Biologists find that hardship early in life can affect health and longevity—even for marmots

Adversity early in life can have permanent health consequences for people—even if their circumstances improve dramatically later on. Scientists use a cumulative adversity index, or CAI, which quantifies measures of hardship including poverty and stress, to understand health and longevity over the course of an individual's life. This has been helpful in identifying specific measures governments, health care providers and families can take to improve people's lives.