Abuse in Childhood May Cause Early Aging

by Heidi Stevenson

21 November 2009

Childhood abuse not only makes life more difficult, it may also shorten it. As reported by the BBC, a Brown University team in the US studied telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that stabilize DNA and shorten as cells age. They found that telomeres become shorter faster in people who reported having been abused as children.

The study of 31 people needs to be replicated on a much larger scale before it can be accepted as fact. Nonetheless, it may document how abuse can cause severe debility and early death.

It's known from previous studies that telomeres shorten more rapidly when exposed to cigarette smoke, radiation, and other toxins. Further supporting the effect found by the Brown University team are earlier studies documenting shortening effects on telomeres from chronic stress.