Sex, physical abuse linked to lung cancer

ATLANTA, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Childhood adverse events such as sexual of physical abuse have been linked to an increased risk of lung cancer later in life, U.S. researchers found.

The study, published in the journal BMC Public Health, described how the link is partly explained by raised rates of cigarette smoking in victims of childhood trauma, but other factors may also be to blame.

David Brown and Robert Anda of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked with a team of researchers to study the effects of abuse -- emotional, physical, sexual -- witnessing domestic violence, parental separation, or growing up in a household where people were mentally ill, substance abusers, or sent to prison.

"Adverse childhood experiences were associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, particularly premature death from lung cancer," the researchers said in a statement. "Although smoking behaviors, including early smoking initiation and heavy smoking, account for the greater part of this risk, other mechanisms or pathophysiologic pathways may be involved."

Child adverse event information was collected from 17,337 between 1995 and 1997.

"Compared to those who claimed no childhood trauma, people who experienced six or more traumas were about three times more likely to have lung cancer, identified either through hospitalization records or mortality records," the researchers said.