Impact of Trauma on Mental and Physical Health
Despite evidence of a direct causal link between adverse childhood experiences and physical ill health in later life being established by the 1998 ACEs study, this knowledge is still not taught in medical schools nor acknowledged in mainstream medicine today. The greater the exposure to adverse experiences in childhood, the higher the risk of disease in adulthood, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, fractures and liver disease. The higher an individual’s ACE score is, the worse their health outcomes were. 6,17
£4.2 billion pounds
is the estimated cost to the UK economy of
Adverse Childhood Experiences in 2020.20
$748 billion US dollars
is the estimated economic impact of
Adverse Childhood Experiencesin 2019 in the United States.4
The ACE study did not take into account environmental and societal stressors such as racism, living in an unsafe neighbourhood or having a history of bullying, all of which add to the burden of stress on the body and the subsequent impact on physical and mental health. 13
We now know that toxic stress causes inflammation throughout the body, which is the mediator which links adverse childhood experiences and exposure to traumatic events, to poor physical and mental health in later life. As clinicians, we can potentially see this manifesting in our patients as heart disease, cancer, lung disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain, depression and anxiety. These physical health conditions form the main burden of disease seen in primary care, but the root cause of this – trauma is not addressed. 14, 28
The programme has given me the possibility to persevere and manage whatever life throws at me.
It has taught me self-compassion. I am proud of myself, feel capable and ready for change
Quote from participant