Researchers of a new study found that adults exposed to childhood abuse, including physical violence and parental addiction, take longer to recover from depression, according to a University of Toronto researchers.
University of Toronto researchers looked into several factors associated with depression recovery process. More than 1,100 depressed Canadian adults were analyzed and followed for up to 12 years every other year until remission occurred, according to the press statement.
"Early adversities have far-reaching consequences. The average time to recovery from depression was 9 months longer for adults who had been physically abused during their childhood and about 5 months longer for those whose parents had addiction problems" said lead author Esme Fuller-Thomson, Sandra Rotman Endowed Chair in the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
Though researchers were not able to determine a definite reason for why this occurs, they speculate that traumatic experiences during childhood may hamper normal development of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which affects stress regulation.
"In many studies, adult depression has been characterized by HPA axis hyperactivity," said co-author and recent PhD graduate, Sarah Brennenstuhl. "This link is an important avenue for future research."
Statistics show that one in every four Americans, accounting for 26.2 percent of the country's population, suffers from mental disorders, depression being the most common condition. Major Depressive Disorder is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages ranging from 15-44, affecting approximately 14.8 million American adults.
