The Effects of Childhood Trauma
Elizabeth Houle | Contributing Writer | October 2, 2019
All throughout America, people suffer childhood trauma that affects how they develop through their lives. According to California Surgeon General Nadine Burke Harris, people who are exposed to a higher dose of, “adverse childhood exposure” or “ACE’s” have affected brain development, immune system, hormonal system, as well as the way their DNA is read and transcribed. Harris continues that people who are exposed to ACE’s have “triple the lifetime risk of heart disease and lung cancer and a 20 year difference in life expectancy.” Many people who suffer from childhood adversity are diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), however when a thorough history and physical check is made then a diagnosis can not be accurately made. When some children would suffer much more severe childhood trauma, it became clear that something much more was going on with them both physically and mentally.
In a research study done by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) 17,500 adults were interviewed with an anonymous survey asking about their history with ACEs. This would include emotional or physical neglect, mental or physical abuse, sexual abuse, incarceration, mental illness, substance abuse, and so on. For every “yes” on a survey question, participants would receive one point on the ACE scale. They found that sixty-seven percent of Americans have at least one ACE and 12.6%, or one in eight, had four or more ACEs. They also found that there was a relationship between ACEs and health outcomes. The higher your score, the worse your health outcome.
For a person with an ACE score of four or more, their relative risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was 2 1/2 times that of someone with an ACE score of zero. For hepatitis, it was also 2 1/2 times, for depression it was 4 1/2 times, and for suicide it was 12 times. With a person with a score of seven or more, they have triple the lifetime risk of lung cancer and 3 1/2 times the risk of heart disease which is the number one killer in the United States. Upon hearing this information, many people dismiss it. It's a common thought that if you have a rough childhood, you will be more likely to drink or smoke as well as your actions being labeling as bad behavior.
Exposure to early adversity affects the developing brains and bodies of children. it affects a critical area for learning which is necessary for impulse control and executive function (controlled by the prefrontal cortex of the brain), as well as the pleasure and reward center of the brain that is implicated in substance dependence and abuse (controlled by the nucleus accumbens part of the brain). So there are neurological reasons why people exposed to high doses of adversity are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors.
However people who never engage in high-risk behaviors are still more likely to develop heart disease or cancer. This has to do with the brain and body's stress response system that governs our “fight or flight” response (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis). When a person is releasing hormones, adrenaline, and cortisol it starts to become health damaging. So instead of it being an adaptive and life-saving, it becomes maladaptive or harmful. While children are especially sensitive to this repeated stress activation, their bodies are just beginning to develop. While high doses of adversity affect the brain structure and function, they affect the developing immune system, hormonal system, and the way their DNA is read and transcribed.
In the words of Dr. Robert Block, the former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Adverse childhood experiences are the single greatest I am address public health threat facing our nation today.” As society continues to change, it is important for all people to take this information into account as we learn more about how society is affected by trauma.