Dataset Information

Factors associated with adverse childhood experiences in Scottish children: a prospective cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background and objectives

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with a range of poorer health and social outcomes throughout the life course; however, to date they have primarily been conducted retrospectively in adulthood. This paper sets out to determine the prevalence of ACEs at age 8 in a recent prospective birth cohort and examine associations between risk factors in the first year and cumulative ACEs.

Design

This study uses the Growing Up in Scotland Birth Cohort 1, in which children born in Scotland in 2004/5 were identified using Child Benefit Records and followed up for 7 years (n.3119). ACE scores and sample characteristics were calculated and described. Logistic regression models were fitted to explore associations between risk factors (sex, mother's age and education, household income, area level deprivation and urban/rural indicator) and ACE scores.

Results

Seven ACEs (or proxies) were assessed: physical abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse, mental illness, parental separation, parental incarceration and emotional neglect. Instances of sexual abuse were too few to be reported. Emotional abuse and physical neglect could not be gathered. Around two-thirds of children had experienced one or more ACE, with 10% experiencing three or more in their lifetime. Higher ACE scores were associated with being male, having a young mother, low income and urban areas.

Conclusions

Using prospective data, the majority of children born in 2004/2005 in Scotland experienced at least one ACE by age 8, although three ACEs could not be assessed in this cohort. ACEs were highly correlated with socioeconomic disadvantage in the first year of life.

SUBMITTER: Marryat L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6361326 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Factors associated with adverse childhood experiences in Scottish children: a prospective cohort study.

Marryat Louise L Frank John J

BMJ paediatrics open 20190131 1

<h4>Background and objectives</h4>Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been associated with a range of poorer health and social outcomes throughout the life course; however, to date they have primarily been conducted retrospectively in adulthood. This paper sets out to determine the prevalence of ACEs at age 8 in a recent prospective birth cohort and examine associations between risk factors in the first year and cumulative ACEs.<h4>Design</h4>This study uses the Growing Up in Scotland Birt ...[more]

PMID: 30815585

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Project description:BackgroundStrong relationships between exposure to childhood traumatic stressors and smoking behaviours inspire the question whether these adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with an increased risk of lung cancer during adulthood.MethodsBaseline survey data on health behaviours, health status and exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were collected from 17,337 adults during 1995-1997. ACEs included abuse (emotional, physical, sexual), witnessing domestic violence, parental separation or divorce, or growing up in a household where members with mentally ill, substance abusers, or sent to prison. We used the ACE score (an integer count of the 8 categories of ACEs) as a measure of cumulative exposure to traumatic stress during childhood. Two methods of case ascertainment were used to identify incident lung cancer through 2005 follow-up: 1) hospital discharge records and 2) mortality records obtained from the National Death Index.ResultsThe ACE score showed a graded relationship to smoking behaviors. We identified 64 cases of lung cancer through hospital discharge records (age-standardized risk = 201 x 100,000(-1) population) and 111 cases of lung cancer through mortality records (age-standardized mortality rate = 31.1 x 100,000(-1) person-years). The ACE score also showed a graded relationship to the incidence of lung cancer for cases identified through hospital discharge (P = 0.0004), mortality (P = 0.025), and both methods combined (P = 0.001). Compared to persons without ACEs, the risk of lung cancer for those with >or= 6 ACEs was increased approximately 3-fold (hospital records: RR = 3.18, 95%CI = 0.71-14.15; mortality records: RR = 3.55, 95%CI = 1.25-10.09; hospital or mortality records: RR = 2.70, 95%CI = 0.94-7.72). After a priori consideration of a causal pathway (i.e., ACEs --> smoking --> lung cancer), risk ratios were attenuated toward the null, although not completely. For lung cancer identified through hospital or mortality records, persons with >or= 6 ACEs were roughly 13 years younger on average at presentation than those without ACEs.ConclusionsAdverse childhood experiences may be associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, particularly premature death from lung cancer. The increase in risk may only be partly explained by smoking suggesting other possible mechanisms by which ACEs may contribute to the occurrence of lung cancer.

Project description:BackgroundEpigenetic mechanisms may partly explain the persistent effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on health outcomes in later life. DNA methylation can predict chronological age, and advanced methylation-predicted age beyond chronological age (DNA methylation age acceleration) is associated with ACEs, adverse mental and physical health, and elevated diurnal and baseline salivary cortisol. Childhood adversity is also associated with dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which produces the neuroendocrine hormone cortisol. It remains unknown whether these associations are specific to certain types of adversity. Herein, we investigate the associations of ACEs with DNA methylation age acceleration and plasma cortisol in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort.MethodsIn this study of the children in ALSPAC, we used multiple linear regression to examine associations of cumulative exposure to ACE, as well as exposure to ten individual types of ACEs, with Horvath-estimated DNA methylation age acceleration and with baseline plasma cortisol. The ten ACEs were those included in the World Health Organization's ACE International Questionnaire. Data on ACEs were prospectively collected from age 0-14 years. DNA methylation age acceleration and plasma cortisol were measured at mean 17.1 years and 15.5 years, respectively.ResultsWe included 974 UK children in the present study. Exposure to four or more ACEs compared to zero was associated with DNA methylation age acceleration in girls (β, 95% CI = 1.65, 0.25 to 3.04 years) but not in boys (β, 95% CI = - 0.11, - 1.48 to 1.26 years). Also, in girls, emotional abuse and physical abuse were each associated with DNA methylation age acceleration (β, 95% CI = 1.20, 0.15 to 2.26 years and β, 95% CI = 1.22, 0.06 to 2.38 years, respectively). No other ACEs were associated with accelerated DNA methylation age in either sex. Associations were also null between ACE and cortisol, and cortisol and DNA methylation age acceleration.ConclusionsIn this prospective population-based study of UK children, cumulative ACE exposure, emotional abuse, and physical abuse between age 0 and 14 years were each associated with Horvath-estimated DNA methylation age acceleration at age 17 years in girls but not in boys.

Project description:BackgroundAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are negatively associated with a range of child health outcomes. In this study, we explored associations between five individual ACEs and child mental health diagnoses or symptoms. ACEs included living with someone who had an alcohol-related problem, common mental health disorder or serious mental illness, or experienced victimisation or death of a household member.MethodsWe analysed data from a population-level electronic cohort of children in Wales, UK, (N = 191,035) between the years of 1998 and 2012. We used Cox regression with discrete time-varying exposure variables to model time to child mental health diagnosis during the first 15 years of life. Child mental health diagnoses include five categories: (i) externalising symptoms (anti-social behaviour), (ii) internalising symptoms (stress, anxiety, depression), (iii) developmental delay (e.g. learning disability), (iv) other (e.g. eating disorder, personality disorders), and (v) any mental health diagnosis, which was created by combining externalising symptoms, internalising symptoms and other. Our analyses were adjusted for social deprivation and perinatal risk factors.ResultsThere were strong univariable associations between the five individual ACEs, sociodemographic and perinatal factors (e.g. gestational weight at birth) and an increased risk of child mental health diagnoses. After adjusting for sociodemographic and perinatal aspects, there was a remaining conditional increased risk of any child mental health diagnosis, associated with victimisation (conditional hazard ratio (cHR) 1.90, CI 95% 1.34-2.69), and living with an adult with a common mental health diagnosis (cHR 1.63, CI 95% 1.52-1.75). Coefficients of product terms between ACEs and deprivation were not statistically significant.ConclusionThe increased risk of child mental health diagnosis associated with victimisation, or exposure to common mental health diagnoses, and alcohol problems in the household supports the need for policy measures and intervention strategies for children and their families.

Project description:BackgroundAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as abuse, household dysfunction, and neglect, have been shown to increase adults' risk of developing chronic conditions and risk factors for chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease (CVD). Much less work has investigated the effect of ACEs on children's physical health status that may lead to adult chronic health conditions. Therefore, the present study examined the relationship between ACEs and early childhood risk factors for adult cardiovascular disease.Methods1 234 grade six to eight students participated in school-based data collection, which included resting measures of blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Parents of these children completed an inventory of ACEs taken from the Childhood Trust Events Survey. Linear regression models were used to assess the relationship between experiencing more than 4 ACEs experienced, systolic BP, HR, BMI and WC. In additional analysis, ACEs were assessed ordinally in their relationship with systolic BP, HR, and BMI as well as clinical obesity and hypertension status.ResultsAfter adjustment for family education, income, age, sex, physical activity, and parental history of hypertension, and WC for HR models, four or more ACEs had a significant effect on HR (b = 1.8 bpm, 95% CI (0.1-3.6)) BMI (b =1.1 kg/m2, 95% CI (0.5-1.8)), and WC (b = 3.6 cm, 95% CI (1.8-5.3)). A dose-response relationship between ACE accumulation and both BMI and WC was also found to be significant. Furthermore, accumulation of 4 or more ACEs was significantly associated with clinical obesity (95th percentile), after controlling for the aforementioned covariates.ConclusionsIn a community sample of grade six to eight children, accumulation of 4 or more ACEs significantly increased BMI, WC and resting HR. Therefore, risk factors related to reported associations between ACEs and cardiovascular outcomes among adults are identifiable in childhood suggesting earlier interventions to reduce CVD risk are required.

Dataset Information

Factors associated with adverse childhood experiences in Scottish children: a prospective cohort study.

Background and objectives

Design

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Factors associated with adverse childhood experiences in Scottish children: a prospective cohort study.

Similar Datasets

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