Undoing The Harm Of Childhood Trauma And Adversity
Home > UCSF News Center > Undoing the Harm of Childhood Trauma and Adversity Undoing the Harm of Childhood Trauma and Adversity Tom Boyce, MD, chief of UCSFs Division of Behavioral Pediatrics, speaks with patient Lucas Asbury, 7, at the UCSF Ron Conway Family Gateway Medical Building. Boyce began studying psychological stress as a disease risk factor in children nearly 40 years ago. Photo by Noah Berger Adversity experienced during a persons childhood has far-reaching consequences. Years of research have shown that trauma and adverse events in childhood can put a person at an elevated risk for a wide range of physical and mental health problems across their life span. But the scope and significance of that impact and how to reverse it is just beginning to come into focus. The number of children under the age of 18 who have experienced trauma and are at risk for health problems is staggering: About two-thirds of kids have experienced at least one major traumatic event in their lives and one-third have experienced two or more, according to a 2007 study . The idea that adversity increases the risk of disease later in life is generally acknowledged in the medical community, said Tom Boyce , MD, the Lisa and John Pritzker Distinguished Professor in Developmental and Behavioral Health at UC San Francisco, who began studying psychological stress as a disease risk factor in children nearly 40 years ago. Now health professionals and researchers are working to understand the psychological and biological connections between adverse events and trauma on health and what to do to interrupt those effects. Connecting Adverse Events, Health Effects Nearly two decades ago, the connection between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and long-lasting health effects was thrust into the spo Continue reading >>
#5 Stress, Trauma And Type 1 Diabetes: Top 7 Reasons We (mistakenly) Dismiss Links
Can stress or trauma cause type 1 diabetes? Or trigger onset? Answers are rarely found despite observed links between stress, trauma and type 1 diabetes (T1D) for over 2000 years. I received an email from Teri in Illinois with this very question while writing this post, I just read your post [about how trauma is making sense of your chronic illness]. I do not know how I found you, but am so grateful. My Son was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2011 at 13 years old. Previous to his diagnosis he had a few situations which made me question over the years, what in the world was going on with him. He also was diagnosed with anxiety at age 4 and I was given information on ADHD/ADD and needed to bring him for testing at that time for an early intervention program, which he did not test “low” enough for. At the time he was diagnosed, I looked directly at the endocrinologist and asked if this diagnosis could have had anything to do with stress. She said no. Every endo since this time has said no, even though we know full well cortisol levels and stress have affected his blood sugar levels all along and certainly do to this day. Thank you for confirming there are studies out there for one. But even more so, thank you for sharing your story and putting it in black and white for us. We have known this for years, but it is hard to feel as if you are the only ones who do. Research in T1D and disciplines as diverse as neurophysiology, nervous system development, brain plasticity, epigenetics, child development, attachment, and traumatic stress suggest the answers to Teri’s second question is Yes, trauma can trigger onset of T1D and Yes, trauma contributes to the cause and development of T1D. This article is part of my discovery series presenting research I never knew as an MD. Continue reading >>
Childhood Trauma May Raise Risk Of Type 1 Diabetes
(Reuters Health) - Traumatic events during childhood may increase kids’ risk of developing type 1 diabetes, a Swedish study suggests. The researchers questioned more than 10,000 families and found that children who experienced an extremely stressful life event – like divorce, illness or death in the family – were about three times more likely to develop type 1 diabetes. The link doesn’t prove trauma causes diabetes, but it does raise the possibility that mental health care or stress reduction could play a role in prevention, researchers said. “We know that there are connections between the brain and immune system, and it is not surprising that psychological trauma can influence the immune balance and contribute to abnormal reactions” including the development of type 1 diabetes, study coauthor Dr. Johnny Ludvigsson, a pediatrics researcher at Linkoping University in Sweden, said by email. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the pancreas stops making insulin, a hormone that helps cells use sugar for energy. When the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, called beta cells, diabetes occurs. Thousands of people worldwide are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each year. Millions have the more common form of the disease, known as type 2, which is linked to obesity and advanced age and does not involve destruction of beta cells. Ludvigsson and colleagues invited all families in southeast Sweden with babies born between October 1997 and September 1999 to complete questionnaires distributed during routine physicals and by mail. The researchers found that a serious traumatic event during the first 14 years of life increased the risk of type 1 diabetes, even after taking into account the family history for any form of di Continue reading >>
Early Trauma 'triples' Risk Of Type 1 Diabetes - The Diabetes Times
A traumatic event during childhoodcan triple the risk of subsequently developing Type 1 diabetes, researchers haveconcluded. A new study from Sweden published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) showedserious life events in childhood, such as death or illness in the family, divorce or separation, a new child or adult in the family or conflicts in the family increase the chances of getting the condition. The causes of Type 1 diabetesare unknown but it is usually preceded by the bodys own immune system attacking and killing the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. As well as genetic predisposition, several environmental factors such as viral infection, dietary habits in infancy, birthweight and early weight gain, as well as chronic stress, have been proposed as risk factors. Since the incidence of Type 1 diabetes among young children is increasing in most countries in the world, environmental factors are now being examined even more seriously. The studyaimed to examine whether psychological stress in terms of experiences of serious life events, along with parental perception of parenting stress and lack of social support, during the childs first 14 years of life, wasa risk factor for developing Type 1 diabetes. The study invited all families with babies born between October 1997 and September 1999 in southeast Sweden to participate, with10,495 families participating in at least one of four data collections carried out when the children were between 2 and 14 years. To be included in the study, the child must not have been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when participating for the first time. A total of 58 children were subsequently diagnosed with the condition. The authors found that childhood experience of a seri Continue reading >>
New Data Confirm Adverse Childhood Experiences Are Widespread : Shots - Health News : Npr
Nearly 62 percent of respondents had at least one ACE and a quarter reported three or more. The remaining respondents had at least two ACEs, including 16 percent with four or more such experiences. Elva Etienne/Getty Images hide caption Nearly 62 percent of respondents had at least one ACE and a quarter reported three or more. The remaining respondents had at least two ACEs, including 16 percent with four or more such experiences. When researchers first discovered a link in the late 1990s between childhood adversity and chronic health problems later in life, the real revelation was how common those experiences were across all socioeconomic groups. But the first major study to focus on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was limited to a single healthcare system in San Diego. A study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics the largest nationally representative study to date on ACEs confirms that these experiences are universal, yet highlights some disparities among socioeconomic groups. People with low-income and educational attainment, people of color and people who identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual had significantly higher chance of having experienced adversity in childhood. The study finds three out of five adults across the U.S. had at least one adverse experience in their childhood, such as divorce, a parent's death, physical or emotional abuse, or a family member's incarceration or substance abuse problem. A quarter of adults have at least three such experiences in childhood, which according to other research increases their risk for most common chronic diseases, from heart disease and cancer to depression and substance abuse. "This is the first study of this kind that allows us to talk about adverse childhood experience as a public health problem in the same wa Continue reading >>
Active Healthcare Childhood Trauma Linked To Increased Risk Of Diabetes - Active Healthcare
Doctors dont know the exact cause of type 1 diabetes, but a new study shows that childhood trauma is linked to an increased risk of developing type 1 diabetes. Researchers polled over 10,000 Swedish families and discovered that children who had experienced a trauma were nearly three times more likely to develop type 1 diabetes. Scientists questioned families about the occurrence of childhood stressors like divorce, illness or a death in the family. Researchers questioned families in southeast Sweden with children born between October 1997 and September 1999. Dr. Johnny Ludvigsson, coauthor of the study, said that hes not surprised by the results because of the connections between the brain and immune system. Doctors believe type 1 diabetes could be caused by genetics or environmental factors, like exposure to a virus. Type 1 diabetes develops when the bodys immune system starts destroying insulin-producing (islet) cells in the pancreas. After many islet cells are destroys, the body produces little to no insulin. Although this study shows a link between a stressful childhood event and an increased risk of type 1 diabetes, it doesnt prove that those events cause type 1 diabetes. Dr. David Marrero, president of health care and education at the American Diabetes Association, says that although you cant say a childhood trauma was the direct result of your child developing diabetes, its worth making an effort to avoid exposing children to high stress events. Encouraging children to eat right and exercise frequently is also an important step in preventing type 2 diabetes. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Continue reading >>
#6 Trauma Triggers Type 1 Diabetes (a Research Review)
Home How Trauma Shapes Disease #6 Trauma Triggers Type 1 Diabetes (A Research Review) #6 Trauma Triggers Type 1 Diabetes (A Research Review) In this 6th post of my discovery series, I review 25 years of studies examining links between stress, serious life events such as trauma, and type 1 diabetes (T1D). The findings support the long-held suspicion that trauma triggers type 1 diabetes. Whether you have T1D or a different chronic illness, the research can help you make sense of why and how you developed a chronic disease. This post offers an example of the volume of information that exists linking trauma and T1D, starting an example of type 1 diabetes. *You can download a pdf of this blog post with your email and get 3 check lists to get a sense of serious life events (SLEs) you may have experienced. In the first four articles of this series I introduced how this is not because type 1 diabetes or other diseases that are affected by adverse events are psychological. The emerging scienceshows how life experiences shape nervous systems patterns of regulation early in life that affect long-term health. Early experiences also alter genes to influence how they are expressed. In the previous post, I described the 2000 year history of suspected links between stress, trauma and type 1 diabetes and why these links were (and still are) often dismissed. These same reasons apply to many other chronic illnesses, including my own (I have chronic fatigue aka ME/CFS). The article offers insights into why the relationship between trauma and type 1 diabetes is not common knowledge despite increasingly sophisticated studies supporting the link. The first 2 reasons trauma gets dismissed were addressed in the introduction to this topic last time. Todays post begins to address the remaining 5 Continue reading >>
4 Ways Childhood Trauma Changes A Childs Brain And Body
Children dont magically get over trauma when they turn 18. Trauma, toxic stress, and adverse childhood experiences permanently change a childs body and brain, which can have serious, lifelong consequences, according to a recent report from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Here are four ways trauma can overload a childs developing system: 1. Hormone level changes : Cortisol and adrenaline are the stress hormones thathelp you react to a perceived threat or danger by directing blood flow to major muscle groups and bypassing the thinking part of the brain to activate the survival part. High levels of these hormones keep your blood pressure elevated, which weakens the heart and circulatory system; keep your glucose levels elevated, which can lead to type 2 diabetes; and disrupt your immune system and inflammatory response system, which can lead to lupus, multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, and depression, and reduce your ability to fight infection. Hormone level changes early in life when brain development is most rapid can have a drastic impact on brain architecture and function, as well as other organs, thus lifelong physical and mental health problems. 2. Immune system changes : Through multiple organs, tissues, and cells, the immune system defends against infections, allergies, and inflammatory reactions. Trauma is linked to thymus involution, atrophy of the spleen and lymph nodes, telomere shortening, and increased stress hormones, which impairs immunity and increases inflammation. Impaired immunity and inflammation increase risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, anxiety, depression, viral infections, autoimmune diseases, allergies, and asthma. Neurological changes: We are born with 100 billion neuronsbrain nerve cellswhich are almost Continue reading >>
Childhood Maltreatment As A Risk Factor For Diabetes: Findings From A Population-based Survey Of Canadian Adults
Childhood maltreatment as a risk factor for diabetes: findings from a population-based survey of Canadian adults BMC Public HealthBMC series open, inclusive and trusted2016 It is well established that childhood maltreatment (CM) is a risk factor for various mental and substance use disorders. To date, however, little research has focused on the possible long-term physical consequences of CM. Diabetes is a chronic disease, for which an association with CM has been postulated. Based on data from a sample of 21,878 men and women from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey - Mental Health (CCHS - MH), this study examines associations between three types of CM (childhood physical abuse (CPA), childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (CEIPV)) and diabetes in adulthood. Multiple logistic regression models were used to examine associations between CM and diabetes controlling for the effects of socio-demographic characteristics and risk factors for type 2 diabetes. When controlling socio-demographic characteristics, diabetes was significantly associated with reports of severe and frequent CPA (OR = 1.8) and severe and frequent CSA (OR = 2.2). A doseresponse relationship was observed when co-occurrence of CSA and CPA was considered with the strongest association with diabetes being observed when both severe and frequent CSA and CPA were reported (OR = 2.6). Controlling for type 2 diabetes risk factors attenuated associations particularly for CPA. CEIPV was not significantly associated with having diabetes in adulthood. CPA and CSA are risk factors for diabetes. For the most part, associations between CPA and diabetes are mediated via risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Failure to consider severity and frequency of abuse may limit our und Continue reading >>
The Link Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Diabetes
The Link Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Diabetes 1University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045; phone: 785-864-4226 3Center for Childrens Healthy Lifestyles and Development, 610 E. 22nd Street, Kansas City, MO 64108; phone: 816-234-9251 1University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045; phone: 785-864-4226 3Center for Childrens Healthy Lifestyles and Development, 610 E. 22nd Street, Kansas City, MO 64108; phone: 816-234-9251 2University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS 66160; phone: 913-588-6323 3Center for Childrens Healthy Lifestyles and Development, 610 E. 22nd Street, Kansas City, MO 64108; phone: 816-234-9251 1University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045; phone: 785-864-4226 2University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS 66160; phone: 913-588-6323 3Center for Childrens Healthy Lifestyles and Development, 610 E. 22nd Street, Kansas City, MO 64108; phone: 816-234-9251 Corresponding author: Susana R. Patton, Ph.D., CDE at ude.cmuk@2nottaps The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Curr Diab Rep See other articles in PMC that cite the published article. Exposure to adversity in childhood (ACEs) is linked to a number of chronic diseases in adulthood, yet there is limited research examining the impact of ACEs on diabetes. The current review sought to examine the association between ACEs, other trauma exposure or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis, and risk for diabetes. Thirty-eight studies are reviewed. Unlike in other diseases, several studies in diabetes show a threshold-response versus a dose-response relation, while other studies show a relation between greater abuse severity and diabetes risk. There were mixed Continue reading >>
Relationship Between Abuse And Neglect In Childhood And Diabetes In Adulthood: Differential Effects By Sex, National Longitudinal Study Of Adolescent Health
Relationship Between Abuse and Neglect in Childhood and Diabetes in Adulthood: Differential Effects By Sex, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health ORIGINAL RESEARCH Volume 12 May 7, 2015 Alexis E. Duncan, PhD, MPH; Wendy F. Auslander, PhD, LCSW; Kathleen K. Bucholz, PhD; Darrell L. Hudson, MPH, PhD; Richard I. Stein, PhD; Neil H. White, MD Suggested citation for this article: Duncan AE, Auslander WF, Bucholz KK, Hudson DL, Stein RI, White NH. Relationship Between Abuse and Neglect in Childhood and Diabetes in Adulthood: Differential Effects By Sex, National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Prev Chronic Dis 2015;12:140434. DOI: . Few studies have investigated links between child abuse and neglect and diabetes mellitus in nationally representative samples, and none have explored the role of obesity in the relationship. We sought to determine whether child abuse and neglect were associated with diabetes and if so, whether obesity mediated this relationship in a population-representative sample of young adults. We used data from 14,493 participants aged 24 to 34 years from Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to study associations between self-reported child abuse (sexual, physical, or emotional abuse) and neglect as children and diabetes or prediabetes in young adulthood. We conducted sex-stratified logistic regression analyses to evaluate associations in models before and after the addition of body mass index (BMI) as a covariate. Although the prevalence of diabetes was similar for men and women (7.0% vs 6.7%), men were more likely than women to have prediabetes (36.3% vs 24.6%; omnibus P < .001). Among men, recurrent sexual abuse (3 lifetime incidents) was significantly associated with diabetes (OR, 3.66; 95% CI, 1.3110.24), Continue reading >>
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The Link Between Adverse Childhood Experiences And Diabetes.
1. Curr Diab Rep. 2016 Jun;16(6):54. doi: 10.1007/s11892-016-0740-8. The Link Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Diabetes. Huffhines L(1)(2), Noser A(1)(2), Patton SR(3)(4). (1)University of Kansas, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA. (2)Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles and Development, 610 E. 22nd Street, Kansas City, MO, 64108, USA. (3)Center for Children's Healthy Lifestyles and Development, 610 E. 22nd Street, Kansas City, MO, 64108, USA. [email protected]. (4)University of Kansas Medical Center, 3901 Rainbow Blvd, Kansas City, KS, 66160, USA. [email protected]. Exposure to adversity in childhood (adverse childhood experiences [ACEs]) islinked to a number of chronic diseases in adulthood, yet there is limitedresearch examining the impact of ACEs on diabetes. The current review sought toexamine the association between ACEs, other trauma exposure or posttraumaticstress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis, and risk for diabetes. Thirty-eight studies arereviewed. Unlike in other diseases, several studies in diabetes show athreshold-response versus a dose-response relation, while other studies show arelation between greater abuse severity and diabetes risk. There were mixedresults for studies examining abuse type and frequency. Chronic or comorbid PTSD was also related to increased diabetes risk among veterans, but in communitysamples, only trauma exposure predicted diabetes risk. While the research isstill limited, diabetes researchers and clinicians should consider screening for ACEs and examine severity and frequency across abuse type as a predictor of both diabetes and poor diabetes outcomes. DP3 DK108211/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States R01 DK100779/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States R21 HD076116/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States R21 HD081502/HD/NICHD NIH Continue reading >>
The Relationship Between Stress,trauma & Diabetes Type 2
The Relationship Between Stress,Trauma & Diabetes Type 2 Reduce stress to reduce the effects of diabetes. Source: By Mikael Hggstrm, used with permission. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Chronic stress alters the eco-system of the body, mind, and spirit like oil pollutes water. Stress and trauma affect the metabolism of the individual and the community. The ability to find and absorb the nourishment of food as well as the nourishment of friendship . In response to chronic stress, people feel depressed, helpless, anxious, irritable, and then they blame themselves for feeling that way. These feelings often lead to self- medication with sugar and carbohydrates, drugs, alcohol, sex and other activities. When people are in recovery from alcohol abuse they often turn to sugar (after all, alcohol is sugar), carbohydrates, and coffee as part of the withdrawal and maintenance process. However, this also taxes the liver considerably and makes one vulnerable to the development of diabetes type 2.Thus, alcohol addiction may also be understood as a physiological addiction to sugar. Stress contributes to anxiety and depression and leads to self-medication with drugs, alcohol, carbohydrates and sugar; in turn, these substances exacerbate stress and the cycle of self-medication continues until it is stopped. There are broadly 3 types of stress that exist along a spectrum: Eustress, stress, and traumatic stress. Eustress is a word coined by Dr. Hans Selye. Eustress refers to the stress that arises from a positive challenge, such as a new job, learning a new skill or (extreme) exercise. Whether stress has positive or negative effects in ones life depends to a great degree on the individual perception of the stressor and its meaning to their life. In normal stress, for example, re Continue reading >>
Traumatic Life Events During Childhood Affect Diabetes Risk | Time
Type 2 diabetes tends to get more attention than type 1, mainly because the risk factors for type 2obesity, for instanceare thought to be more in our control. Type 1 is believed to be primarily a genetic disease, triggered by an unfortunate DNA configuration that signals the bodys immune system to destroy insulin-producing beta cells. Now, in a report published in the journal Diabetologia, Dr. Johnny Ludvigsson, a pediatrician from Linkoping University in Sweden, and his colleagues say that life events, including traumatic experiences such as the death of a family member or a serious accident, can triple the risk that young children have of developing the disease. The researchers studied 10,495 families with children born between 1997 and 1999 and asked them to participate in at least one of four follow-up sessions when the children were between two and 14 years old. The parents filled out questionnaires about whether the children had experienced anything that might be considered a serious life event, including things like the death of a family member, a new sibling, divorce or a move. Parents were also asked about their own stress and whether they felt they had social support. Once the scientists adjusted for factors that also contribute to type 1 diabetes, such as BMI, mothers age and a history of diabetes in the family, children who experienced deaths and accidents in their early years showed a three-fold higher risk of developing diabetes than those who didnt live through these events. People may be worried and have feelings of guilt that not only did their child get diabetes, but that in a way they contribute to it, says Ludvigsson of the results. But parents should take some solace in the fact that after he adjusted for other factors that can contribute to type 1 Continue reading >>
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Childhood Trauma Could Lead To Type 1 Diabetes
Childhood Trauma Could Lead to Type 1 Diabetes Childhood Trauma Could Lead to Type 1 Diabetes Every year, more than 15,000 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D), but health professionals and scientists don't have many answers about the causes and prevention methods for this autoimmune disease. Experts do believe that genetics and environmental triggers are factors in the development of type 1 diabetes , and that diet and exercise are not. A recent study suggests that experiencing traumatic life events during childhood can increase the risk of developing type 1 diabetes later in life. Researchers in Sweden examined more than 10,000 children between the ages of 2 and 14 who had not been diagnosed with T1D. Parents filled out questionnaires that measured their assessment of serious life events (death or illness in the family, conflicts, and divorce), parenting stress, parental worries, and parental social support. Results indicated that kids who had experienced a serious life event during their first 14 years of life were nearly three times more likely to develop T1D than those who had not. The authors of the study concluded that a possible link between stress and diabetes is an imbalance in the immune system. This imbalance could cause an autoimmune reaction against beta cells that produce the insulin necessary to regulate blood sugar. Other possible links between serious life experiences and the development of T1D do exist, and more research is needed to pinpoint when this type of psychological stress alters the autoimmune system. "As experience of stressful life events cannot be avoided, children and their parents should get adequate support to cope with these events to avoid their consequences, which could include medical issues," recommended t Continue reading >>
