- Strong biological link for how negative early life experiences affect physical health
- Can even lead to cardiovascular disease
The effects of childhood abuse and
lack of parental affection can last a lifetime, taking a toll both
emotionally and physically, reveals a new study.
A new UCLA-led study for the first
time examines the effects of abuse and lack of parental affection
across the body’s entire regulatory system.
The study, published online by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found a
strong biological link for how negative early life experiences affect
physical health and can even lead to cardiovascular disease.
A
new study has revealed that the effects of childhood abuse and lack of
parental affection can last a lifetime, taking a toll both emotionally
and physically
However, it’s not all bad
news. ‘Our findings suggest that there may be a way to reduce the impact
abuse has, at least in terms of physical health,” said Judith E.
Carroll, a research scientist at the Cousins Center for
Psychoneuroimmunology at UCLA, and the study’s lead author.
‘If the child has love from
parental figures they may be more protected from the impact of abuse on
adult biological risk for health problems than those who don’t have that
loving adult in their life.’
The researchers studied 756 adults
who had participated in a study called Coronary Artery Risk Development
in Young Adults (CARDIA).
They measured 18 biological
markers of health risk, such as blood pressure, heart rate, stress
hormone, cholesterol, waist circumference, inflammation, and blood sugar
regulation, and analysed if they were at higher biological risk for
disease.
To determine the study subjects’
childhood stress the researchers used a self-report scale called the
Risky Families Questionnaire.
The study found a significant link between reports of childhood abuse and multisystem health risks
They found a significant link
between reports of childhood abuse and multisystem health risks, but
those who reported higher amounts of parental warmth and affection in
their childhood had lower multisystem health risks.
The researchers also found a
significant interaction of abuse and warmth, so that individuals
reporting low levels of love and affection and high levels of abuse in
childhood had the highest multisystem risk in adulthood.
‘Our findings
highlight the extent to which these early childhood experiences are
associated with evidence of increased biological risks across nearly all
of the body’s major regulatory systems,’ said Teresa Seeman, professor
of medicine in the division of geriatrics at the David Geffen School of
Medicine and of epidemiology at the Fielding School of Public Health at
UCLA, and the paper’s senior author.
‘If we only look at individual
biological parameters such as blood pressure or cholesterol, we would
miss the fact that the early childhood experiences are related to a much
broader set of biological risk indicators – suggesting the range of
health risks that may result from such adverse childhood exposures.’
The authors note that the findings used information provided by the participants, so there may be some recall bias.
Also, the analysis may not have
captured other factors affecting regulatory systems, such as poor
nutrition or environmental pollution.
But the findings suggest that parental warmth and affection protect one against the harmful effects of toxic childhood stress.
Also, the lingering effects of
childhood abuse can be linked to age-related diseases such as
cardiovascular disease. Among other things, this could have an effect on
long-term health care costs.
‘It is our hope that this will encourage public policy support for early interventions,’ Carroll said.
‘If we intervene early in risky
families and at places that provide care for children by educating and
training parents, teachers, and other caregivers in how to provide a
loving and nurturing environment, we may also improve the long term
health trajectories of those kids.’
The lingering effects of childhood abuse can be linked to age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease
A
new study has revealed that the effects of childhood abuse and lack of
parental affection can last a lifetime, taking a toll both emotionally
and physicallyThe study found a significant link between reports of childhood abuse and multisystem health risksThe lingering effects of childhood abuse can be linked to age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease