Physical or emotional abuse during childhood could speed up the body's ageing process, US research suggests.
A team from Brown University focused on telomeres, the protective caps on the chromosomes that keep a cell's DNA stable but shorten with age.
They found the telomeres of 31 people who had reported abuse as children tended to shorten more rapidly, speeding up cells' ageing process.
Experts cautioned that the study needed to be replicated on a larger scale.
The study is featured in Biological Psychiatry.
Lead researcher Dr Audrey Tyrka said: "It gives us a hint that early developmental experiences may have profound effects on biology that can influence cellular mechanisms at a very basic level."
Telomeres are relatively short sections of specialised DNA that sit at the ends of all our chromosomes.
They have been compared to the plastic tips at the ends of shoelaces that prevent the laces from unravelling. - BBC
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