Traumatic childhood and life expectancy

The Center's Dr. Sandra Bloom is quoted in a recent article, "Traumatic Childhood May Take Years Off Adult Life," by Patricia McAdams, available on the Health Behavior News Services.

David W. Brown., D.Sc., an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and colleagues found that children who were exposed to six or more “adverse childhood experiences” were at double the risk of premature death compared to children who had not suffered these experiences.

“The database of the Adverse Childhood Experiences study, utilized in this issue by Dr. Brown and his colleagues to demonstrate the link between childhood adversity and premature death, may ultimately provide us with most important public health data ever compiled,” said Sandra L. Bloom, M.D., an associate professor of health management and policy at Drexel University School of Public Health.