Childhood stress linked to hardening of the arteries

Childhood stress linked to hardening of the arteries


Parents and kids, lighten up. Stress during childhood may be linked to hardening of the arteries later in life.

Finnish researchers studied 311 children between the ages of 12 and 18 and calculated a stress score for each person based on factors that included their family’s financial situation, the home’s emotional environment and stressful events such as divorce and moving.

At middle age — 40 to 46 years old — the same group was tested for coronary artery calcification, a marker for atherosclerosis, which is also known as hardening of the arteries.

After controlling for factors such as cholesterol, gender and body mass index, researchers found that people with the higher childhood stress scores had a greater risk for artery calcification. The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics.

Researchers believe that the connection between stress and artery hardening may have something to do with stress-induced increases in inflammation. In animal models, other research has linked stress-induced inflammation to a variety of ailments.

The authors noted the findings underscore the need for increased awareness of promoting positive psychosocial health in childhood.

The study’s lead author also said the findings suggest public health interventions should focus on how to help lower-income people who experience higher levels of stress. Because lower socioeconomic standing usually affects stress levels, they said that aspect is worth focusing on.

For now, parents and children could both fare better if their home life is a little more relaxed.

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