It has been a common notion that the way a child was raised would determine who they will be in the future. However, there's more to it than meets the eye.
A new study by researchers from the University of Helsinki in Finland reveals that having a stable and positive childhood can influence the heart health in late adulthood. The researchers led by Dr. Laura Pulkki-Råback believe that the results of their study support past evidences that entail childhood's well-being can influence health in later life.
According to Medical News Today, the researchers investigated on the cardiovascular health of 1,089 participants. Initially, they had 3,577 children ages 3 to 18 years old as subjects wherein they assessed their socio-economic status, emotional stability, parental health behaviors, occurrence of stressful events, social adjustiment and the self-regulation of behavioral problems.
About 27 years later, less than half were assessed for cardiovascular health when most of them were 30 to 45 years old. The researchers utilized the American Health Association (AHA) Life's Simple 7, a questionnaire to assess the cardiovascular health of the participants. It includes factors that lead to heart health such as cholesterol, diet, blood, pressure, weight, blood sugar and smoking.
For the findings, they discovered that subjects who experienced stable or positive psychological experiences in their childhood have a better cardiovascular health in adulthood. Specifically, the findings show that children who had positive psychological stability are 14% more likely to have normal weight when they grow up. Also, there is a 12% increased likelihood that they would not smoke and 11% increased risk to have normal blood sugar levels.
The family environment and parents' choices when they were young play a major role in their later-life health. In the study, the researchers said, "The choices parents make have a long-lasting effect on their children's future health, and improvement in any one thing can have measurable benefits. For instance, if an unemployed parent gets steady employment, the effect may be huge. If he or she also quits smoking, the benefit is even greater. All efforts to improve family well-being are beneficial."
