Child maltreatment as a predictor of adult physical functioning in a prospective British birth cohort

Objective Child maltreatment (abuse and neglect) has established associations with mental health; however, little is known about its relationship with physical functioning. Physical functioning (ie, the ability to perform the physical tasks of daily living) in adulthood is an important outcome to consider, as it is strongly associated with an individual’s ability to work, and future disability and dependency. We aimed to establish whether maltreatment was associated with physical functioning, independent of other early-life factors. Setting 1958 British birth cohort. Participants 8150 males and females with data on abuse and who participated at age 50 years. Outcome measures The primary outcome was poor physical functioning at 50 years ( 3 types of maltreatment, compared with those with none. Associations of similar magnitude were observed for mental and self-reported health outcomes. Conclusions Child neglect, psychological and sexual abuse were associated with poor physical functioning at 50 years, with accumulating risk for those with multiple types of maltreatment. Associations were independent of numerous early-life factors and were comparable in magnitude to those observed for mental health and self-rated health. Prevention or alleviation of the ill effects of maltreatment could be an effective policy intervention to promote healthy ageing.