Health Discoveries Winter 2022 | Page 13

witness domestic violence , lose a parent , or experience household substance abuse or mental illness . Known as adverse childhood experiences , or ACEs , they may cause toxic stress — a constant revving of the stress response system that wears down the body and brain , setting them up for a host of problems down the road .

Tyrka says the CDC-Kaiser Permanente ACEs Study , which surveyed thousands of American adults in the late 1990s , “ went a long way toward first documenting the evidence for the association between those adverse childhood experiences and poor health outcomes .” Almost two-thirds of study participants reported at least one ACE ; such experiences are linked to a greater chance of physical and mental health problems , injuries , risky behavior , pregnancy complications , and early death . More trauma appears to compound the risk : four or more ACEs , Tyrka says , cuts short someone ’ s life an average of 20 years .
STAR researchers are investigating the molecular mechanisms behind these associations . Genetic studies , for example , reveal patterns in DNA that correlate with trauma and adversity . “ You can see a clear effect of childhood parental loss and childhood maltreatment ,” Tyrka says of their studies of otherwise healthy adults .
A long-running study of children is further teasing out the relationship between adversity and certain molecular markers . In 2010 Tyrka and a colleague launched the Kids ’ Marker Study ( KMS ), which follows children from preschool through early adolescence , all from low-income families , and half of whom have experienced abuse or neglect .
When the kids were 3 to 5 years old , researchers visited their homes to observe parent-child interactions ; interviewed parents about the children ’ s mental and physical health ; and collected saliva DNA samples . They met again six months later . “ There ’ s a lot of data we collect from these families , and they ’ re so generous with their time ,” Parade says . ( Participants receive compensation .) The researchers saw consistent associations between biomarkers and the children ’ s depressive , anxious , and antisocial behaviors , as reported by parents .
When the study participants are ages 9 to 11 , they attend KMS ’ s free , week-long summer camp in Exeter . Other than the heart rate monitors , biospecimen collection , and questionnaires , it ’ s a pretty typical camp experience , with nature , sports , and art activities . “ The kids love it . The staff love it ,” Tyrka says . Though the researchers don ’ t yet have results , Camp KMS is yielding a treasure trove of data for studies of risk for psychiatric disorders , obesity , and other health and behavioral problems .

“ There ’ s a lot of work that needs to be done . It ’ s what we really need to do as a society , because social disparities and inadequate support for families have created this risk .”

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