Individuals who have experienced a stressful childhood are expected to have almost 20 years of shorter lives on average, a new study finds.

According to the study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the average age at death in individuals with bad childhood experiences ranging from frequent verbal abuse to living with a mentally ill person is about 61 years, compared to 79 in their counterparts with no such experiences as children.

Individuals reporting six or more childhood stressors are 1.7 times more likely to die at the age of 75 or younger, and nearly 2.4 times as likely to die at or before the age of 65.

Childhood stress affects brain development, leading to the development of depression and anxiety, and subsequently to the adoption of unhealthy lifestyle, alcoholism or addiction.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers reported that traumatic childhood events are linked with heart disease, lung disease, liver disease and other conditions.

"If we want to address a lot of major public health issues we've got to address the kind of stressors children have in our society as a way of primary prevention," said lead researcher Robert Anda.