Adopted children may develop immune diseases
Abandoned children who spend their early years in orphanages and are then adopted, are likely to develop immune system problems, even if they are subsequently raised with affection by a loving family, according to a study from the University of Wisconsin, USA. Specialists say that this is true of children adopted before the age of three years and who then spent more than ten years with adoptive families.
“Even though these children’s environments have changed, physiologically they’re still responding to stress. That can affect their learning and their behaviour, and having a compromised immune system is going to affect these children’s health,” said Seth Pollak, Professor in Psychology and Paediatrics at the University of Wisconsin.
Experts who carried out the research studied the level of antibodies for the common and usually latent herpes simplex virus, analysing over 150 children separated into three groups. In the first group were children who grew up with abusive families, in the second were adopted children, and the third group was a control group. While two thirds of American people are carrying this virus, which causes cold sores, the majority of people have a strong enough immune system to keep it under control. Those with weakened immune systems have trouble suppressing the virus and produce higher levels of antibodies. Both physically abused children and those who had been in institutions had the same elevated levels of antibodies which the study concluded was due to the effects of the stress to which they had been subjected.
“These children could develop diseases related to disorders of the immune system, such as asthma or allergies,” said Christopher Coe, Professor in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin.
Children included in the research group were aged between six months and seven years when they were adopted and had lived with their families for more than three years and less than 13. They had lived in institutions in Romania, Russia, Eastern Europe and China and had been adopted into Wisconsin families.
Other studies of children have shown that family functioning and early life events can influence even the frequency of respiratory illnesses. And retrospective surveys of adults who had experienced abuse as children indicate that they are more likely to develop chronic pain conditions and gastrointestinal disorders.
“Not long ago we were saying that everything is related to the mind. But now we can say that there is a real connection between mind and body,” concluded Professor Seth Pollak.
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