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The long arm of childhood experiences on longevity: Testing midlife vulnerability and resilience pathways.

ABSTRACT: Adverse early experiences have been associated with higher mortality risk, but evidence varies by type of experiences, and relatively little is known about the role of favorable early experiences on health in later life. This study evaluated the independent contributions to longevity of favorable and unfavorable early experiences, including psychosocial stressors, childhood socioeconomic status (SES), and close relationships. We also examined 4 midlife psychosocial factors as vulnerability and resilience pathways potentially mediating these associations. The sample included 1,042 men from the VA Normative Aging Study. Early experiences were assessed retrospectively in 1961-1970 and 1995. Midlife psychosocial factors were measured in 1985-1991 and included stressful life events (SLEs), negative affect, life satisfaction, and optimism. Mortality was assessed through 2016. In multiple mediator structural equation models, which account for the overlap among pathways, higher number of SLEs in midlife mediated the association of having more childhood psychosocial stressors to reduced longevity, supporting stress continuity as a vulnerability pathway. Higher optimism in midlife also mediated the association of higher childhood SES to greater longevity. In single mediator models, higher life satisfaction in midlife transmitted the benefits of higher childhood SES and presence of close relationships onto longevity. Higher optimism also mediated the association of fewer childhood psychosocial stressors to longevity. However, these indirect effects were attenuated when accounting for shared variance among mediators, suggesting overlapping pathways. Findings offer novel evidence on unique and shared pathways linking specific dimensions of early experiences to longevity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

SUBMITTER: Lee LO

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7008963 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The long arm of childhood experiences on longevity: Testing midlife vulnerability and resilience pathways.

Lee Lewina O LO Aldwin Carolyn M CM Kubzansky Laura D LD Mroczek Daniel K DK Spiro Avron A

Psychology and aging 20190916 7

Adverse early experiences have been associated with higher mortality risk, but evidence varies by type of experiences, and relatively little is known about the role of favorable early experiences on health in later life. This study evaluated the independent contributions to longevity of favorable and unfavorable early experiences, including psychosocial stressors, childhood socioeconomic status (SES), and close relationships. We also examined 4 midlife psychosocial factors as vulnerability and r ...[more]

PMID: 31524422

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Project description:ImportanceAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with the risk of poorer health, and identifying molecular mechanisms may lay the foundation for health promotion in people with ACEs.ObjectiveTo investigate the associations of ACEs with changes in epigenetic age acceleration (EAA), a biomarker associated with various health outcomes in middle-aged adults, in a population with balanced race and sex demographics.Design, setting, and participantsData for this cohort study were from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Participants in CARDIA underwent 8 follow-up exams from baseline (year 0 [Y0]; 1985-1986) to Y30 (2015-2016), and participant blood DNA methylation information was obtained at Y15 (2000-2001) and Y20 (2005-2006). Individuals from Y15 and Y20 with available DNA methylation data and complete variables for ACEs and covariates were included. Data were analyzed from September 2021 to August 2022.ExposuresParticipant ACEs (general negligence, emotional negligence, physical violence, physical negligence, household substance abuse, verbal and emotional abuse, and household dysfunction) were obtained at Y15.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome consisted of results from 5 DNA methylation-based EAA measurements known to be associated with biological aging and long-term health: intrinsic EAA (IEAA), extrinsic EAA (EEAA), PhenoAge acceleration (PhenoAA), GrimAge acceleration (GrimAA), and Dunedin Pace of Aging Calculated From the Epigenome (DunedinPACE), measured at Y15 and Y20. Linear regression and generalized estimating equations were used to assess associations of the burden of ACEs (≥4 vs <4 ACEs) with EAA adjusting for demographics, health-related behaviors, and early life and adult socioeconomic status.ResultsA total of 895 participants for Y15 (mean [SD] age, 40.4 [3.5] years; 450 males [50.3%] and 445 females [49.7%]; 319 Black [35.6%] and 576 White [64.4%]) and 867 participants for Y20 (mean [SD] age, 45.4 [3.5] years; 432 males [49.8%] and 435 females [50.2%]; 306 Black [35.3%] and 561 White [64.7%]) were included after excluding participants with missing data. There were 185 participants with (20.7%) vs 710 participants without (79.3%) 4 or more ACEs at Y15 and 179 participants with (20.6%) vs 688 participants without (79.4%) 4 or more ACEs at Y20. Having 4 or more ACEs was positively associated with EAA in years at Y15 (EEAA: β = 0.60 years; 95% CI, 0.18-1.02 years; PhenoAA: β = 0.62 years; 95% CI = 0.13-1.11 years; GrimAA: β = 0.71 years; 95% CI, 0.42-1.00 years; DunedinPACE: β = 0.01; 95% CI, 0.01-0.02) and Y20 (IEAA: β = 0.41 years; 95% CI, 0.05-0.77 years; EEAA: β = 1.05 years; 95% CI, 0.66-1.44 years; PhenoAA: β = 0.57 years; 95% CI, 0.08-1.05 years; GrimAA: β = 0.57 years; 95% CI, 0.28-0.87 years; DunedinPACE: β = 0.01; 95% CI, 0.01-0.02) after adjusting for demographics, health-related behaviors, and socioeconomic status.Conclusions and relevanceIn this cohort study, ACEs were associated with EAA among middle-aged adults after controlling for demographics, behavior, and socioeconomic status. These findings of the associations between early life experience and the biological aging process in midlife may contribute to health promotion in a life course perspective.

Project description:Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have consistently been associated with elevated risk of multiple adverse health outcomes, yet their contribution to coping ability and psychiatric resilience in adulthood is unclear. Cross-sectional data were derived from the ongoing Stress-And-Gene-Analysis cohort, representing 30% of the Icelandic nationwide female population, 18-69 years. Participants in the current study were 26,198 women with data on 13 ACEs measured with the ACE-International Questionnaire. Self-reported coping ability was measured with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale and psychiatric resilience was operationalized as absence of psychiatric morbidity. Generalized linear regression assuming normal or Poisson distribution were used to assess the associations of ACEs with coping ability and psychiatric resilience controlling for multiple confounders. Number of ACEs was inversely associated with adult resilience in a dose-dependent manner; every 1SD unit increase in ACE scores was associated with both lower levels of coping ability (β = -0.14; 95% CI-0.15,-0.13) and lower psychiatric resilience (β = -0.28; 95% CI-0.29,-0.27) in adulthood. Compared to women with 0 ACEs, women with ≥5 ACEs had 36% lower prevalence of high coping ability (PR = 0.64, 95% CI 0.59,0.70) and 58% lower prevalence of high psychiatric resilience (PR = 0.42; 95% CI 0.39,0.45). Specific ACEs including emotional neglect, bullying, sexual abuse and mental illness of household member were consistently associated with reduced adult resilience. We observed only slightly attenuated associations after controlling for adult socioeconomic factors and social support in adulthood. Cumulative ACE exposure is associated with lower adult resilience among women, independent of adult socioeconomic factors and social support, indicating that adult resilience may be largely determined in childhood. This work was supported by the European Research Council (Consolidator grant; UAV, grant number 726413), and the Icelandic Center for Research (Grant of excellence; UAV, grant number 163362-051). HBD was supported by a doctoral grant from the University of Iceland Research Fund.

Project description:BackgroundThe effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on mental health, self-regulatory capacities, and overall resilience are well-known. Given such effects, ACEs may play a role in how individuals adjust to challenges later in life. Of interest in this study is the transition to university, a time of heightened stress when adapting to circumstances is required and when those with ACEs may need additional in-the-moment support to exercise resilience. A smartphone app may provide a worthwhile and readily accessible medium for a resilience intervention, provided behavioral outcomes are adequately evaluated.ObjectiveThis study evaluates the impact of an innovative, smartphone app-based resilience intervention. The JoyPop app was designed to promote resilience through the use of self-regulatory skills such as emotion regulation and executive functioning. Among a sample of first-year undergraduate students, we explored whether use of the app would be associated with positive changes in resilience and related outcomes, and whether these benefits were influenced by level of childhood adversity.MethodsParticipants (N=156) were requested to use the JoyPop app for 4 weeks, at least twice daily. Changes in resilience, emotion regulation, executive functioning, and depression were assessed after 2 and 4 weeks of app usage using multilevel modeling.ResultsThe sample of 156 participants included 123 females and 33 males, with a mean age of 19.02 years (SD 2.90). On average participants used the app on 20.43 of the possible 28 days (SD 7.14). App usage was associated with improvements in emotion regulation (χ21=44.46; P<.001), such that it improved by 0.25 points on the 18-point scale for each additional day of app usage, and symptoms of depression (χ21=25.12; P<.001), such that depression symptoms were reduced by .08 points on the 9-point scale with each additional day of app usage. An interaction between ACEs and days of app usage existed for emotion regulation, such that participants with more adversity evidenced a faster rate of change in emotion regulation (P=.02).ConclusionsResults highlight that daily incorporation of an app-based resilience intervention can help youth who have experienced adversity to improve emotion regulation skills and experience reductions in depression. The JoyPop app represents an important step forward in the integration of resilience intervention research with a technology-based medium that provides in-the-moment support.

Dataset Information

The long arm of childhood experiences on longevity: Testing midlife vulnerability and resilience pathways.

Publications

The long arm of childhood experiences on longevity: Testing midlife vulnerability and resilience pathways.

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