People with neurological disorders are more likely to have had adverse experiences during childhood

Adults with neurological disorders are more likely than the general population to have had adverse childhood experiences such as abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction, according to a study published in the September 22, 2021 online issue. Neurology^® Clinical practice, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study does not prove that neurological disorders are caused by such experiences. It only shows an association between the two.

Traumatic events in childhood have been linked in previous studies to a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, riskier health behaviors such as smoking and drug use, and decreased life expectancy. . They have also been linked to a higher risk of headaches, but for many other neurological conditions, little is known. Our study found that people with neurological disorders like stroke, headache, and epilepsy were more likely to have experienced abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction as children compared to the general population. American. “

Adys Mendizabal MD, Study Author, University of California Los Angeles and Fellow, American Academy of Neurology

The study involved 198 people who were patients of a neurology clinic. Each person completed an Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire and was screened for anxiety and depression. The researchers also looked at medical records to determine how often study participants visited an emergency department, were hospitalized, or called their clinic.

Scores for the questionnaire ranged from zero to 10. Scores of four or more were considered high scores. The researchers compared the prevalence of high scores in the study group of people with neurological disorders to the estimated prevalence in the US population. They found that within the study group, 24% had high scores, compared to 13% of the general population.

After adjusting for age, sex, and race / ethnicity, the researchers found that study participants who scored high on the questionnaire made heavy use of health services. They were 21 times more likely than participants with low scores to have high emergency department use, with four or more visits in the past year. They were five times more likely to be hospitalized at least three or more times in the past year. And they were three times more likely to call their clinic 15 or more times in the past year. Mendizabal said these results suggest that people with a high number of adverse childhood experiences may have more neurological symptoms, disability, or greater medical needs.

In addition to their neurological condition, participants with high scores were six times more likely to have an additional medical problem and five times more likely to have a psychiatric problem as well.

They were also seven times more likely to have high depression scores and four times more likely to have high anxiety scores.

“Recognizing these very unfavorable childhood experiences early on in people with neurological disorders may be a way to improve their health,” Mendizabal said. “Appropriate referral to social work and behavioral health resources can provide people with supports that can reduce their health care needs and improve their neurological health.”

One limitation of the study was that participants completed the questionnaire based on their memory and may not remember all events accurately. The other limitations were that the study was conducted in a single clinic and that there was a limited representation of people with certain neurological conditions such as movement disorders and traumatic brain injury.