Children who are frequently abused by a parent have a higher risk of cancer in adulthood. The new study from researchers at Purdue University, published online in the Journal of Aging and Health, reveals that the effects are particularly significant when mothers abuse their daughters and fathers abuse their sons.
Kenneth Ferraro,distinguished professor of sociology and director of Purdue’s Center on Aging and the Life Course commented:
“People often say that children are resilient and they’ll bounce back, but we found that there are events that can have long-term consequences on adult health. In this case, people who were frequently emotionally or physically abused by their parents were more likely to have cancer in adulthood, and the link was greater when fathers abused sons and mothers abused daughters. Overall, the more frequent and intense the abuse, the more it elevated the cancer risk. We would like to see child abuse noted as an environmental factor that can increase cancer occurrence in adulthood. More research on this topic also could help mediate the effects or improve interventions to help abused children.”
Morton, a member in Ferraro’s team, explained: “We started examining a variety of childhood misfortunes, including abuse, and when these were all combined, we found that men with the most stressors during childhood were more likely to develop cancer. Second, we found that when children were abused by their same-sex parent, it increased their cancer risk.”
The researchers are uncertain as to why this is, although they hypothesize that it could be due to the impact of a stronger social bond between same-sex children and parents.
Morton continues:
“Other studies have shown that if a mother smokes, the daughter is more likely to smoke, and the same relationship is found when sons mirror their father’s behavior. More research is needed, but another possibility is that men may be more likely to physically abuse their sons, and mothers are more likely to physically abuse their daughters.”
The team used data from 2,101 adults obtained from two waves of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States to examine whether childhood misfortunes, such as poverty, loss of parent and family educational status are associated with cancer in adulthood.
Their first analysis showed that unlike women, men who experienced the most cumulative stressors as a child tend to have a higher risk of cancer. The finding indicates that different genders may have different responses to childhood stressors.
During the assessment each category of misfortune in the second analysis, the researchers discovered an association between child abuse and cancer in adulthood. The team notes that the participants were not directly asked if they were abused, instead, they defined abuse by survey answers to questions that involved certain types of behavior and the frequency of that behavior. These included how frequently a parent, sibling or other person refused to talk them, insulted or swore at them as a child, threatened to hit, push, grab or shove them, threw something at them, kicked, bit or hit them with a fist, choked them, or burned or scalded them.
The researchers note that after adjusting for variables, such as adult’s age, lifestyle and economic status, the results remained unchanged. However, they point out that they would like to conduct a closer examination of these mechanisms.
Ferraro declared: “It also is likely that the effect between child abuse and cancer is underrepresented in our study, because people who suffered abuse and were then incarcerated, placed in a mental institution or died were not included in this survey of adults. These groups may represent people with more acute and severe effects from abuse, and even though they are omitted, we still find a link.”
The team is currently investigating potential links between child abuse and other health outcomes, such as different types of cancer and heart attacks.
Morton concludes: “The connection between negative childhood events and mental health is accepted, and these findings reinforce that such events can also have a long-lasting effect on a person’s physical health. It’s shocking just how much the damage sticks, and it is a reminder that childhood, which is defined by rapidly changing biological systems, is a sensitive period of development.”
Written by Petra Rattue