Adults from sad upbringings likelier to get cancer

Events range from a family member in jail to physical, sexual or emotional abuse.

Children who grow up in a dysfunctional or abusive home are more likely to develop depression and cancer as adults, and they’re more likely to one day have children with health issues as well, according to a study released Tuesday by the Colorado Department of Human Services and the University of Denver.

The report measured adverse childhood experiences, which are events that range from physical, sexual or emotional abuse to different types of household dysfunctions such as family member incarceration.

According to the report, nearly 62 percent of adults surveyed reported experiencing at least one such event, and 15 percent reported more than four experiences.

Adults with at least one reported incident were twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression, and those with four or more incidents were nearly twice as likely to suffer from cancer and almost six times more likely to experience depression, the report said.

Their children also suffer significantly, according to the study.

They were two to five times as likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. Also, although their parents reported greater need for mental health services, they had less access to them.

DU professors Sarah Watamura and Samantha Brown developed the report, “Parental History of Adversity and Child Wellbeing: Insights from Colorado.” It looked at data collected from 3,677 Colorado residents 18-98 years old who completed the module as part of a 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey.

This isn’t the first study of its kind. But Watamura said what’s new is the ability to correlate data from two sources: adults who have experienced adversity and the transmission to their children.

“What is novel and exciting is that we asked a subset of parents about their kids,” she said. “We’re seeing intergenerational transmission of adversity.”

Jordana Ash, the early childhood and mental health director for the Office of Early Childhood, said the report is a crucial first step toward recognizing the impacts those negative experiences can have and using the findings as a call to action for the community.

“We learned that (adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs) are unacceptably common in our communities,” she said. “We’re working to change that. First, we release the report, then have the conversations that bring together a variety of groups to ask what we can do to change the trajectory. One of the things that might happen as a result is funding might arrive.”

Watamura hopes more funding can be applied toward prevention, rather than to the health problems caused by such childhood experiences.

“The health issues that can arise from ACEs are costly and can severely decrease productivity and the overall well-being of Coloradans. We owe it to our children to continue to study how a holistic, intergenerational approach can lead to a healthier Colorado,” she said. “This is probably the most pressing health issue. It’s big and complicated, and we need a lot of people at the table.”