Early life stress and frailty in old age: the Helsinki birth cohort study

M J Haapanen,M Simonen,J G Eriksson,K Räikkönen,M B Von Bonsdorff,E Kajantie,A K Pesonen,M K Salonen,M M Perälä,P Pohjolainen

doi:10.1186/s12877-018-0873-5

Abstract

BackgroundEvidence suggests that early life stress (ELS) may extend its effect into adulthood and predispose an individual to adverse health outcomes. We investigated whether wartime parental separation, an indicator of severe ELS, would be associated with frailty in old age.MethodsOf the 972 participants belonging to the present sub-study of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study, 117 (12.0%) had been evacuated abroad unaccompanied by their parents in childhood during World War II. Frailty was assessed at a mean age of 71 years according to Fried’s criteria.ResultsThirteen frail men (4 separated and 9 non-separated) and 20 frail women (2 separated and 18 non-separated) were identified. Compared to the non-separated men, men who had been separated had an increased relative risk ratio (RRR) of frailty (age-adjusted RRR 3.93, 95% CI 1.02, 15.11) that persisted after adjusting for several confounders. No associations were observed among women (RRR 0.62; 95% CI 0.13, 2.94).ConclusionsThese preliminary results suggest that ELS might extend its effects not just into adulthood but also into old age, and secondly, that men may be more vulnerable to the long-term effects of ELS.

Highlights

Evidence suggests that early life stress (ELS) may extend its effect into adulthood and predispose an individual to adverse health outcomes
Study design The present study is a sub-study of the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study (HBCS) that includes 8760 individuals born in Helsinki between the years 1934 and 1944
The prevalence of frailty was 5.1% for the separated and 3.2% for the non-separated cohort members, and it was higher among the separated men compared to non-separated men (7.1% and 2.3%, p = 0.048, Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Evidence suggests that early life stress (ELS) may extend its effect into adulthood and predispose an individual to adverse health outcomes. Increasing evidence suggests that ELS might affect the aging process, with known associations on stress physiology, inflammation and telomere length that persist into adulthood [7,8,9]. Recent evidence suggests the existence of sex differences in responsiveness to ELS [14] Confronted with stress, both adverse and resilient reactions can occur, with evidence indicating that men may cope more poorly with ELS than women [15]. In a study of 1803 individuals of whom 267 had experienced ELS in the form of wartime separation, no differences in physical and psychosocial functioning scores were observed among women at the mean age of 62 years. In that study lower physical and psychosocial functioning scores were observed among the separated men than the non-separated men [16] providing some support for potential gender differences in ELS

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion