Childhood abuse linked to risk for high cholesterol

Childhood abuse linked to risk for high cholesterol


If physical abuse of children isn’t bad enough, scientific research suggests it boosts risk for adult health maladies, including heart disease, cancer, liver disease, diabetes and arthritis, especially in women.

Now, researchers say, we can add high cholesterol in adulthood to that daunting list.

The study was published by the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The team reported that the likelihood of developing high cholesterol — a risk factor for stroke and heart disease — was higher for adults who experienced childhood abuse.

Researchers examined data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study, a 30-year look at more than 5,000 Black and white adults enrolled from about 1985 through 2016. Enrollees came from Birmingham, Alabama; Chicago, Minneapolis and Oakland, California.

At the start, participants were about 25 years old. All had an initial exam and were assessed every few years for cardiovascular risks.

Participants were surveyed later to gauge how often they were physically or verbally abused. The survey looked at whether a parent or adult made them feel loved or expressed affection.

They found that high cholesterol risk was 26% higher among white women and 35% higher among white men who reported low levels of childhood abuse, compared with those who reported no abuse.

White men who reported occasional or frequent abuse were 81% more at risk for Type 2 diabetes.

Black men and white women abused in a dysfunctional home were more than 3½ times as likely to develop high cholesterol as those who weren’t.

The research team made one surprising finding: The risk for high cholesterol was no higher for Black women who reported childhood abuse.

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