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For the most part, people would assume that patients are the ones with embarrassing or weird questions that probably should be asked. Turns out, there is a list of questions that could determine a lot about your health risks--but your doctor is probably too afraid to ask them.
Researchers from the University of California, San Diego found that people's childhood experiences greatly influence their risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, mental illness, and other health problems.
In order to help determine people's risk associated with their childhood experiences, researchers came up with the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) quiz. In just 10 short questions, doctors can get a better look at your risk by the amount of questions a patient answers "yes" to about child abuse, drug use, and domestic violence. The higher the score, the more likely the patient was to suffer from a variety of health issues.
So why are doctor's afraid to ask these questions?
"Some doctors think the ACE questions are too invasive," Vincent Felitti, M.D., one of the lead researchers on the project, told NPR. "They worry that asking such questions will lead to tears and relived trauma ... emotions and experiences that are hard to deal with in a typically time-crunched office visit."
The good news for doctors? The fear is unwarranted. Most patients "don't freak out," and the ACE score, Brenner explained, is "still really the best predictor we've found for health spending, health utilization; for smoking, alcoholism, substance abuse. It's a pretty remarkable set of activities that health care talks about all the time."
Interested in your ACE score? Take the quiz below:
1. Before your 18th birthday, did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often…
- swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you?
OR
- act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt?
2. Before your 18th birthday, did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often…
- push, grab, slap, or throw something at you?
OR
- ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured?
3. Before your 18th birthday, did an adult or person at least five years older than you ever…
- touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way?
OR
- attempt or actually have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you?
4. Before your eighteenth birthday, did you often or very often feel that…
- no one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special?
OR
- your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other?
5. Before your 18th birthday, did you often or very often feel that…
- you didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you?
OR
- your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed it?
6. Before your 18th birthday, was a biological parent ever lost to you through divorce, abandonment, or other reason?
7. Before your 18th birthday, was your mother or stepmother:
- often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her?
OR
- sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard?
OR
- ever repeatedly hit over at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife?
8. Before your 18th birthday, did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic, or who used street drugs?
9. Before your 18th birthday, was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide?
10. Before your 18th birthday, did a household member go to prison?
Every time you answered "yes" to any of the questions should be counted as one point. The higher your score, the higher your health risk. If you have a high score, don't freak out! This is just a starting point doctors can use to better treat you and your risks.
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments!
Photo Copyright © 2012 opensourceway/Flickr
