Stress during childhood can create a breeding ground for high blood pressure, obesity and type 2 diabetes in adulthood, researchers say.
- Researchers have found that stress during childhood can create a breeding ground for various cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood.
- Anxious children are more likely to grow up to have poor vascular health (and therefore high blood pressure), more body fat around the belly (which is associated with type 2 diabetes), and an increased risk of obesity compared to those who felt less stressed.
- “Healthcare professionals should consider assessing patients’ stress levels early. This way, those with higher stress levels could be identified and receive treatment earlier,” the researchers conclude.
Does the stress experienced during childhood lay the foundation for many illnesses in adulthood? This is what a new study published in the Jjournal of the American Heart Associationwhich invites the authorities to teach anxiety management from adolescence to preserve the health of future generations.
The level of stress assessed at the ages of 6, 13 and 24 on average
To arrive at these conclusions, American researchers examined the data of 276 people who participated in a study carried out in South Carolina between 2003 and 2021. The volunteers had registered as children (average age 6) with their parents, then were followed as adolescents (13 years) and then young adults (24 years).
At each stage, their anxiety was measured via a 4-point stress scale, as well as a questionnaire about their feelings and thoughts over the past month. Participants were thus classified into four groups based on their perception of stress over time: “Consistently high stress, decreased stress, increased stress, or consistently low stress”can we read in a communicated.
The researchers then assessed their cardiometabolic risk as adults, measuring cervical artery thickness, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, weight, body fat percentage, as well as hemoglobin A1c, which calculates the blood sugar level.
Stressed children are at greater risk of cardiometabolic diseases as adults
As a result, it appeared that“consistently high perceived stress since adolescence was associated with a greater risk of cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood”. In the event of high anxiety during their youth, participants were indeed more likely to have poor vascular health (and therefore high blood pressure), more body fat around the belly (which is associated with type 2 diabetes) and an increased risk of obesity compared to those who felt less stressed. Not surprisingly, the association also existed for adults: those who reported being the most anxious were the most likely to suffer from cardiometabolic health problems.
“Healthcare professionals should consider assessing patients’ stress levels early, conclude the researchers. Thus, those with higher stress levels could be identified and receive treatment earlier.” Acting against stress from an early age could help prevent not only cardiometabolic diseases, but also depression and aging, according to various research.
