It doesn’t take much convincing to believe that child abuse can lead to lifelong psychological problems for its victims, but are sufferers of child abuse more likely to develop cancer later in life? A new study out Canada found a strong association.
The University of Toronto researchers concluded that childhood physical abuse is associated with a 49 percent increased risk of cancer in adulthood. Even after taking into account potentially major health factors — childhood stressors, adult socioeconomic status and adult behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and lack of physical activity — the association between childhood abuse and cancer remained significant, they found.
