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New York, November 3 (IANS): Children exposed to violence such as physical, emotional or sexual abuse are more likely to experience faster biological aging, including increased puberty and increased symptoms of depression.
The study showed that in early-stage violence victims, accelerated epigenetic aging was associated with an increase in symptoms of depression.
This means that a faster biological aging can be one of the ways by which early adversity "gets under the skin" to contribute to later health problems.
Conversely, children exposed to forms of early deprivation, including neglect and food insecurity, were more likely to experience puberty at a later stage than their peers, the researchers said.
"The results demonstrate that different types of early-life adversity can have different consequences on children's development," said Katie McLaughlin, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington.
For the study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, the team examined 247 children and adolescents aged 8 to 16 years.
The results showed that accelerated aging after exposure to early violence could already be detected in children as young as eight years old.
In addition, the team felt that it was necessary to increase the company's investment to reduce the exposure of children to violence and conduct biomedical and psychological research to reduce the impact of these experiences throughout the lives of these vulnerable people.
The association between aging parameters and depression symptoms may offer doctors a way to identify children who need help, the researchers said.
"The accelerated epigenetic age and pubertal stage could be used to identify young people who are developing faster than expected because of their chronological age and who could benefit from an intervention," said McLaughlin.
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