In a population-based cohort of middle-aged men and women, childhood physical abuse predicted worse mental and physical health decades after the abuse. These effects were attenuated, but not eliminated, by age, sex, family background, and childhood adversities.

While the association between abuse in childhood and adverse adult health outcomes is well established, this link is infrequently acknowledged in the general medical literature. This paper has 2 purposes: (1) to provide a broad overview of the research on the long-term effects of child abuse on mental and physical health including some of the potential pathways, and (2) to call for collaborative action among clinicians, psychosocial and biomedical researchers, social service agencies, criminal justice systems, insurance companies, and public policy makers to take a comprehensive approach to both preventing and dealing with the sequelae of childhood abuse.

Background Home smoking bans significantly reduce the likelihood of secondhand smoke exposure among children and non-smoking adults. The purpose of this study was to examine national trends in a) the adoption of home smoking bans; b) discrepancies in parental smoking ban reports; and c) household and parental correlates of home smoking bans among households with underage children from 1995 to 2007. Methods We used data from the 1995/1996, 1998/1999, 2001/2002, 2003 and 2006/2007 Tobacco Use Supplement of the U.S. Current Population Survey to estimate prevalence rates and logistic regression models of parental smoking ban reports by survey period. Results Overall, the prevalence of a complete home smoking bans increased from 58.1% to 83.8% (p<0.01), while discrepancies in parental reports decreased from 12.5% to 4.6% (p<0.01) from 1995 to 2007. Households with single parent, low income, one or two current smokers, parents with less than a college education, or without infants were consistently less likely to report a home smoking ban over this period (p<0.05). Conclusion Despite general improvements in the adoption of home smoking bans and a reduction on parental discrepancies, disparities in the level of protection from secondhand smoke have persisted over time. Children living in households with single parents, low income, current smoker parents, less educated parents, or without infants are less likely to be protected by a home smoking ban. These groups are in need of interventions promoting the adoption of home smoking bans to reduce disparities in tobacco-related diseases.