Childhood neglect associated with stroke, COPD and more

Black and white photo of a depressed child sitting on a worn sidewalk.

Childhood neglect — even if it doesn’t include physical or sexual abuse — is linked with a wide range of mental and physical health problems in adulthood, including stroke, asthma and COPD. That’s according to new research from the University of Toronto published in Child Abuse & Neglect.

“While a large body of research has established the detrimental impact of childhood physical and sexual abuse on adult health outcomes, much less is known about whether neglect, in the absence of abuse, has similar negative outcomes,” said first author Linxiao Zhang, a PhD student at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW) at the University of Toronto, in a news release. “Our research underlines the importance of health professionals documenting whether their patients have a history of neglect in addition to other childhood adversities.”

The study used a large, representative sample of more than 41,000 adults drawn from the 2021 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. Researchers found significant associations between childhood neglect and numerous health problems in adults when controlling for age, sex and race.

The authors also found that the relationship between childhood neglect and adverse health incomes was largely reduced when controlling for two key factors: adult socioeconomic status and the presence of a supportive adult in childhood.

“It appears that neglected children who manage to remain in school longer and have a reasonable income in adulthood are considerably less vulnerable to health problems in later life than neglected children who are less educated and less financially secure in their adult years,” said co-author Andie MacNeil, a PhD student at the University of Toronto’s FIFSW.

The researchers said they are hopeful that the findings of the study will help support the well-being of survivors of childhood neglect by finding new pathways to treatment.

“Although there are still significant health disparities between those with and without a history of neglect, our findings highlight potential ways forward to help promote better health outcomes among survivors of neglect,” said senior author Esme Fuller-Thomson, PhD, MSW, a professor at FIFSW and director of the Institute for Life Course and Aging at the University of Toronto. “These findings emphasize the importance of mentoring interventions and other community-based supports that may promote feelings of safety and trust among neglected children, and to ensure neglected children have the resources and encouragement to remain in school as long as possible.”

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