October 28, 2010
Researchers have found a link between childhood abuse and health adversity and decreased lifespans in adulthood.
Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Ohio State University and Ronald Glaser, director of the Institute of Behavioral Medicine Research, partnered to conduct this research. Looking at 132 healthy older adults who averaged 70 years old, they used a questionnaire assessment and took blood samples from each person measuring the levels of two cytokines known to be stress markers – interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF).
From the blood samples they were able to measure the lengths of telomeres, bits of DNA on the ends of chromosomes. Shortened telomeres have been associated with aging, death, and age-related diseases among the elderly. Those participants who had experienced two or more kinds of childhood adversity had telomeres significantly shorter than those who had not.
Participants who said they’d either been abused or suffered adverse experiences as kids showed higher levels of IL-6 than did those who didn’t. The inflammation caused by high levels of IL-6 have been linked to health problems such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, cancers and Alzheimer’s disease.
Also, interestingly, participants in the study who reported being abused showed greater levels of depression than those who weren’t. But those who faced childhood adversity showed no significant increase in depression.