New study finds link between childhood and teenager abuse and premature death

The research was carried out over a number of years.

New research has suggested that physical and sexual abuse in childhood and teenage years could be linked to adults dying prematurely. The study was published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and looks into the "importance of providing trauma informed care for those who have experienced child abuse". Researchers examined data from 67,726 US female nurses taking part in the Nurses’ Health Study II, which first began in 1989, The Irish Times reports. These nurses were between the ages of 37-54 in 2001 when they took part in a violence victimisation questionnaire and noted experiences of physical and sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence. It then calculated the summary measures of abuse and linked these to medical records, autopsy reports or death certificates to find out ages and causes of death. Other factors such as ethnicity, parental education and profession, physical activity, diet, smoking status, alcohol intake, prescription drug use and depression were also taken into account. Over the 18 years of monitoring this, 2,410 premature deaths were found. This meant anyone under the age of 77. Nurses who had experienced abuse in childhood were found to have a higher premature death rate than those who did not. The study concluded that relative premature death rates were 53% higher and 80% higher among nurses who experienced severe physical abuse or forced sexual activity in their childhood years. It also found that those who had experienced this saw a three-fold greater risk of death due to injury, poisoning and suicide. There was a 2.4-fold greater risk due to digestive diseases. When it comes to sexual abuse, there was a 2.5-fold greater risk of death due to cardiovascular disease, a three-fold greater risk from external injury, poisoning and respiratory disease and a four-fold greater risk from suicide and digestive diseases. The researchers have now suggested that abuse during childhood and teenage years could be a trigger for biological changes such as brain development and mental health issues. "Women reporting early-life physical abuse and forced sexual activity might continue to be vulnerable to premature mortality, highlighting the importance of providing trauma informed care for those who have experienced child abuse," the researchers said. Long-term commitment to a response to this "could reduce the disturbing health consequences observed in victims of child abuse and neglect, and prevent the transmission of abuse to another generation," it concluded.

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