Confirmed: Teen rejection can lead to chronic disease

A new study of teenage girls shows that “targeted rejection,” in which students are singled out for taunting or personally rejected by a friend, can have measurable effects on the immune system. If sustained, these changes can increase risk for diabetes, heart disease, stroke, mental illness and some cancers later in life, even among those considered to be at the top of the teen social hierarchy.

Researchers have long known that early life negative experience can translate into later mental and physical illness: the more types of trauma people endure during childhood, the higher their risks for all psychiatric illnesses and many physical diseases, too, including cardiovascular disease.