According to medical professionals, those who endured stressors throughout their youth, such as child abuse, spousal violence, or financial struggle, have a 50% chance of acquiring hypertension and heart disease.
The experts warned that the amount of stress experienced by children in their early years affects the quantity of harm and issues they may face later in life.
Childhood stress is a typical emotion that affects kids just as much as adults when they feel pressured, overwhelmed, and unable to handle life’s challenges, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
According to UNICEF, a multitude of causes contribute to children’s stress, such as adverse family environments, school violence, and various forms of abuse. The organization further said that the majority of children suffer stress as a result of their inability to manage challenging, painful, or scary situations.
Dr. Akinsanya Olusegun-Joseph, a consultant cardiologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in Idi-Araba, was one of the experts who informed our reporter that certain types of stress throughout childhood might potentially increase an individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular problems later in life.
“Several studies have shown that those who were abused in one way or another as children are 40% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than those who did not experience any form of emotional abuse during their childhood,” Olusegun-Joseph said in her explanation.
“These children experience stress from denial, physical abuse, psychological, emotional, and sexual assault, which exposes them to the release of unpleasant stress hormones that negatively impact their health.
For example, abuse on all levels—physical, emotional, and sexual—can result in depression and other severe mental illnesses. Some people may develop hypertension as a result of the production of these substances, while others may cause inflammation that ultimately leads to cardiovascular disorders.”
The cardiologist emphasized that research had demonstrated that individuals who had experienced abuse were more prone to lead unhealthy lifestyles, abusing drugs recreationally and smoking cigarettes, all of which increase their risk of developing severe inflammation, heart disease, and renal issues.
He went on, “It’s not waiting.” to explain why the effects of childhood stress materialize in adulthood. The template is ready and has commenced construction. But the majority of diseases manifest later in life. If the youngster had been experiencing clinical inflammation, it would have begun at the same time as the stress.
“Among other things, the abuse children experience results in their experiencing physical and emotional stress. Speaking about stress is not always a harmless conversation. It has triggers attached to it. A youngster experiences stress and abuse—but not physical abuse—when she is asked to go sell goods on the street after school.
The child’s mental health is impacted. Not until the youngster gets physically abused. Stress is the result of ongoing mistreatment; it doesn’t happen suddenly. Thus, when a youngster experiences such stress, the stress hormone cortisol is released into the bloodstream, raising blood pressure and causing hypertension.
“The steroid cortisol raises cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It puts you at risk for ischemic heart disease. It may result in cardiac hypertrophy, a heart attack, and other cardiovascular problems.
You can see how diseases in the body can be caused by benign stress. Children should not be destroyed; instead, they should be cared for, protected, and given a suitable home.
Additionally, Dr. Sylvia Echendu, a consultant pediatrician at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, stated that a lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease and death is increased by exposure to trauma and other negative experiences during childhood.
According to Echendu, children who faced extreme adversity—such as verbal, physical, or mental abuse or living with drug or alcohol abusers—have a 50% higher chance of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the future compared to children who did not encounter as much stress as they did.
“Those with even moderate exposure are 60 percent more likely to die by middle adulthood from any cause,” the speaker stated. This implies that over time, perceived stress patterns may have a profound impact on a range of cardiometabolic parameters, such as obesity, vascular health, and fat distribution.
Childhood adversities have an impact on cardiometabolic health throughout life, therefore treatments aimed at enhancing early exposures may be more suitable than those addressing the long-term impacts of cardiovascular disease risk factors. Stress during childhood increases the chance of developing cardiometabolic health issues.
A research paper titled “Environment With 30-Year Cardiovascular Disease Incidence and Mortality in Middle Age” that was published in the Journal of the American Heart Association confirmed that adversity throughout childhood was linked to worse outcomes for cardiovascular disease in adulthood.