About this session

Friday, 1:20 PM - 2:50 PM

Early Caregiving Adversity and Long-term Health Risks: Evidence from Human and Nonhuman Primates

Over the past three decades, a growing body of research has highlighted the lasting "biological residue" of early adverse experiences on life-long health (Miller, Chen & Parker, 2011). This symposium integrates recent findings from both human and nonhuman primate studies to offer a comprehensive perspective on the effects of early caregiving adversity on long-term physical and psychological health. Paper 1 reveals a significant association between early institutional care and high-risk allostatic load profiles (a key predictor of long-term health) in previously institutionalized (PI) adolescents and young adults, who spent their early years in orphanages before being adopted internationally into well-resourced families, 15 years after adoption. Paper 2 extends this line of research, exploring both physical and mental health outcomes linked to early caregiving adversity. It focuses on the gut-microbiome-brain axis, showing that microbes, such as Butyricimonas, are associated with internalizing symptoms in adolescents with a history of caregiving adversity (e.g., maltreatment leading to foster care or adoption). The study also identifies diet as a potential target for youth mental health interventions. Paper 3 provides causal evidence from a nonhuman primate model, demonstrating that experimentally assigned nursery-rearing, a form of disrupted attachment, results in differential biological and psychological hallmarks of adult health (e.g., imbalanced metabolites, variable associations between epigenetic age and physical health, and acquired social status) in rhesus macaques. By integrating evidence across age and species, the symposium sheds light on how early adverse caregiving experiences influence health outcomes, informing potential intervention strategies and policies for children’s long-term health.

Paper #1
Title	Institutional Care Was Associated with High-risk Allostatic Load Profile in Adolescents 15 Years after Adoption
Presenting author	Danruo Zhong, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, U.S.

Paper #2
Title	Youth Exposed to Caregiving Adversity Exhibit Altered Associations Between Diet and the Gut-Microbiome-Brain Axis
Presenting author	Naomi Gancz, University of California, Los Angeles, U.S.

Paper #3
Title	Lifelong Health Impacts of Early Life Adversity: Evidence from Nonhuman Primates
Presenting author	Dr. Amanda Dettmer, Yale University, U.S.

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Session chair
Danruo Zhong, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, U.S.

Discussant
Katherine Ehrlich, University of Georgia, U.S.

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