Childhood care reaches deep into adult health status

You stubbed your toe in 1945 and ran crying to your mom. What she did next might play a key role in your overall health 65 years later.

UCLA researchers say it’s all about stress control and inflammation.

Blood samples were taken from more than 50 subjects who grew up in homes with low socioeconomic status (SES). Half the subjects reported warm, loving relationships with their mothers when they were young, and half said their relationships with their mothers were cool or distant.

Analysis of the blood samples showed fewer genetic markers for inflammation in subjects with warm ties to mom.

Subjects with low SES childhoods were chosen because research has linked low SES with chronic inflammation.

The UCLA team suggests that mothers who give their children loving care in moments of stress are also calming hormonal reactions. This makes an impression so deep that it may actually modify genetic responses for decades.

On the other hand, lack of a comforting touch during childhood may produce adults who manage stress poorly, leaving them vulnerable to chronic inflammation.

The researchers caution that a loving mom doesn’t automatically create a healthy adult, just as a distant mom doesn’t automatically create an adult prone to chronic disease. But in many people, details of childhood care might provide clues about adult health status.

So Moms…take out that SpongeBob band-aid, give Junior a hug and let him know it will all be alright–and there’s a better chance that it really will be.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson

Source:
“Kissing a kid’s owies may aid long-term health” LiveScience, 5/18/10, livescience.com