Adverse Childhood Experiences In Childhood May Do Lifelong Harm To Physical And Mental Health, Education, And Work, Research Indicates

The AP (11/5, Stobbe) reports, “U.S. health officials estimate that millions of cases of heart disease and other illnesses are linked to abuse and other physical and psychological harm suffered early in life.”

MedPage Today (11/5, Hlavinka) reports, “Of 144,017 individuals who completed a phone survey, those who reported at least four ACEs (15.6%) had a higher risk for all measured conditions, including coronary heart disease (CHD, adjusted odds ratio 1.8, 95% CI 1.3-2.1), obesity (aOR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.3), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (aOR 2.8, 95% CI 2.5-3.1),” the study found. People “with four or more ACEs were also more likely to report depression (aOR 5.3, 95% CI 4.9–5.7) and socioeconomic hardships, such as unemployment (aOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.5–2.0), compared with people who did not report ACEs,” the research revealed. The findings were published online in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.