New Delhi: People whose childhoods featured abuse, neglect, or domestic abuse are more likely to be at risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis in later life, according to a study on Wednesday. 

Researchers from the University of Birmingham used a Dexter software platform with a database of over 16 million Electronic Health Records.

The software checked the records over 26 years for medical codes of immune-mediated inflammatory disorders (IMIDs) and found childhood maltreatment was associated with increased incidence rates for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.

The findings, published in the journal Communications Physics, showed that the increase in risk was significant for both diseases. The diseases were also found to be more pronounced in women than in men.

"As far as we’re aware, this is the first matched cohort longitudinal study to investigate the relationship between childhood maltreatment and immune-mediated inflammatory disorders (IMIDs) in later life,” said Dr Liam Snook from the University of Birmingham.

From 16 million records, the software identified 256,130 records coded for exposure before 18 years of age to abuse (physical, sexual, or emotional), neglect, or domestic abuse, either by the GP, or codes relating to social services involvement.

The control group consisted of 712,478 records which were matched on age, sex, indices of deprivation, and GP surgery.

The team checked the records from these two cohorts for diagnostic codes for immune-mediated inflammatory disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, coeliac disease, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus from 1995 to 2021.

The findings showed the childhood maltreatment cohort had a significantly increased risk for: rheumatoid arthritis: 11.19/100,000 patient years vs 7.77/100,000 patient-years; and psoriasis: 152.79/100,000 patient years vs 128.74/100,000 patient-years.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the joints. It's characterised by pain, swelling, stiffness, and tenderness in the joints.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that causes red, scaly patches on the skin. It's an autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system overreacts, causing skin cells to multiply too quickly. (IANS)