Summary in seconds: socioeconomic disparity of children in the United States (US) and its impact on them during their childhood and beyond, a recent study links race to Toxic Stress, and describing Toxic stress in a nutshell.
Children across the United States grow up in vastly different environments that shape their responses to stress and ability to function later in life. Several studies have found positive associations between childhood adversity and the prevalence of poor psychosocial and behavioral outcomes later in life.
A recently published study1, investigated the potential link between socioeconomic conditions of Black families and the brain size of Black children. Researchers collected MRI data, parent and child self-reports of adversity-related measures, and U.S. Census neighborhood data. This data was used to investigate the relationship between racial disparities in adversity exposure and race-related differences in brain structure.
Researchers1 found that increased “stressors” like economic hardship and systemic racism play a significant role for Black children and can lead to the development of mental health issues as they age. The “stressors” contribute to Black children having less gray matter in their brains, a byproduct of absorbing “toxic stress.”
What are the consequences of “toxic stress”? 2
Children feel “toxic stress” when they are exposed to strong, frequent, and prolonged challenges, like: abuse, neglect, violence, and substance abuse in their homes. Extended exposure to “toxic stress” triggers responses from the children’s nervous systems, immune systems, and even changes in their DNA. Toxic stress causes the fear centers of the brain (limbic system and amygdala) to significantly increase in size, leading to the development of symptoms which mimic those of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Toxic stress decreased the size and impaired the function of regions in the brain responsible for learning, memory, executive functioning, like the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. As a result, these children are at risk for having learning and behavior problems. The suppression of children’s immune system may put them at risk for developing a variety of chronic, lifelong health conditions including asthma, heart disease, stroke, autoimmune diseases, and cancer. DNA changes may affect children’s gene expression, bodily functions, and can potentially be passed on to the next generation2.
More granular assessments of structural inequities across racial/ethnic identities are needed for a thorough understanding of their impact on the brain. Together, with the findings of the present study1, they may provide insight into potential systemic contributors to disparate rates of psychiatric disease among Black and White individuals in the United States.
Source
1. Dumornay et al., Radical Disparities in Aversities During Childhood and the False Appearance of Race-related Differences in Brain Structure. The American Journal of Psychiatry, Published on line on February 1, 2023.
https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.21090961
2. Texas Children Hospital, The Impact of Toxic Stress on Children. Texas Children Blog.
https://www.texaschildrens.org/blog/impact-toxic-stress-children