Dr. Vincent Felitti with the University of California at San Diego conducted a study of 18,000 Kaiser Permanente patients. Participants in the study were debriefed in detail about their childhood experiences. Their health behaviors and outcomes were monitored for 10 years. The breadth and quality of the study are striking and its results are devastating but hopeful in that it may help mainstream society begin to take a look at the truth. Among the studies conclusions: (1) All of the top 10 causes of death in the United States can be linked to childhood adverse events such as physical, emotional or sexual abuse, alcohol abuse in the family, loss of a parent and so on and (2) the presence and number of adverse events in childhood are strong predictors of future “risk behaviors” and diseases such as smoking, alcoholism, sexual promiscuity, obesity, depression and drug use.

What is devastating is that this population of 18,000 people was anything but marginal. Eighty percent were Caucasian and 44 percent had graduated from college. The results of the study cannot be dismissed as those characteristic of a “marginalized” population—this is “mainstream” America. Fifty-two percent of the participants had at least one category of adverse events during their childhood.

The Dirt! is a service to the environmentally minded community. So why am I writing about public health? Why should you care?

For this simple reason: a healthy natural world is the outcome of a healthy partnership of humans with the non-human world. For that relationship to be healthy it must be made of intelligent, wise decisions and habits grounded in an ethic of caring stewardship. The behaviors that will support such a caring partnership are the fruit of a healthy, caring and functional family and social ground. If we love nature, and we want to nurture it, then it would be wise for us to learn to love humans too and care for them. The health of the public body and of the earth body are inextricably bound together.

For more information about Dr. Felitti’s study you can go to: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ace/