Elza Fiúza / Apr
And children subject to mistreatment is at greater risk of developing illness throughout life. Conclusions from new study by FMUP are “frightening” and “all responsible”, warns researcher.
A study by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP), which includes data from two decades, concluded that children victims of traumatic events may be escaping the radar of health professionals and, consequently, the competent authorities.
According to a summary sent to Lusa agency, “Only 2%” Children under 16 years in a row at the Matosinhos local health unit in the Porto district, from 2001 to 2021, are referred to as probable victims of abuse, neglect or family dysfunction – or about 900 in over 40,000.
“And when we know that domestic violence, according to the statistics of the various associations, and also the constant in the Rasi [Relatório Anual de Segurança Interna]corresponds to about 20, 25% of families in Portugal. If, in this period and with this sample, it has only detected 2%, something is badly told, ”FMUP teacher Teresa Magalhães added to Lusa, leaving alert to public decision makers, health professionals and educators.
“Detecting and reporting cases of childhood trauma victims is critical to instituting early treatment and thus avoiding the escalating damage to your current and future health,” said Teresa Magalhães.
For the teacher, “ lack of communication On the part of the health system will delay or even prevent victims’ access to medical, psychological, social, security and judiciary support they need. ”
More trauma, more type 2 diabetes and cholesterol
The study also detected that in people who will have lived Traumatic events In childhood, the percentage of health problems is superior.
There is one increased risk of injuries, which It can be more than doubleas well as intoxications, mental disturbances such as hyperactivity disturbance and attention deficit, and social problems, compared to the rest of the studied population.
The work, “adverse childhood experiences and health results: a 20 -year study in the real world”, in January in the academic journal Frontiers of Medicine, also indicates that the Type 2 diabetes and the high cholesterol These are the main diseases presented by people who will have experienced trauma when they were children.
Type 2 diabetes is almost three times higher in this group. Also common are diseases such as metabolic syndrome, asthma, urinary infections and even cancer.
According to the researchers, this association between traumatic events and health problems may be explained by “chronic stress” that will cause an imbalance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, as well as “disruption of the immune and neuroendocrine network”.
In the summary of FMUP it is also described that “There may be epigenetic changes in these childrendue to changes in DNA itself and telomers shortening, a phenomenon that is associated with a series of diseases. ”
Insisting that the conclusions are “frightening” and “all responsible”, Teresa Magalhães warns that the development of physical and mental illnesses will greatly depend on the ability of health professionals to identify the signs and suspicious symptoms, even in the absence of an explicit physical signal.
“Most of the injuries in children are accidental. However, doctors must be aware of the possibility of a wound being a sign of abuse,” he says.
The lack of justification, unusual location, standards and symmetry, multiple injuries and different states of evolution, and late demand for health care may be considered indicators.
Since 2001, abuse of children are public crime, so, after notifying the suspicion by health professionals, it is not necessary to submit a complaint to begin an investigation of the case.
The records consulted are care in hospital, either in the context of urgent and in hospitalization as well as in health centers.
