It is now well established that stress is detrimental to health, especially stress experienced at work. But a new study by researchers at Harvard University (USA) shows that stress is bad from early childhood. According to the results of their study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, children who experience high levels of stress will be at greater risk of diabetes or cardiovascular disease later in life.
For this study, the researchers analyzed the medical records of more than 7,000 people born in Great Britain in 1958. All were born the same week and were followed for 45 years. Information about their stress was collected when they were 7, 11, 16, 23, 33 and 42 years old. Then, at the age of 45, the researchers checked their blood pressure and checked for biomarkers by taking blood samples. This allowed them to obtain a cardiometabolic score which indicates each individual’s heart or diabetes risk.
The results showed that people who had experienced high levels of stress during their childhood had a higher metabolic score (generally associated with being overweight or obese) than those who had had a low level of stress. “And even if the level of stress fell when the children grew up, the consequences on health do not disappear” underline the authors.
Read also :
We would spend 5 years of our lives worrying
Stress: staying calm preserves health
All our anti-stress recipes
