Urinary free cortisol and childhood trauma in cocaine dependent adults

Objective: To examine whether childhood trauma may have a relationship to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function as an adult. Methods: Forty-six withdrawn cocaine dependent patients participated in 24-h urine collections for determination of urinary-free cortisol (UFC) and completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Results: Patients with a mean UFC output below the median had significantly higher CTQ scores for childhood sexual abuse than patients with UFC outputs above the median. Multiple regression analysis showed that both childhood emotional neglect and sexual abuse were independently associated with UFC outputs. Conclusion: These cross sectional data, in a sample of middle-aged cocaine dependent patients. suggest the possibility that childhood trauma may have an effect on HPA axis function and thus predispose to psychiatric disorders. Further studies are needed in different samples. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.