Epidemiology: read article and find criteria for causality - Essay Example

Epidemiology Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley describe physical punishment as a stress-inducing action that increases the risk of future health complications. In the study, we consider the strength of association between the cause and effect. Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley explain that beating and insults were highly correlated. This is because among the participants who reported frequent beatings 97% of them reported to have experienced monthly insults (Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley 4). The researchers’ clarify that frequent beating and insults increase the relative risks for cancer, asthma and cardiac disease.

The relative risk presented in the study was 1.7 for cancer disease, 1.3 for cardiac disease and 1.6 for asthma. The relative risks present a weak to moderate strength in causality association. According to Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley a parenting style that utilises physical punishment induces stress on the children. The researchers explain that induced stress increases the risk for somatic diseases.The study illustrates consistency with previous researches that indicate that child abuse and early life stressors affect an adult’s somatic health.

Hyland, Alkhalaf and Whalley state that previous researches explain that chronic minor stresses induce pathogenic effects. Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley focus their study on stress inducing parenting style, which involves beating and abusing of children. They try to link the long-term adverse health effects experience in adulthood to the childhood experience (Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley 6). The study conclusively indicates that the cause and effect in the study exhibits temporality. Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley explain that physically punishing children serves as a signal of threat that creates stress.

Stress induction in childhood is partly responsible for the physical diseases experienced in adulthood. According to other related studies, it is evident that factors such as child abuse, socioeconomic status, household dysfunction, which induce stress increases occurrence of adult somatic diseases. On the other hand, research shows that childhood stress is responsible for epigenetic and various changes that predispose one to disease through a raised non-specific inflammatory profile (Hyland, Alkhalaf and Whalley 6).

The study indicates the existence of a biological gradient in the subject matter under consideration. Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley suggest that a beating frequency of only once per six months increases the risk of cancer, asthma and cardiac disease. The study did support the idea that an infrequent beating did have a pathogenic effect. Data from studies show in some cases frequent beatings resulted to death and disability. There are cases where adults under study experienced greater distortions when reflecting on the events from childhood (Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley 6).

In the study Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley provide experimental evidence. The group they sampled provides indirect evidence that adults who experienced frequent beating during childhood were more likely to have cancer, asthma or cardiac disease. The control group consisted of healthy adults. The sample group under observation were required to recall the frequency with which they faced physical punishment. The scientist determined that in every disease group under study there was a curvilinear relationship with the recalled beatings or insult.

There was reduction of the risk ratios at the very highest frequencies of recorded punishment (Hyland, Alkhalaf, and Whalley 7).The weakness noticeable in the study is the coherence of the facts presented. Hyland, Alkhalaf and Whalley state that early life stresses present long-term effects for later somatic health. Their argument is that childhood punishment in the form of beatings and insult induces stress. However, there is the argument from other studies that early life stresses can result from other factors such as poor foetal nutrition, family dysfunction, and low social economical status.

Hyland , Alkhalaf and Whalley in their study depend on their patients to recall their childhood experience therefore the data acquired is likely to be inaccurate this may affect the specificity of the casual relationship being determined (Hyland, Alkhalaf and Whalley 7). Work CitedHyland, Michael E., Alkhalaf, Ahmed M., and Whalley, Ben. “Beating and InsultingChildren as a Risk for Adult Cancer, Cardiac Disease and Asthma.” Journal of Behavioural Medicine DOI 10.1007/s10865-012-9457-6 (2012): 1-9. Print