Between 1995 and 1997, the Kaiser Permanente health care system asked patients to complete a questionnaire assessing exposure to trauma before the age of 18. The goal of the study was to determine whether early-life trauma correlated with—not caused—later diagnoses of serious illness. This relationship may be influenced by multiple factors, including toxic stress (such as its impact on telomere shortening), genetics, environmental exposures, and coping behaviors like smoking and alcohol use.
This study—and many published since—found that patients with an ACE score of 4 or more had significantly increased health risks, including:
- Chronic pulmonary disease: 390% higher risk
- Hepatitis (a liver infection that can lead to chronic damage and cancer): 240% higher risk
- Depression: 460% higher risk
- Attempted suicide: 1,220% higher risk
Click here to read the patient's story.
