A new study takes a look at childhood experiences and how they can benefit us as we age. The focus of this particular study is the impact that positive experiences during childhood have upon our heart health.
The study found that positive experiences during childhood and youth tend to be correlated to improved health health outcomes later on during our senior years. In other words, someone who has had a childhood full of love and free of negative experiences tends to suffer fewer complications from heart disease and other aspects of cardiovascular issues as they grow old.
It has been previously established in past research projects that childhood trauma, including abuse and neglect, has a negative impact on heart health as people age. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) also has a negative impact on things like someone’s likelihood to use tobacco products or consume alcohol or illegal substances. The more ACEs that someone experienced, the worse their prognosis tends to be as they age, unfortunately.
This new research approaches the same topic from a different angle. The conclusion of this study was that positive experiences tend to lower the risk of these negative outcomes. For example, someone who had a warm and loving childhood is less likely to abuse substances. Someone who did not face abuse as they grew up was more likely to be free of heart disease during their senior years, as well.
Cardiovascular disease remains the biggest killer in the U.S. With this, there are some populations that are impacted more than others. For example, black individuals are about twice as likely to die from heart issues than white individuals are.
The team published their findings in the journal, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Like many other related studies, this research gives hope for the future. It shows that it’s possible to help people improve the quality of life that they experience. Early interventions and prevention are obviously the best way to do this, but they aren’t the only way. There’s always more work to do, but this is a reassuring find.
If you have questions about how senior care might be able to benefit you or a loved one, we’re happy to help. Childhood experiences can and do impact us for the rest of our lives. They shape us into the person that we become. However, this study reveals that it doesn’t all have to be negative. There are positives that come out of the things that we experience, even if we have been through some terrible things in our lives.
We can’t go back in time and change things. But we can make the most of what we have and change our future. This is true for young adults and seniors alike. Even as a senior citizen, there are things that you can do to ensure that you have a better quality of life moving forward.
If you’d like to learn more about how in-home care can help you accomplish this, let us know. One of our caregivers would be honored to talk more with you.
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