An abused or neglected child is much more likely to develop ischemic heart disease as an adult, according to a study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
The study is the first to suggest that ischemic heart disease in adulthood may be a possible long-term consequence of childhood trauma.
Adults who reported that they experienced emotional, physical or sexual abuse, emotional or physical neglect, or household dysfunction including incarceration, substance abuse, mental illness, or domestic violence had a 30 percent to 70 percent higher risk of developing ischemic heart disease than people who did not report these adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Of the 10 childhood experiences investigated, only marital discord – divorce or separation of parents – had no impact on heart disease risk.
Adults who reported seven or more types of adverse childhood experiences “were more than three times as likely as persons with no ACEs to report an ischemic heart disease,” said the study’s lead author Maxia Dong, M.D., Ph.D., a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
As the number of ACEs increased so did the risk of heart disease, suggesting “a dose-response relationship,” she said. A stressful childhood also increased the likelihood of adult adverse risk behaviors such as smoking, drug abuse, and inactivity as well as a greater likelihood of diabetes, obesity and hypertension. Those adverse risk behaviors may also contribute to the increased risk of heart disease.
“Notably, the prevalence of depression and anger was increased two- to three-fold among people with four or more ACEs compared to those with no ACEs,” she said. “This was similar for diabetes and hypertension.”
The relationship between childhood trauma and heart disease is mediated substantially by both traditional and psychological factors. When traditional and psychological risk factors were included in the analysis, the influence of ACE weakened by 50 percent to 100 percent, yet “graded relation between the ACE score and the likelihood of ischemic heart disease remained significant.”