Inflammatory parameters in sexually abused children

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether serum levels of cortisol, interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 differed between children with or without a sexual trauma. METHODS: This descriptive study was conducted in the Department of Child Protective Service (CPS), Bursa Yuksek Ihtisas Training and Research Hospital, Bursa, Turkey, between May 2016 and July 2016. Three different markers (cortisol, interleukin-6 and interleukin-10) were used to perform this experiment. We included 17 children age less than 18 years old and sexually abused, and 10 children who were not abused as a control group. The levels of cortisol, interleukin-6, and interleukin-10 were measured in blood samples using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The results of the experiment were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The findings indicate that serum levels of interleukin-6 were higher in the sexually abused children compared with the control group (p=0.002). There were no significant differences in the serum levels of cortisol (p=0.604) and interleukin-10 (p=0.835) between the sexually abused children and the control group. CONCLUSION: No significant differences were seen between the patients with or without sexual assault in terms of cortisol and IL-10 levels. It is found that in age-matched controls, SAC had higher IL-6 levels.