Experiencing adversity throughout life could make you age prematurely
People who have experienced hardships both in childhood and in adulthood age faster than others, a new study shows.
The more negative life events a person has experienced, the greater the likelihood that they become frail earlier in life.(Stock photo: Shutterstock / NTB)
Childhood trauma can have consequences for both our mental and physical health.
Research has shown this for a long time.
A new study now indicates that experiencing adversity both early and later in life may be especially damaging to health.
"Those who experienced adversity both as children and as adults showed the clearest signs of faster clinical and biological ageing. This was more pronounced than among those who experienced adversity during only one stage of life," Monica Aas tells Science Norway.
The Norwegian researcher is the lead author of the study from King's College London.
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Together with colleagues, she examined nearly 154,000 people who answered questions about health and life events and also provided blood samples to the UK Biobank. This is the world's largest health registry for research.
Abuse had the greatest impact
Monica Aas and colleagues in London found that frailty is most strongly linked to adverse childhood experiences.(Photo: Toralill Sjaavaag)
The researchers looked at people who had experienced physical, psychological, and emotional abuse.
They also included individuals who reported neglect and financial hardship.
Overall, 27 per cent reported having experienced things in life that had been a major burden for them.
"Our study shows that abuse was most strongly linked to earlier ageing, more strongly than neglect," says Aas.
Several measures of ageing
The researchers used several different measures to examine ageing.
Among other things, they measured telomere length in blood samples. Telomeres are protective ‘caps’ at the ends of chromosomes that become shorter with age. They can therefore give researchers a picture of a person’s biological age.
They also measured metabolic age by analysing small molecules in the blood. This can reveal information about inflammation and harmful fats in the body, among other things.
Additionally, they looked at frailty and grip strength, both of which are commonly used indicators of ageing.
“By using several different measures, we were able to test how robust our findings are. When we find associations across different markers, it strengthens our results,” says Aas.
The clearest finding in the study is related to frailty.
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“The more negative life events a person has experienced, the greater the likelihood that the person is frail,” the researcher says.
Telomeres have received a great deal of attention as a measure of biological ageing. However, they do not show as strong an effect in this study. The researchers believe this may be related to the fact that the measurement methods are still being developed.
Trauma and the body
Previous research has shown that people with financial difficulties, low socioeconomic status, and a low level of education have a shorter life expectancy at the group level. These factors may also increase the likelihood of being exposed to adverse life events.
The researchers therefore controlled for a range of factors, including age, education, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
"Even after accounting for these factors, we see that trauma itself is associated with increased biological ageing," says Aas.
This suggests that experiences such as violence, abuse, and neglect may leave measurable biological traces in the body.
"An exciting contribution to the field"
That adversity early in life can have consequences for mental and physical health in adulthood is already well established in research, says Solveig Klæbo Reitan.
She is a professor and heads the research group for biological psychiatry at NTNU.
"Typically, when people are depressed, they see only negative things in the past and future. When we succeed in life, are well-rested, and healthy, we remember the good things," says Solveig Klæbo Reitan.(Photo: NTNU)
Reitan believes the study is an exciting contribution, but also that it has some limitations. The sample may be somewhat skewed, she says.
"The UK Biobank consists of people who have the capacity to voluntarily participate in a population study," says Reitan.
They may therefore be healthier and have more resources than people in general. This may affect how broadly the results can be generalised, she believes.
Trauma is broadly defined
Reitan also notes that the study uses a very broad definition of trauma, encompassing experiences ranging from feeling unloved to sexual abuse and physical violence.
As a result, the findings are not limited to the most extreme forms of trauma, although the researchers address this issue in some of their analyses, she explains.
"What people themselves report as adverse childhood experiences is influenced by how the questions are asked, what society focuses on, and not least how they are doing now. We tend to remember our childhood and youth as positive and trauma-free when we are doing well, and as painful when we are doing poorly," she says.
Reitan therefore believes this study cannot establish a causal relationship.
Calls for more markers
Reitan also believes that several of the researchers' measurement methods have weaknesses, particularly the analysis of small molecules in the blood.
"These can be influenced by factors such as diet, lifestyle, and medication. The same applies to grip strength and frailty, which are affected by activity levels," she says.
She also would have liked to see additional measures included, such as inflammation and epigenetics, which previous studies have linked to adverse childhood experiences.
Why does trauma affect the body?
Aas says researchers still do not fully understand why traumatic experiences can become biologically embedded and contribute to poorer physical health.
"It's probably the result of complex interactions between genetics, the immune system, and the body's stress response," says Monica Aas.
She explains that this is now being investigated further in her research group at King’s College.
"If we can document these consequences, it may hopefully contribute to greater awareness both in healthcare and in society in general," she says.
Healthy habits may help
For those who have had a difficult childhood and adulthood, the findings are not entirely discouraging.
Aas believes that maintaining a healthy lifestyle throughout life is important.
"We know from other research that regular exercise, a healthy diet, and an active social life can prevent biological ageing and frailty. This suggests that lifestyle may be able to reduce the negative effects of trauma. But we need more research on this," she says.
