Children who are subjected to a difficult life may end up with a higher risk of chronic illnesses than than those adults who had happier childhoods, say researchers.
As the population ages in the more developed countries, there is also an increase in illness, many of which could be prevented to a certain extent, like type 2 diabetes and some types of heart disease. While some risk factors have been identified and are being targeted, researchers are reaching as far back as they can to perhaps stop the diseases before the risk factors even begin, rather than stopping the risks once they have started.
To do this, researchers in the United Kingdom studied 1,037 people from New Zealand who were born during a one-year period between April 1972 and March 1973.
The researchers monitored the subjects for their first 10 years of life, specifically looking at three particular issues:
- poor socioeconomics
- maltreatment
- social isolation
The subjects were then assessed again when they turned 32 years old. At this time, the researchers were looking for:
- depression
- high inflammation levels in the blood (which could indicate heart disease, for example)
- high blood pressure
- abnormal cholesterol levels
- obesity
What the researchers found was that the subjects who had had more difficult childhoods also had higher levels of depression and high inflammation levels, as well as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity.
“The effects of adverse childhood experiences on age-related disease risks in adulthood were non-redundant, cumulative and independent of the influence of established developmental and concurrent risk factors,” such as family history, low birth weight or high childhood body mass index, the authors write.
Of course, parents don’t usually want their children to grow up disadvantaged and usually do what they can to raise their children’s standard of living. But this type of finding may help doctors and other healthcare professionals take these issues to heart and be more aware of the long-term impact. Other professionals may work on interventions that could help minimize the impact of a difficult childhood on adults.
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Post from: Blisstree