Teenage Trauma May Increase the Chance of Physiological Pain in Later life

According to new research, childhood trauma seems to increase the risk of chronic pain in adulthood in addition to a host of other repercussions.

Researchers combed through more than 826,000 people's records spanning more than 75 years. This contained details about the severity of child maltreatment, including physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, as well as other severe trauma.

In particular, their study revealed a substantial correlation between a history of physical maltreatment as a child and chronic pain disorders decades later. However, it also seemed that other types of "adverse childhood experiences" (ACEs) were connected.

"These findings are very troubling, especially considering that every year, over 1 billion children worldwide—roughly half of all children—are exposed to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which increases their likelihood of developing chronic pain and disability later in life.

The results, which were based on information from 57 studies, were released in the European Journal of Psychotraumatology on December 19.

In addition to different kinds of abuse, the new analysis considered trauma related to living with a family member who abuses drugs, losing parents, and violence in the home.

In the study, adult persistent discomfort conditions that frequently interfered with everyday life were low back pain, arthritis, headaches, and migraines.

Bussières' team discovered that children who experienced direct neglect or physical, sexual, or mental abuse were 45 percent more likely than children who did not experience such circumstances to have chronic pain as adults.

Physical assault had the most effect, as it was associated with both chronic pain and severe enough pain to real disability

The study discovered that the likelihood of developing chronic pain increased when "indirect" trauma—such as familial loss, drug abuse by a parent, or marital violence—was added.

The a pressing need to develop focused programmes and assistance systems to break the cycle of adversities and improve the future health of for those individuals who have been exposed to early trauma," Bussières stated in a journal media release, in light of all of this information.

His group believes that more research is necessary to determine why an individual who experienced trauma as a child is more likely to have physical discomfort as an adult. According to academics, a deeper comprehension of the connection may also result in innovative and effective strategies for averting these long-term effects.