concentrations of PFNA, PFDA and PFUnDA were associated with more severe internalizing problems at 2 years of age (PFNA: B = 1.65 [0.60, 2.71]; PFDA: B = 1.85 [0.81, 2.89]; PFUnDA: B = 1.26 [0.27, 2.25]). Two of these associations (PFNA, PFDA) weakened significantly as children aged (PFNA: B = -0.26 [-0.44, -0.08]; PFDA: B = -0.35 [-0.52, -0.17]). Higher levels of cord blood interleukin (IL)-6 mediated the association of PFNA with internalizing problems (B = 0.25 [0.01, 0.58]).Greater in utero exposure to three types of PFAS was related to more severe internalizing problems from two to four years of age, with associations attenuated after 7 years of age. Inflammation may be one pathway through which PFAS influence development, although replication is warranted.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.envres.2026.125260
View details for PubMedID 42457111
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Trajectories of internalizing problems during and after the COVID-19 pandemic: The effects of sex and early life stress.
Journal of affective disorders
2026; 412: 122089
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns had a detrimental impact on adolescent mental health, exacerbating levels of emotional difficulties that were already increasing in this population. The course of these difficulties after lockdown protocols ended, however, is not fully understood. Further, the effects of early life stress (ELS) and biological sex on mental health during and following the pandemic are also not clear. This study leverages data from a longitudinal project examining adolescent mental health that predates the pandemic. Internalizing problems were assessed in 222 children (58.6% females) ages 9-13 years at recruitment (baseline; 2013-2016) and at four more timepoints, each approximately two years apart. Participants also completed an interview assessing ELS at baseline. We assessed internalizing problems across each phase of the pandemic (i.e., pre-COVID, during the COVID lockdown, after reopening) as a function of ELS and biological sex. We found that whereas unpredictability-related ELS was associated with internalizing problems in girls across all COVID phases, the association between threat-related ELS and internalizing problems from pre-lockdown to post-reopening decreased in girls and increased in boys. Further, threat-related ELS was associated with post-reopening internalizing problems in boys through lower adaptability. Sensitivity analysis showed that the attenuation of the threat-internalizing association in girls and strengthening of the association in boys was not due to aging. Collectively, these findings suggest that there are sex- and ELS-specific changes in psychological functioning in relation to the pandemic. Further research is needed to better understand mechanisms that foster risk or resilience following stress exposure.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2026.122089
View details for PubMedID 42250611
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Changes in Subjective Social Status From Early to Late Adolescence: Implications for Mental and Physical Health.
The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
2026
Abstract
Despite consistent connections between subjective social status (SSS) and adult mental and physical health, few studies have examined how SSS changes from early to late adolescence and how it influences health over this period.In this four-wave longitudinal study, we assessed 221 youth (aged 9-13 years at baseline) every 2 years, measuring SSS and indicators of mental health (symptoms of depression and anxiety) and physical health (body mass index [BMI] and caregiver-rated health). Linear mixed models estimated the longitudinal trajectory of SSS across the study period and tested whether changes in SSS were associated with changes in health. In addition, models evaluated how individual differences in SSS and health changed over time.Youths' SSS declined significantly from early to late adolescence (b = -.13, p = .007). Decreases in SSS over time were associated with increases in symptoms of depression (b = -.31, p < .001) and anxiety (b = -1.96, p < .001), and with increases in BMI (b = -.30, p = .002). Between-person analyses indicated that higher SSS was associated with fewer depressive and anxious symptoms (b = -0.30, p < .001; b = -1.50, p < .001) and with lower BMI (b = -.21, p = .01), but was not related to caregiver-rated physical health. Associations of SSS with depressive symptoms became stronger across adolescence; in contrast, associations of SSS with anxiety and BMI were stable.Our findings underscore the importance of adolescence as a period during which perceptions of socioeconomic position change, with significant implications for mental and physical health.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2026.01.012
View details for PubMedID 41823921
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The effects of daily air pollution on affect in adolescents: An ecological momentary assessment study.
Journal of affective disorders
2026; 403: 121502
Abstract
Air pollution is a global threat to health and is particularly harmful to adolescents. To date, however, our understanding of the immediate effects of air pollution on adolescents' emotional functioning is limited. In this ecological momentary assessment study, we assessed daily levels of air quality across a two-week period in 158 adolescents (MAge = 16.1 years) in the San Francisco Bay Area. Adolescents reported on their levels of positive and negative affect and their experiences of stress three times per day, resulting in 4113 observations. We examined associations of daily levels of four major air pollutants (carbon monoxide [CO], nitrogen dioxide [NO2], ozone [O3], and particulate matter <2.5 μm [PM2.5]) with adolescents' same- and next-day ratings of the levels of their affect, the lability of their affect, and their affective reactivity to reported stressors. We found that on days with higher levels of NO2 and O3, adolescents reported lower levels of positive affect. On both the same and the following day, higher levels of O3 were associated with greater lability of positive affect, and higher levels of CO and PM2.5 were associated with greater lability of both positive and negative affect. Finally, on days with higher CO and PM2.5, as well as on the following day, adolescents reported having more negative affect after experiencing stressful situations. These findings elucidate the effects of different forms of air pollution on daily emotional functioning in adolescents and underscore the need to identify mechanistic pathways that might mediate these associations.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2026.121502
View details for PubMedID 41740753