Socioeconomic Deprivation, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Medical Disorders in Adulthood: Mechanisms and Associations

Abstract

Severe socioeconomic deprivation (SED) and adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are significantly associated with the development in adulthood of (i) enhanced inflammatory status and/or hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunction and (ii) neurological, neuroprogressive, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The mechanisms by which these associations take place are detailed. The two sets of consequences are themselves strongly associated, with the first set likely contributing to the second. Mechanisms enabling bidirectional communication between the immune system and the brain are described, including complex signalling pathways facilitated by factors at the level of immune cells. A..