|15 January 2007 NewScientist.com news service People who were
physically or sexually abused as children are twice as likely to
have inflammatory proteins in their blood, according to a new
study. The findings could explain why children who are abused
show a higher incidence of conditions such as heart disease and
diabetes as adults, the researchers say. Until now, it has not
been clear exactly how early stress could cause these future
health problems, says Andrea Danese, a psychiatrist at King's
College London in the UK. Danese and colleagues monitored 1000
people in New Zealand from birth to the age of 32, noting
factors that created stress and measuring for levels of
inflammation associated with heart disease in their bloodstream.
They found that people who had been physically or sexually
abused, or rejected by their mothers as children were twice as
likely to have significant levels of the C-reactive protein, a
measure of inflammation. Anticipation of pain The team believes
that stress induces abnormal le