Adversity in childhood is linked to mental and physical health throughout life

Charles A Nelson; Richard David Scott; Zulfiqar A Bhutta; Nadine Burke Harris; Andrea Danese; Muthanna Samara

doi:10.1136/bmj.m3048

Adversity in childhood is linked to mental and physical health throughout life

BMJ. 2020 Oct 28:371:m3048. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m3048.

Authors

Charles A Nelson, Richard David Scott¹, Zulfiqar A Bhutta^{2

3}, Nadine Burke Harris⁴, Andrea Danese⁵, Muthanna Samara⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Boston, MA, USA.
² Centre for Global Child Health, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada.
³ Institute for Global Health and Development, Aga Khan University, South Central Asia, East Africa and UK.
⁴ State of California, CA, USA.
⁵ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and the National and Specialist CAMHS Clinic for Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
⁶ Department of Psychology, Kingston University London, London, UK.

Abstract

The prevalence of “toxic stress” and huge downstream consequences in disease, suffering, and financial costs make prevention and early intervention crucial, say Charles A Nelson and colleagues

MeSH terms

Adverse Childhood Experiences*
Child
Child, Preschool
Exposure to Violence / psychology
Health Status*
Humans
Infant
Life Change Events*
Mental Health*
Psychological Trauma
Stress, Psychological / psychology