New study finds childhood abuse linked to higher risk for high
cholesterol as an adult
Date:
April 27, 2022
Source:
American Heart Association
Summary:
The likelihood of developing high cholesterol -- a risk factor for
heart disease and stroke -- was higher among white men and white
women who experienced abuse during childhood, according to a study
of more than 5,000 Black and white adults in the U.S. In contrast,
growing up in a well-managed household with family members who were
involved and engaged in the child's life offset the higher risk
of high cholesterol among white women and Black men who reported
abuse during childhood.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new study found risk factors for heart disease and stroke were higher
among adults who said they experienced childhood abuse and varied by
race and gender.
However, those who described their family life as well-managed and had
family members involved in their lives during childhood were less likely
to have increased cardiovascular risk factors as adults, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association,
an open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.
========================================================================== Although cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke,
is more common among older people, the risks often begin much earlier
in life.
Previous research confirms physical and psychological abuse and other
adverse experiences in childhood increase the risk of developing obesity,
Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which, in turn, increase the risk for cardiovascular diseases, as detailed in the 2018
American Heart Association Scientific Statement: Childhood and Adolescent Adversity and Cardiometabolic Outcomes.
Conversely, healthy childhood experiences -- nurturing, loving
relationships in a well-managed household, including having family
members who are involved and engaged in the child's life -- may
increase the likelihood of heart-healthy behaviors that may decrease
the cardiovascular disease risks. In this study, researchers explored
whether nurturing relationships and well-managed households may offset
the likelihood of higher cardiovascular risk factors.
"Our findings demonstrate how the negative and positive experiences
we have in childhood can have long-term cardiovascular consequences
in adulthood and define key heart disease risk disparities by race
and sex," said study lead author Liliana Aguayo, Ph.D., M.P.H., social epidemiologist and research assistant professor at Emory University's
Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta.
Researchers examined information from the Coronary Artery Risk
Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study, an ongoing, long-term
study among 5,115 Black and white adults enrolled from 1985-1986 to
2015-2016. Study enrollment occurred in four U.S. cities: Birmingham,
Alabama; Chicago; Minneapolis; and Oakland, California. More than half of
the study participants were women, and nearly half were Black adults. At
the start of the study, participants were 25 years old, on average. All participants received initial clinical examinations and eight additional examinations every few years to assess cardiovascular risks over 30 years.
At ages 33 to 45, participants completed a survey of questions to assess
areas of their family life during childhood. For this analysis, three
areas were examined:
* Abuse: how often a parent or adult in their home pushed, grabbed,
shoved
or hit them so hard that they were injured; and how often a parent
or adult in their home swore at them, insulted them or made them
feel threatened.
* Nurturing: how often a parent or adult made them feel loved,
supported or
cared for; and how often a parent or adult in the family expressed
gestures of warmth and affection.
* Household organization: did they feel the household was
well-managed, and
did their family know where they were and what they were doing
most of the time. (No definitions or criteria were provided for
the term "well- managed;" study participants were instructed to
determine if the term described their childhood family experience.) Participants were categorized based on their responses to the survey
questions:
* Roughly 30% of participants reported experiencing
"occasional/frequent
abuse," which included those who responded, "occasionally or
moderate amount of time" or "most or all of the time" to questions
related to abuse.
* About 20% of participants reported they experienced abuse "some
or little
of the time," which was categorized as "low abuse."
* About half of the participants reported no childhood abuse and
described
their family life during childhood as nurturing and well-managed.
========================================================================== Among the adults who reported experiencing abuse during childhood,
the risk of Type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol -- but not obesity and
high blood pressure -- was higher, compared to the adults who reported
no abuse in childhood. The increase in risk, however, appeared to vary depending on gender and race.
Researchers noted:
* The risk of high cholesterol was 26% higher among white women
and 35%
higher among white men who reported low levels of abuse in
childhood, compared to same sex and race adults who reported no
abuse in childhood.
* The risk of Type 2 diabetes was 81% higher among white men who
reported
occasional/frequent abuse during childhood, compared to adults
who reported no abuse in childhood.
* Black men and white women who said they experienced abuse and grew
up in
a dysfunctional household were more than 3.5 times as likely to
develop high cholesterol as those who reported no abuse during
childhood. In contrast, among people who reported growing up in
a well-managed household, the risk of high cholesterol decreased
by more than 34%.
* An unexpected finding: The risk for cardiovascular disease risk
factors
was not higher among Black women who reported experiencing abuse
in childhood.
Several limitations may have affected the study's results. This study
was a retrospective analysis of data collected in the CARDIA study
in 2015-2016; no new surveys were conducted with the CARDIA study
participants. The questionnaires about childhood family experiences were completed when the participants were adults, relying on memories, which
may include some inaccuracies or incomplete recollections. In addition, participants' BMI (body mass index), which is a measurement of weight
according to height, was recorded only in adulthood, with no data on
BMI during childhood for comparison.
"Further research is needed to better understand the potential mechanisms linking childhood abuse and family environment to higher heart disease
risk factors, as well as the impact of structural racism and social determinants of health, which likely influenced the differences we
found by race and sex," Aguayo said. "This information is critical
to strengthening cardiovascular disease prevention interventions and
policies, particularly those that focus on people who experienced abuse
or other trauma during childhood." Co-authors are Diana A. Chirinos,
Ph.D.; Nia Heard-Garris, M.D., M.Sc.; Mandy Wong, M.S.; Matthew Mason
Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P.; Sharon Stein Merkin, Ph.D., M.H.S.; Teresa Seeman, Ph.D.; and Kiarri N. Kershaw, Ph.D.
The CARDIA study is conducted and supported by the National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of
Health, in collaboration with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Northwestern University, University of Minnesota and Kaiser Foundation
Research Institute.
Dr. Aguayo was supported by the American Heart Association during the completion of this project and is currently supported by the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a division of
the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Aguayo's work was also supported in
part by a grant from the NIH-funded Emory Specialized Center of Research Excellence in Sex Differences. Dr. Heard-Garris is currently supported by
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes
of Health.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Heart_Association. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Liliana Aguayo, Diana A. Chirinos, Nia Heard‐Garris,
Mandy Wong,
Matthew M. Davis, Sharon Stein Merkin, Teresa Seeman, Kiarri
N. Kershaw.
Association of Exposure to Abuse, Nurture, and Household
Organization in Childhood With 4 Cardiovascular Disease Risks
Factors Among Participants in the CARDIA Study. Journal of the
American Heart Association, 2022; DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.121.023244 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220427100503.htm
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