Does Childhood Misfortune Increase Cancer Risk in Adulthood?

Objective: To address the inconsistent findings on whether childhood misfortune increases adult cancer occurrence. Methods: This study uses longitudinal data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) that first sampled 3,032 respondents aged 25 to 74 during 1995-1996. A series of logistic regressions were estimated separately for men and women to test whether the effect of childhood misfortune on adult cancer was largely cumulative or specific to the type or profile of misfortune. Results: For men, additive childhood misfortune, physical abuse by father, and frequent abuse by either parent increased cancer risk. For women, physical abuse by mother and frequent abuse by either parent increased cancer risk. Discussion: Analyses revealed the importance of examining alternative specifications of childhood misfortune for men and women. Additive childhood misfortune predicted cancer for men only, whereas child abuse by parent of the same sex predicted cancer for men and women.