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Authors Michelle Kelly-Irving, Benoit Lepage, Dominique Dedieu, Mel
Bartley, David Blane, Pascale Grosclaude, Thierry Lang, Cyrille
Delpierre
Published by European Journal of Epidemiology, July 2013
SUMMARY
Researchers from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, in collaboration with colleagues from University College London, studied whether those who suffered abuse, maltreatment or trauma during early childhood were more likely to die before the age of 50 than those who had not. They wanted to test a theory that experiences causing stress during sensitive periods of rapid cognitive and neurological development could be linked to early death.
Their report, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Premature All-cause Mortality, studied data from more than 15,000 people (7,816 men and 7,405 women) and compared premature death rates to experiences of adversity at ages seven, 11 and 16.
Adverse experiences included spending time in care, suffering from neglect, parental separation, having a family member who was an alcoholic or having a family member in prison.
Of the men and women studied, 70 per cent were judged as having "no adversities", 22 per cent had "one adversity" and eight per cent had "two or more adversities".
Data was drawn from the 1958 National Child Development Study, which included all live births during one week in 1958 in Great Britain. Subsequent data collection took place at various times, with the last in 2008 when the participants were 50 years old.
The researchers looked at many other factors that might have had an impact on the development of children in the study, including variables such as parental social class, housing, birth weight and the results of childhood medical examinations.
The report authors concluded that women who had suffered one negative experience by age 16 were 66 per cent more likely to die before the age of 50 than those who had not faced any adversity.
Women who had two or more adverse experiences in childhood had an 80 per cent increased risk of premature death.
Men who had suffered two or more traumatic events in childhood were 57 per cent more likely to die by the time they were 50 than those who had not experienced any adversity growing up.
The association between childhood adversity and premature death remained even after taking into account factors such as education level and social class, alcohol and tobacco use, along with psychological problems in early adulthood.
According to the researchers, traumatic experiences in early life can be seen as the first step on a pathway to adult ill-health and early death, such as the development of addictions and risky behaviours.
But they say another possible interpretation of their results is that early stress can also have an impact on the physical development of the brain and body - for example, negatively affecting the development of the immune system.
This has a negative impact on how people react to various situations in their adult life, and could also be a factor in the development of damaging health behaviours such as alcohol abuse.
The authors believe this is the first study to link the risk of early death to experiences of adversity recorded during childhood, rather than relying on adult recollections of early life experiences.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
The authors say this research shows children experiencing severe adversities must be supported early in life to ensure better health in the older population.
The government released a "call to action" earlier this year, Living Well for Longer, which talked about focusing on "risk factors" such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity and poor diet, but did not mention a specific focus on children suffering neglect, abuse or other trauma.
FURTHER READING
The 1958 National Child Development Study. This website contains information about the cohort, a history of the study and a bibliography of more than 1,000 published journal articles, books, chapters, reports and conference presentations based on its data.
Early Adversity and Adult Health Outcomes, Shelley Taylor, Baldwin Way and Teresa Seeman, Development and Psychopathology, August 2011. This paper looks at the sometimes surprising effects adversity in childhood has on mental and physical health, not only in childhood, but throughout a person's life.
Effects of Stress Throughout the Lifespan on the Brain, Behaviour and Cognition, Sonia Lupien, Bruce McEwen, Megan Gunnar, Christine Heim, Nature Reviews Neuroscience, June 2009. This paper looks at the impact of chronic exposure to stress hormones on brain structures involved in cognition and mental health.
