Saturday, June 27, 2009
Adults who experienced physical abuse as children are more likely to develop cancer than those who weren't abused, according to a Canadian study.
The University of Toronto researchers concluded that childhood physical abuse is associated with a 49 percent increased risk of cancer in adulthood. Even after taking into account potentially major health factors -- childhood stressors, adult socioeconomic status and adult behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and lack of physical activity -- the association between childhood abuse and cancer remained significant, they found.
A number of psychophysiological factors could help explain the link between childhood physical abuse and cancer, suggested study co-author and doctoral student Sarah Brennenstuhl.
One important avenue for future research is to investigate dysfunctions in cortisol production -- the hormone that prepares us for fight or flight -- as a possible mediator in the abuse-cancer relationship, she said in a news release from the university.
Few talk about childhood physical abuse and cancer in the same breath, Esme Fuller-Thomson, of the University of Toronto's faculty of social work and department of family and community medicine, said in the news release. From a public health perspective, it is extremely important that clinicians be aware of the full range of risk factors for cancer. This research provides important new knowledge about a potential childhood abuse-cancer relationship.
The University of Toronto researchers concluded that childhood physical abuse is associated with a 49 percent increased risk of cancer in adulthood. Even after taking into account potentially major health factors -- childhood stressors, adult socioeconomic status and adult behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and lack of physical activity -- the association between childhood abuse and cancer remained significant, they found.
A number of psychophysiological factors could help explain the link between childhood physical abuse and cancer, suggested study co-author and doctoral student Sarah Brennenstuhl.
One important avenue for future research is to investigate dysfunctions in cortisol production -- the hormone that prepares us for fight or flight -- as a possible mediator in the abuse-cancer relationship, she said in a news release from the university.
Few talk about childhood physical abuse and cancer in the same breath, Esme Fuller-Thomson, of the University of Toronto's faculty of social work and department of family and community medicine, said in the news release. From a public health perspective, it is extremely important that clinicians be aware of the full range of risk factors for cancer. This research provides important new knowledge about a potential childhood abuse-cancer relationship.
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