Childhood adversity is a major risk factor for life-time various psychiatric disorders. The vulnerability for psychiatric disorders appears to be modulated by cognitive reserve (CR).

We wanted to examine the impact of childhood adversity on lifetime suicidal behavior and major depression and its modulation by education, a CR proxy.

1494 non-institutionalized individuals without dementia from a cohort of community-dwelling persons aged over 65 years (the ESPRIT study) were randomly selected from electoral rolls and rated for childhood adversity (e.g., emotional abuse and neglect). Life-time major depression and suicidal behavior were assessed according to DSM-IV criteria.

Exposure to adversity in childhood increased the risk of life-time suicidal behavior and major depression (p< 0.0001 OR=1.75 [1.34-2.28]) but there was no significant effect of education alone (p=0.276). Subjects with a low level of education were observed to be at higher risk (p< 0.005; OR=2.19 [1.26-3.80]) and subjects with the higher level of education showed a non significant risk (p=0.244).

Our results suggest high education level as a protective factor to counteract the effects of childhood adversity on the onset of mental disorders in adulthood.