Early-life stress and depression were linked with varied stress-system activity
Across reviewed studies, people with depression and early-life stress showed both higher and lower activity in the biological stress system examined, rather than a uniform pattern.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review links depression and early-life stress with differences in activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, or HPA axis. Activity was sometimes higher and sometimes lower, so the findings do not identify a uniform biological pattern. The abstract does not establish that these measurements predict depression or guide treatment.
The abstract reports neither effect sizes nor a summary of study-quality ratings, despite assessing quality. Without details of individual populations, measurements and follow-up, the strength and timing of the reported associations remain difficult to judge.
How activity was assessed
Studies measured activity under everyday conditions, used functional tests or applied psychosocial stress tests. These are different ways of examining the same system, and the abstract presents their findings together without a common numerical estimate.
Why the comparison groups matter
Unusual activity was reported in depressed participants with early-life stress and in comparison participants who had experienced abuse. This broadens the association beyond depression alone, but does not establish which experiences caused the measured differences.
The original publication
The impact of early life stress on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in unipolar major depression: A systematic review.
Jiang L, Xue L, Juruena MF
Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40967014
- Record checked
AI-assisted research and writing. This explains one selected publication; it is not a complete review of everything known. Our approach.
One more question, understood.
Keep track of the research you’ve explored.