MSGID: 1:317/3 63f98ef5   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    The far-reaching consequences of child abuse    
    Study shows link between early trauma experienced by mothers and health   
   problems in their children    
      
     Date:   
         February 24, 2023   
     Source:   
         Charite' - Universita"tsmedizin Berlin   
     Summary:   
         Adverse childhood experiences in mothers can affect their children's   
         mental and physical health, as researchers report. The study   
         found that maltreatment during a mother's childhood is associated   
         with a higher risk of health problems such as asthma, autism, and   
         depression in the next generation. Early intervention to support   
         affected mothers might help to counter this effect.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Adverse childhood experiences in mothers can affect their   
   children's mental and physical health, as researchers from Charite' -   
   Universita"tsmedizin Berlin now report in the journal The Lancet Public   
   Health. The study found that maltreatment during a mother's childhood is   
   associated with a higher risk of health problems such as asthma, autism,   
   and depression in the next generation.   
      
   Early intervention to support affected mothers might help to counter   
   this effect.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Maltreatment during childhood is an especially serious risk factor   
   for health problems in the exposed individual, as it brings a host   
   of lifelong consequences. Among the impacts are physical, mental,   
   behavioral, and social ramifications that can continue through pregnancy   
   and parenthood. As a result, adverse experiences during the parents'   
   childhood can affect their own children's development and health.   
      
   Higher risk of asthma, ADHD, autism, and depression In the newly   
   published study, a team of researchers headed by Dr. Claudia Buss,   
   a professor at the Institute of Medical Psychology at Charite',   
   shows that health problems are more common in children of mothers who   
   experienced maltreatment themselves as children. The researchers define   
   maltreatment as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse or neglect by a   
   parent or guardian leading to physical or emotional harm or the threat of   
   harm to a child. They analyzed data on more than 4,300 American mothers   
   and their children from 21 long-term cohorts. Mothers reported on their   
   childhood experiences and provided information on health diagnoses in   
   their biological children up to the age of 18, or this information was   
   collected during visits conducted as part of the study. This valuable   
   trove of data extending across two generations of the same family allowed   
   researchers to identify meaningful connections.   
      
   They found that children of mothers who reported adverse experiences   
   were at higher risk of asthma, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder   
   (ADHD), and autism. These children also have a higher incidence of   
   symptoms and behaviors associated with depression and anxiety disorders,   
   which are known as "internalizing" disorders. Daughters of mothers in this   
   group are also at higher risk of obesity than their sons. "All of these   
   connections are independent of whether the mother has the same diagnosis,"   
   explains Buss, the study's lead author. "That suggests that the risk of   
   that particular health problem is not being transmitted genetically."   
   First study to cover multiple health outcomes Researchers have not   
   yet fully decoded the exact mechanisms by which the risk is passed on   
   to the next generation. There are indications that adverse childhood   
   experiences could affect maternal biology during pregnancy, as for   
   example stress hormones. This can affect fetal development in a way   
   that the offspring become more vulnerable for impaired health. There   
   is evidence that biological changes like these are more pronounced in   
   mothers who have developed mental health problems, such as depression,   
   as a consequence of their traumatic experiences. If the mother's mental   
   health is affected by her childhood experiences, this may also impact   
   on how she interacts with her child once it is born, which is likely to   
   be just as important a factor in these multigenerational effects.   
      
   "To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine multiple health   
   problems at once in relation to early trauma in mothers in a large,   
   sociodemographically and ethnically diverse sample. That has been done   
   primarily for individual diseases in the past," explains Dr. Nora   
   Moog, also from the Institute of Medical Psychology at Charite' and   
   first author of the publication. In keeping with this approach, the   
   researchers showed that children of mothers exposed to early trauma   
   are at greater likelihood of developing multiple physical and mental   
   health problems. The risk is also greater the more serious the mother's   
   childhood experiences were. "At the same time, I should stress that   
   our findings do not mean that all children of mothers with adverse   
   childhood experiences automatically end up with health problems,"   
   Buss says, providing context for the group's findings. "The risk is   
   elevated, but it doesn't necessarily lead to a specific health problem."   
   Early identification and support for those affected "I assume that   
   appropriate support for mothers who suffer from the consequences of   
   childhood maltreatment can have a positive effect on their health and   
   well- being and that of their children. That means it's very important   
   to identify these mothers and children early on," Buss points out. One   
   way to do this would be to have doctors address parents' own childhood   
   experiences during prenatal or pediatric checkups and provide information   
   on how to contact various support programs or counseling services. This   
   kind of early intervention could help two generations: the parent, who   
   experienced maltreatment and may be suffering from health consequences;   
   and the child, who could be prevented from developing health problems.   
      
   Developing new, targeted therapeutic measures will depend on better   
   understanding the exact mechanisms by which the elevated risk of health   
   problems is passed on to the next generation. The research team is   
   currently working on that. The researchers also plan to conduct follow-up   
   studies to investigate which children remain resilient, meaning they do   
   not suffer consequences beyond one generation: What makes them, their   
   mothers, and their social environment different? Beyond that, the father's   
   childhood experiences have received relatively little attention so far,   
   but there are indications that these experiences can also be passed on   
   to the next generation, albeit in some cases by different mechanisms   
   than those involved in mother-child transmission. The researchers plan   
   to explore these research questions in further detail in future projects   
   as well.   
      
   About the study The international team of researchers analyzed the data   
   of 4,337 American mothers from 21 long-term cohorts with an eye to the   
   mothers' childhood experiences. They also examined information on health   
   diagnoses in the mothers' biological children up to the age of 18. The   
   cohort data were provided by a research program named Environmental   
   influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO). ECHO encompasses 69 cohorts   
   in the United States. It is supported by the National Institutes of   
   Health (NIH). Dr. Claudia Buss, a professor at the Institute of Medical   
   Psychology at Charite' and adjunct professor at the Department of   
   Pediatrics at the University of California Irvine, led the study.   
      
   She is a principal investigator of a research group within the ECHO   
   consortium and has furthermore received a Starting Grant from the European   
   Research Council (ERC) and funding from the German Research Foundation   
   (DFG) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Children's_Health # Mental_Health_Research # Teen_Health   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Child_Psychology # Child_Development # Mental_Health   
             o Science_&_Society   
                   # Public_Health # World_Development # Social_Issues   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Early_childhood_education o Maternal_bond o   
             Postpartum_depression o Child_abuse o Public_health o   
             Asperger_syndrome o Breastfeeding o Health_science   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Charite'_-_Universita"tsmedizin_Berlin. Note: Content may be edited for   
   style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Nora K Moog, Peter D Cummings, Kathryn L Jackson, Judy L Aschner,   
      Emily S   
         Barrett, Theresa M Bastain, Courtney K Blackwell, Michelle Bosquet   
         Enlow, Carrie V Breton, Nicole R Bush, Sean C L Deoni, Cristiane   
         S Duarte, Assiamira Ferrara, Torie L Grant, Alison E Hipwell,   
         Kathryn Jones, Leslie D Leve, Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, Richard   
         K Miller, Catherine Monk, Emily Oken, Jonathan Posner, Rebecca J   
         Schmidt, Rosalind J Wright, Sonja Entringer, Hyagriv N Simhan,   
         Pathik D Wadhwa, Thomas G O'Connor, Rashelle J Musci, Claudia   
         Buss. Intergenerational transmission of the effects of maternal   
         exposure to childhood maltreatment in the USA: a retrospective   
         cohort study. The Lancet Public Health, 2023; 8 (3): e226 DOI:   
         10.1016/ S2468-2667(23)00025-7   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230224135044.htm   
      
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