Childhood Physical Abuse Raises Risk of Heart Disease
A new study involving 13,093 people has found a 45 percent greater risk of heart disease in adulthood among those who were abused physically during childhood.
The link remained even after taking into account other factors that could also affect the result, such as stress, parental addictions, mood disorders, income, obesity and other aspects. The study team suggested further research is required to understand exactly what biological mechanism could explain the link behind childhood physical abuse and adult heart disease. The researchers advised that patients known to have been physically abused or neglected during childhood should have their cardiovascular risks managed more aggressively due their higher risk.
Just released, this study will be published in a future issue of the journal, Child Abuse & Neglect. It can be read online at http://bit.ly/b17NdB.
