Early Childhood Stress Has Lingering Effects On Health

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090126173606.htm

ScienceDaily (Jan. 27, 2009) — Stressful experiences in early childhood can have long-lasting impacts on kids' health that persist well beyond the resolution of the situation.

The conclusion comes from a study revealing impaired immune function in adolescents who, as youngsters, experienced either physical abuse or time in an orphanage, when compared to peers who never experienced such difficult circumstances. The report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison appears online the week of Jan. 26 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Even though these children's environments have changed, physiologically they're still responding to stress. That can affect their learning and their behavior, and having a compromised immune system is going to affect these children's health," says senior author Seth Pollak, a professor of psychology and pediatrics at UW-Madison.