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At the recent 44th Health Economics Association Conference in Madrid, Spain, researchers presented compelling evidence that traumatic experiences in childhood have long-lasting effects on both health and wealth in adulthood. The study revealed that individuals who faced early life adversity reported a 1.4% increase in chronic conditions and a 1.1-point increase in mobility limitation. While their self-perceived physical health showed no significant effects, mental health declined by 1%, and net worth dropped by 8%.

These findings were presented by Jaime Pinilla, PhD in Economics, professor in the Department of Quantitative Methods for Economics and Management at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Las Palmas, Spain, and Alexandrina Stoyanova, PhD in Economics (2004), professor of Economics at the University of Barcelona School of Economics, Barcelona, Spain.

The research, conducted as part of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) project, also involved Miguel Ángel Negrín, PhD, professor of Econometrics and Statistics at the ULPGC, and Rosa María Urbanos Garrido, PhD, professor of Applied Economics at the Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

The study analysed 86,212 observations from 13,924 individuals aged 50 years and older, including 8039 participants (9.32%) from Spain.

Pinilla explained that SHARE is a longitudinal study that tracks individuals over time to explore how childhood experiences affect physical, mental, and socioeconomic health in old age. “We aimed to identify correlations between those circumstances and current health status, defining those events as traumatic events,” he said.

Traumatic childhood experiences included living without basic amenities such as an indoor bathroom or running water, in overcrowded homes, or outside the family unit.

“We also considered more severe experiences — such as growing up in psychiatric hospitals, labour camps, or other institutions — not necessarily due to personal problems but often as a result of challenging conditions within the family environment,” noted Pinilla.

“We found that those who have suffered childhood trauma experience greater chronicity, poorer mental health, and more functional limitations in adulthood,” Pinilla emphasised.

The data showed that childhood hunger was linked to a 15.8% increase in chronic illnesses and a 25% decline in mental health.

The economic impact was also significant in this study. Pinilla noted, “We observed a 31.7% reduction in the net worth of individuals who experienced hunger during childhood,”

The research team argued that these findings highlight the need for preventive social intervention. “The goal is to focus on individuals who have lived through such circumstances, to prevent these disadvantages from accumulating or worsening in adulthood,” they concluded.

The study was funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, and the European Union.

This story was translated from El Medico Interactivo.