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There is an article in this week’s JAMA on the evidence that much of adult physical illness could be prevented through the elimination of childhood abuse. The article cites one I was a co-author on with Robert Anda MD (“The enduring effect of abuse and related adverse experiencess in childhood: A converging of evidence from neurobiology and epidemiology“) , whose career has been at the Centers for Disease and Control in Atlanta, GA. (where he incidentally is almost unique in understanding the importance of abuse for health). He has been conducting the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study with Vince Felitti MD for many years, documenting the increased risk of smoking, heart disease, asthma, obesity, intravenous drug use, anxiety, depression, and other conditions with early abuse. Skonkoff and the authors of this week’s paper make the point that preventing abuse would go a long way toward improving health outcomes.
Probably will be more important than more more expensive imaging centers.
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Yes, enough with the expensive imaging centers! Not to mention lab reports that too many docs don’t even know how to read (but depend on the lab to tell them what’s “normal”).
I still say we need plenty of caution in this area, though, so that we don’t confuse association with causation.
Until these studies control for the presence in the parents of highly heritable forms of mental illness (which are themselves associated with high rates of drug abuse, obesity, asthma, etc.), we risk going back to “dysfunctional childhood” as the cause of all human misery. And that would be a giant step backwards.
The fact is, sometimes apples just don’t fall far from the tree.
Gina Pera: Now that you’re so fond of biological (genetic) determinism, I suggest you read a bit up on epigenetics (just google it). Interesting stuff!
I’m very familiar with epigenetics. And I’m also familiar with the inappropriateness of labeling, based on scant evidence, what other people are fond or not fond of.
I’m very familiar with epigenetics, and have been for the past decade. I didn’t have to “Google” it. I’ve attended lectures by preeminent scientists who are experts in the field.
And I’m also familiar with the inappropriateness of labeling what another person is or is not “fond of,” based on scant evidence and willfully ignoring qualifying words the person has used (such as “sometimes”).
Oh, then maybe someone among the other readers of Doug’s blog may find it interesting.