to Childhood Trauma and Cancer   The relationship between self-reported childhood trauma and the presence of a diagnosis of cancer during adult life was examined in the present study. Data were taken from the 1994/95 Canadian National Population Health Survey of 15,106 Canadians. Childhood trauma, was measured by a 7-item index (reflecting physical abuse, fearful experiences, being sent away from home, hospitalization and parental disturbance). The presence of trauma during childhood was associated with higher cancer rates during adulthood, and each increase in the types of trauma that were experienced was associated with an increase in cancer (see graph). For example, those who were exposed to three or more types of trauma had more than twice the odds of a cancer diagnosis than those who reported no trauma. Source: Cui X and Thompson AH. Childhood stress and cancer: Evidence from the National Population Health Survey 1994/95. Presented at the Alberta Cancer Board Annual Research Meeting, Calgary, November 1996.    Social Problems Menu