Child abuse: physical and psychological sequelae in abused children

We review the psychological consequences of abuse and violence against children.

A number of recent research studies reveal that neurobiological alterations as a consequence of child abuse not only increase the likelihood of mental disorders in adulthood but also increase the likelihood of mental disorders in adulthood, but also increase the chances of future organic disorders, as well as behavioral alterations.as well as behavioral disturbances.

Child abuse

Child abuse, domestic violence and neglect in childhood are potentially traumatic events for any child, and are much more common than is commonly thought. much more common than is often thought.. According to the Center for Children's Mental Health, University College LondonIn the industrialized countries, between 4 and 16 percent of children suffer physical abuse and 1 in 10 suffers neglect or extreme psychological distress each year.

As far as sexual abuse in childhood is concerned, between 5 and 10 percent of children in the Western industrialized countries suffer from physical abuse and 1 in 10 from neglect or extreme mental stress. 5 to 10 percent of girls and 5 percent of boys have been sexually abused as children. during their childhood.

Adverse childhood experiences

I have divided the following study into different phases, because although the study began during the period 1995-1997, the data analyses have been carried out over several years, yielding a large number of results.

Phase 1 - Beginning

The study is often abbreviated as ACE (ACE).

The research began in 1995 in San Diego, involving the participation of 17,000 subjects who underwent regular medical check-ups on a regular basis. They were also asked to report in detail on what kind of traumatic experiences they may have suffered during childhood (violence, abuse, neglect) and to what extent.

Phase 2 - First results

In 1998, the researcher Vincent Felittiwho belonged to the preventive medicine department of the Kaiser Permanente medical group, came to the following conclusions when analyzing the data obtained by the ACE study together with his team.

According to a survey used during the study, subjects who responded affirmatively to more than three questions about child abuse and neglect during childhood were up to 12 times more likely of suffering alcoholism, drug dependence or depression, compared to develop depression, compared to people who had not experienced these events (and therefore responded negatively to the survey).

Other striking results were the increase in: smoking and obesity; practicing less sport and having sporadic sexual relations.

Phase 3 - Analysis of Variables

Following the previous results, in the year 2003 the researchers decided to test the results on the increased occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. cardiovascular diseases coronary heart disease (as a consequence of abuse and neglect) in the following way.

They analyzed how this type of disease increased in three different ways:

• Taking all variables, the possibility of suffering from coronary cardiovascular diseases are 3.6 times higher than in the population without childhood trauma. These variables include individual characteristics (sex, age, physical activity and eating habits), psychological problems (depression and frustration) and, of course, whether they have suffered childhood trauma.

• Taking the variable groups of psychological problems and childhood trauma, the possibility increased 3.1 times.

• Taking only the variables on childhood trauma, the possibility was 2.6 times higher.

In other words, what most increases the possibility of suffering from coronary cardiovascular problems is neither sex, nor whether one suffers from depression, nor eating habits, nor physical activity, nor any of these variables, but childhood trauma.

Phase 4 - Final results

Finally, in 2004, other subsequent assessments of the same results revealed that those who had suffered such maltreatment during childhood and youth more frequently presented with coronary heart diseaseMore specifically: the more severe the childhood traumas, the greater the chances of suffering from cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary pathologies, cancer, hepatopathies (blood-related diseases) and autoimmune disorders.

Brief biological explanation of the effects of child abuse

The childhood trauma alter the biological mechanisms of the organism. Stress hormones and certain neurotransmitters have an influence, leaving long-term imprints in the child's brain.

These alterations are especially evident in the communication between the hypothalamus, the pituitary hypothalamus, pituitary gland and adrenal cortex..

• During a stressful situation, the hypothalamus secretes a hormone called corticotropin (CRH) which stimulates the pituitary gland.

• The pituitary then releases into the bloodstream another hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH).

• Finally, the adrenal cortex (located above the kidneys) receives ACTH, which reacts to it by releasing cortisoll (stress hormone).

Emotional Abuse, Neglect and Multiple Sclerosis

A study carried out at the Eppendorf University Hospital Hamburgheaded by researcher Carsten Spitzer obtained the following surprising results.

He chose a total of 234 patients with multiple sclerosis and 880 patients with multiple sclerosis. multiple sclerosis and 885 healthy people.. All of them had to report on their childhood experiences. What emerged was that both emotional abuse and neglect were twice as frequent among individuals with multiple sclerosis. twice as frequent among individuals with multiple sclerosis compared to the healthy group.compared to the healthy group.

A Moral Quartet, a Metabolic Syndrome and Childhood Traumas

This syndrome consists of four factors:

One of the keys to this syndrome, is that the appearance of one of these factors, potentiates the appearance of the others..

Well, several studies have confirmed that these 4 components belonging to the metabolic syndrome may appear as a result of traumatic experiences during childhood.of which, the most pronounced is that of abdominal adiposity.

The latter has been corroborated by a study called NESDA (for its acronym in English) and carried out in 2012, in the Netherlands on depression and anxiety. In it they found a relationship between sexual abuse during childhood and excess fat in the abdomen.

Childhood Abuse and Psychosis in adulthood

First of all, let's define what maltreatment is. According to the World Health Organization:

"Child maltreatment is defined as the abuse and neglect of children under the age of 18, and includes all types of physical or psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, negligence, and commercial or other exploitation that cause or are likely to cause harm to the child's health, development, or dignity, or endanger the child's survival, in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust, or power. Exposure to intimate partner violence is also sometimes included among the forms of child maltreatment."

Considering the neurological immaturity of the brain during the first years of life, it is well known that the brain is more sensitive to events and experiences. This sensitivity gives the advantage of learning with great speed, but it can also carry great dangers:

Childhood abuse and psychotic symptoms.

According to a study by the University of Barcelona, which analyzed the relationship between childhood abuse and psychotic symptoms, a study by the University of Barcelona analyzed the relationship between childhood abuse and psychosis. child maltreatment and the development of psychotic symptoms .. The first thing they discovered was that even though there were people who had suffered child maltreatment, they were able to overcome it and lead mentally healthy lives.The first thing they discovered was that although there were people who had suffered child maltreatment, they were able to overcome it and lead mentally healthy lives..

Subsequently, the results pointed to such individual differences residing in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene (proteins that are responsible for the survival of neurons) known as BDNF. Apparently, this gene promotes the growth, differentiation and survival of neurons during periods of stress..

In this study published in the journal The British Journal of Psychiatryexplains how exposure to severe childhood abuse (sexual, physical and/or emotional) is associated with an increased likelihood of psychotic symptoms in adulthood. In addition, and this is where the BDNF gene comes into play, subjects with certain alleles for this gene were more vulnerable to this type of abuse, compared to those with another variable (the former had an allele called Met and the latter Val).

If you do not understand this last point very well, think that for blood there are 3 alleles: A, B and O, and from the combination of these we obtain the different blood groups.

Genetic factors

There are a number of genes that increase the chances of suffering long-term organic problems if you have suffered traumatic experiences.

According to some studies, one of these genes appears to be the FKBP5 gene.. This gene encodes a protein (along with others) that affects the sensitivity of tissues and organs that react to cortisol (commonly known as the "stress hormone").

Given the results, it has been found that certain variants of the FKBP5 increase the risk of depression (multiplying it by 8 for one of these variants), and of post-traumatic disorders, for those who suffered abuse in childhood.

In addition, these same data also point to the fact that some of the variants of this same gene, also some of the variants of this same gene are also related to organic disorders.. But this remains to be confirmed.

What is truly striking about this type of genes is the importance that they can have for the appearance of various disorders, but only if there has been an environmental trigger, which in this case, is childhood abuse. In other words, if a person has not lived through traumatic and stressful events during childhoodIn other words, if a person has not experienced traumatic and stressful events during childhood, the presence of these genes will not increase the chances of suffering from these disorders.

Childhood abuse and its influence on epigenetic modifications

This is known as epigenetic modifications:

These modifications are appendages that attach to the DNA and influence the frequency with which a particular gene is read. In other words, Although the person's genetic code does not change, its functioning does..

• Alterations in glucose metabolism
• Alterations in Blood lipids
• Arterial hypertension