Childhood physical abuse linked to arthritis
Washington: Children who face physical
abuse, have greater chances of developing arthritis when they
grow up, Canadian scientists have claimed.
According to a research conducted by a team of
University of Toronto scientists, adults who had experienced
physical abuse as children have 56 per cent higher odds of
osteoarthritis compared to those who have not been abused.
The researchers searched for link between
self-reported childhood physical abuse and a diagnosis of
osteoarthritis in the data from the 2005 Canadian Community
Health Survey.
After thoroughly analyzing it, they concluded that
there was significant association between childhood physical
abuse and osteoarthritis in adulthood, journal Arthritis Care
& Research reported.
"We found that 10.2 per cent of those with
osteoarthritis reported they had been physically abused as
children in comparison to 6.5 per cent of those without
osteoarthritis," said Esme Fuller-Thomson who led the
research.
"This study provides further support for the need to
investigate the possible role that childhood abuse plays in
the development of chronic illness," Fuller-Thomson added.
Co-author Sarah Brennenstuhl said, "We were
surprised that the significant association between childhood
physical abuse and osteoarthritis persisted even after
controlling for major potentially confounding factors such as
obesity, age, gender and race."
Bureau Report