People who survived childhood adversity, such as abuse or neglect, were more likely to be hospitalised or die from COVID-19 in adulthood, a new study has found.

According to the study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, higher self-reported childhood adversity was associated with a 12-25 per cent increased risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation and mortality.

Jamie L. Hanson, a researcher in the US-based Pitt’s Learning Research & Development Center and an assistant professor at the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts & Sciences, looked into the information provided by more than 151,200 adults of middle age or older using the UK Biobank.

The numbers showed that people who reported “adversity” such as abuse or neglect while children were more likely to die or be hospitalised from COVID-19.

"We know that COVID-19 is related to excessive hospitalisation and death in the UK and the US. And there’s emerging research finding that facing adversity, abuse or neglect, early in life, could have sizeable effects on physical health," said Hanson.

"But no one had tried to connect these two trends. Knowing a bit more about someone’s early development could be important to help reduce disparities in COVID-19," he added.

The researchers believe there could be a need for policies and interventions to lessen COVID-19 impacts on people who have suffered from such childhood adversity.

"Adversity may lead to risk for negative outcomes and the potential to have long-COVID. We need to complete more work to understand how adversity gets ‘under the skin’ and increases vulnerability to poor health after COVID-19 infections," Hanson stated.