--- title: Childhood Trauma and Psychiatric Disorders May Accelerate Aging description: Researchers say childhood adversity and stress disorders are associated with aging on the cellular level. canonical: https://time.com/3675924/rough-childhood-aging-trauma-psychiatric-conditions/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-21T06:03:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:44:18.441Z article:section: Health og:title: A Rough Childhood Can Literally Age You og:description: Scientists see a link between early trauma and cellular aging og:url: https://time.com/3675924/rough-childhood-aging-trauma-psychiatric-conditions/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8684a4044bec378a/69877aeb55a85936b0a855ba/458909847.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5944 og:image:height: 3344 og:image:alt: 458909847 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Rough Childhood Can Literally Age You twitter:description: Scientists see a link between early trauma and cellular aging twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8684a4044bec378a/69877aeb55a85936b0a855ba/458909847.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # A Rough Childhood Can Literally Age You Says a New Study by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Jan 21, 2015 6:03 AM UTC  Hanging out at the farm Hanging out at the farmGetty Images by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Jan 21, 2015 6:03 AM UTC Childhood trauma and psychiatric conditions [may cause](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150120142817.htm) individuals to experience accelerated aging, according to research published last week. In a study featured in _Biological Psychiatry,_ scientists say they may have found evidence to suggest there is a link between aging at the cellular level and trauma or stress disorders. To complete the study, researchers recruited 299 adults and separated them into different groups based on their experiences with childhood adversity, depression, anxiety or substance abuse. The participants then had their DNA analyzed to study the lengths of their telomeres and any alterations to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Telomere shortening and higher mtDNA content can serve as a yardstick to measure cellular aging. “Results of the study show childhood adversity and lifetime psychopathology were each associated with shorter telomeres and higher mtDNA content,” read the report. These effects were seen particularly in adults who had battled with major depression and anxiety disorders, along with parental loss or childhood maltreatment. “Identifying the changes that occur at a cellular level due to these psychosocial factors allows us to understand the causes of these poor health conditions and possibly the overall aging process,” said Audrey Tyrka, associate professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University. \[[_Science Daily_](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150120142817.htm)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3675924/rough-childhood-aging-trauma-psychiatric-conditions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3675924/rough-childhood-aging-trauma-psychiatric-conditions/"},"headline":"A Rough Childhood Can Literally Age You Says a New Study","datePublished":"2015-01-21T06:03:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:44:18.441Z","description":"Researchers say childhood adversity and psychiatric disorders may be linked to cellular changes that cause aging","url":"https://time.com/3675924/rough-childhood-aging-trauma-psychiatric-conditions/","keywords":["Research","Aging","DNA","Childhood","study","Science topic","Biology","Trauma"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8684a4044bec378a/69877aeb55a85936b0a855ba/458909847.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8684a4044bec378a/69877aeb55a85936b0a855ba/458909847.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"458909847","caption":"458909847","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/research/","name":"Research"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3675924/rough-childhood-aging-trauma-psychiatric-conditions/","name":"A Rough Childhood Can Literally Age You Says a New Study"}}]}] ```