Child abuse makes depression worse

ROCHESTER, Minn., May 22 (UPI) -- A history of child abuse makes most psychiatric illnesses worse and abuse increases the challenges facing depressed inpatients, U.S. researchers say.

Dr. Magdalena Romanowicz of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said a history of child abuse significantly impacts the wide range of challenges including an increase in suicide attempts, prevalence of substance use disorder and a higher incidence rate of personality disorder.

Additionally, the abuse victims also had an earlier onset of mental illness and an increase in psychiatric hospitalizations for psychiatric issues, said Romanowicz, the lead author.

The impact of child abuse already is known to increase the risk of suicide, however the literature about other characteristics of depressed victims of child abuse is scarce.

Although the findings of the Mayo study do not confirm causality, the information stresses the importance of more aggressive approaches from the public health perspective to prevent child abuse.