New study links childhood trauma to COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- People who endured childhood adversity, like abuse or neglect, were more likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19 in adulthood, according to a new study by researchers of the University of Pittsburgh.

Higher self-reported childhood adversity was linked to 12 to 25 percent higher odds of COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality, according to the study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

While age, sex, ethnicity, health, and sociodemographic factors have been related to such outcomes throughout the pandemic, this was the first study finding a link between these COVID-19 outcomes and childhood neglect and abuse.

"These findings highlight how trauma early in life can have long-lasting impacts on health decades later," said Jamie L. Hanson, a researcher in the Learning Research and Development Center and an assistant professor in psychology at the university.

"We may need targeted interventions for individuals and certain communities affected by childhood adversity to lessen the pandemic's lasting impact," Hanson said.