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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Heart disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia are on the rise. As age-related diseases increase in number, researchers are looking at childhood difficulties as a possible explanation.
A new study suggests psychological or social adversity during the first 10 years of life may increase future risk for disease. Study results estimate childhood experiences account for almost 32 percent of depression cases, 13 percent of cases of elevated inflammation and 32 percent of cases of clustered metabolic risk factors, which included high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol and being overweight.
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"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," study authors wrote.
Other risk factors for age-related disease accounted for in the study were family history, low birth weight and high childhood body mass index.
More than 1,000 participants were involved in the study, conducted at King's College London. Researchers looked at three key experiences within the first 10 years of life -- socioeconomic disadvantage, maltreatment and social isolation. Participants were then evaluated for three specific age-related illnesses at age 32 -- depression, elevated inflammation and cases with clustered metabolic risk factors.
"The promotion of healthy psychosocial experiences for children is a necessary and potentially cost-effective target for the prevention of age-related disease," the authors wrote.
SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA archive article, December 2009
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