Researchers at Duke University Medical Center followed 1,420 children aged 9 to 16. These all passed several psychiatric tests during the study period. Then they followed 1,273 participants aged 19 to 26 to see if their childhood problems were augmented into adulthood.
They found that the risk of facing the various difficulties in life was six times higher among those who suffered from psychiatric disorders during childhood. Among the ailments observed: anxiety, depression, hyperactivity and attention deficits. The study’s lead author, William Copeland, told Reuters Health that “the impact of childhood disorders persists even when the disorders themselves no longer persist. »
60% of children who had a psychiatric disorder suffered from difficulties later in life. 80% of participants who faced problems as adults had a history of childhood mental illness. The results of the study were published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
“We know that the psychiatric disorders often predict mental illness, crime, lack of education, lower academic achievement, and social instability later in life. Benjamin Lahey, a public health researcher at the University of Chicago and author of an editorial published with the study, told Reuters Health. But to understand this trend and how to best deal with it, we still need more research. »
