People who were emotionally neglected as children may have a higher risk of stroke in later adulthood, according to a new study by neurological researchers from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center.
"Studies have shown that children who were neglected emotionally in childhood are at an increased risk of a slew of psychiatric disorders,” said researcher Robert S. Wilson. “However, our study is one of few that looked at an association between emotional neglect and stroke."
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The study – published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology – involved 1,040 people 55 and older who took a survey measuring physical and emotional abuse before the age of 18. The questions focused on whether they felt loved by their parents or caregivers as children, were afraid or intimidated, and whether they were punished with a belt or other object.
Questions about parental divorce and the family's financial needs were also included.
During the course of the 3.5 years of the study, 257 people died and 89 had signs of a stroke, based on an autopsy’s results. The results showed the risk of stroke was nearly three times higher in people who reported childhood emotional neglect than those who did not. The association was true regardless of other stroke risk factors, such as diabetes, physical activity, smoking, anxiety, and heart problems.
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"The results add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that early life factors such as traumatic childhood experiences influence the development of physical illness and common chronic conditions of old age," said co-researcher Dr. David A. Bennett, director of the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center.
The study was funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health and the Illinois Department of Public Health.