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Old Before Their Time

October 13, 2026 · 30 min

Show notes

One in five women and one in eight men report a history of child sexual abuse. In this episode of the Public Health Insight Podcast, Dr. Frank Putnam, author of Old Before Their Time, explains what 35 years of the Female Growth and Development Study found. He describes how childhood trauma shows up in the body as early autoimmune activity, inflammation, and epigenetic aging. He also covers how adverse experiences compound, how trauma crosses generations, and why a child protection system with outdated, inconsistent data struggles to respond.




References for Our Discussion

◼️New Book: Old Before Their Time: A Scientific Life Investigating How Maltreatment Harms Children and the Adults They Become **Participate in the book giveaway. Contest rules at the end of the description**



Guest

◼️Dr. Frank Putnam


Host

◼️ Purva Mehta, BMSc, MSc



Producer

◼️Gordon Thane, BMSc, MPH, PMP®





Production Notes


◼️ Music from Johnny Harris x Tom Fox: The Music Room



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