scholarly journals Adverse childhood experiences and early life inflammation in the Avon longitudinal study of parents and children

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 ◽  
pp. 104914
Author(s):  
Rebecca E Lacey ◽  
Mel Bartley ◽  
Michelle Kelly-Irving ◽  
Leonardo Bevilacqua ◽  
Eleonora Iob ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Avon Longitudinal Study

scholarly journals Adverse childhood experiences in the children of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lotte C. Houtepen ◽  
Jon Heron ◽  
Matthew J. Suderman ◽  
Kate Tilling ◽  
Laura D. Howe
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Missing Data ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Childhood Adversity ◽  
Physical Illness ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Avon Longitudinal Study

Background: Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is a risk factor for poor later life health. Here, we describe the ACE variables measured in the children of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) study, and a method used to derive summary measures and deal with missing data in them.    Methods: The ALSPAC data catalogue (59 608 variables) was searched in September 2017 for measures on adversity exposure between birth and 18 years. 6140 adversity questions were then screened for conforming to our ACE definitions and suitability for dichotomisation. This screening identified 541 questions on ten ‘classic’ ACEs (sexual, physical or emotional abuse, emotional neglect, substance abuse by the parents, parental mental illness or suicide attempt, violence between parents, parental separation, bullying and parental criminal conviction) and nine additional ACEs (bond between parent and child, satisfaction with neighbourhood, social support for the parent, social support for the child, physical illness of a parent, physical illness of the child, financial difficulties, low social class and violence between child and partner). These were used to derive a binary construct for exposure to each ACE. Finally, as cumulative measures of childhood adversity, different combinations of the 19 ACE constructs were summed to give total adversity scores. An appropriate strategy for multiple imputation was developed to deal with the complex patterns of missing data. Results: The ACE constructs and ACE-scores for exposure between birth and 16 years had prevalence estimates that were comparable to previous reports (for instance 4% sexual abuse, 18% physical abuse, 25% bullied, 32% parental separation). Conclusions: ACE constructs, derived using a pragmatic approach to handle the high dimensional ALSPAC data, can be used in future analyses on childhood adversity in ALSPAC children.

scholarly journals The Clustering of Adverse Childhood Experiences in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children: Are Gender and Poverty Important?

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052093509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca E. Lacey ◽  
Laura D. Howe ◽  
Michelle Kelly-Irving ◽  
Mel Bartley ◽  
Yvonne Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Parental Mental Health ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Close Family Member ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Avon Longitudinal Study ◽  
Close Family

Previous research has demonstrated a graded relationship between the number of Adverse Childhood Experiences reported (an ACE score) and child outcomes. However, ACE scores lack specificity and ignore the patterning of adversities, which are informative for interventions. The aim of the present study was to explore the clustering of ACEs and whether this clustering differs by gender or is predicted by poverty. Data on 8,572 participants of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) were used. ALSPAC is a regionally representative prenatal cohort of children born between 1991 and 1992 in the Avon region of South-West England. ACEs included parental divorce, death of a close family member, interparental violence, parental mental health problems, parental alcohol misuse, parental drug use, parental convictions, and sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, between birth and 19 years. Latent class analysis was used to derive ACE clusters and associations between poverty, gender, and the derived classes tested using multinomial logistic regression. Five latent classes were identified: “Low ACEs” (55%), “Parental separation and mother’s mental health problems” (18%), “Parental mental health problems, convictions and separation” (15%), “Abuse and mental health problems” (6%), and “Poly adversity” (6%). Death of a close family member and sexual abuse did not cluster with other adversities. The clustering did not differ by gender. Poverty was strongly related to both individual ACEs and clusters. These findings demonstrate that ACEs cluster in specific patterns and that poverty is strongly related to this. Therefore, reducing child poverty might be one strategy for reducing ACEs.

scholarly journals Adverse childhood experiences and asthma: trajectories in a national cohort

Thorax ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 76 (6) ◽  
pp. 547-553
Author(s):  
Kathrine Pape ◽  
Whitney Cowell ◽  
Camilla Sandal Sejbaek ◽  
Niklas Worm Andersson ◽  
Cecilie Svanes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Childhood Asthma ◽  
Early Onset ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Study Cohort ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Asthma Phenotypes ◽  
Adverse Childhood

ObjectiveResearch has linked early adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) with asthma development; however, existing studies have generally relied on parent report of exposure and outcome. We aimed to examine the association of early life ACEs with empirically determined trajectories of childhood asthma risk, using independent register information on both exposures and outcome.MethodsBased on nationwide registries, we established a study cohort of 466 556 children born in Denmark (1997–2004). We obtained information on ACEs during the first 2 years of life (bereavement, parental chronic somatic and/or mental illness) and childhood asthma diagnosis or medication use from birth through age 10 years from the Danish National Patient and Prescription Registries, respectively. We identified asthma phenotypes using group-based trajectory modelling. We then used multinomial logistic regression to examine the association between early ACEs and asthma phenotypes.ResultsWe identified four asthma phenotypes: non-asthmatic, early-onset transient, early-onset persistent and late-onset asthma. Girls with early-onset transient asthma (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.24), early-onset persistent asthma (1.27, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.48) or late-onset asthma (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.48) vs no asthma were more likely to have early life ACE exposure compared with girls without ACE exposure. Results were similar for boys who also had experienced early life ACEs with ORs of 1.16 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.25), 1.34 (95% CI 1.20 to 1.51) and 1.11 (95% CI 0.98 to 1.25), respectively.ConclusionIn a nationwide-population study, we identified three childhood onset asthma phenotypes and found that ACEs early in life were associated with increased odds for each of these asthma phenotypes among both girls and boys.

scholarly journals Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associated with reduced cognitive flexibility in both college and community samples

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0260822
Author(s):  
Vrinda Kalia ◽  
Katherine Knauft ◽  
Niki Hayatbini
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Chronic Stress ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Early Life Adversity ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood

The prefrontal cortex is sensitive to stress experiences and significantly impacted by early life adversity. Cognitive flexibility is an executive function that is associated with positive outcomes in adulthood and implicated in activity in the prefrontal cortex. The relationship between early life adversity and cognitive flexibility is underreported. Using the cumulative risk model, we conducted two studies to examine the association between early life adversity and cognitive flexibility in college students and adults (cumulative N = 510). Exposure to early life adversity was assessed using the adverse childhood experiences scale (ACEs). Cognitive flexibility was assessed using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Additionally, as perceived chronic stress is associated with impaired prefrontal cortex function, we measured that as well. Higher number of ACEs was correlated with lower number of completed categories on the WCST in both college students and adults. Perceived chronic stress was not associated with cognitive flexibility, but did correlate positively with ACEs. Individuals with a higher number of ACEs were also more likely to report higher levels of perceived chronic stress. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that exposure to adverse childhood experiences predicted lower scores on completed categories. Our findings provide further evidence that individuals with early life adversity exhibit reduced cognitive flexibility in adulthood.

Associations of Adverse Childhood Experiences with Frailty in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

Gerontology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Oxana Mian ◽  
Laura N. Anderson ◽  
Daniel W. Belsky ◽  
Andrea Gonzalez ◽  
Jinhui Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Parental Death ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Cross Sectional Analysis ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Sectional Analysis

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Frailty in older adults, characterized by a decline in multiple physiological systems and increasing vulnerability to loss of independence, disability, and death, is a public health priority in developed countries. Etiology of frailty extends across the lifespan and may begin in early life, but empirical evidence for this association is scarce. In this study, we examined whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with frailty in later life. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data for a population-based sample of 27,748 adults aged 45–85 years from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. The frailty index (FI) was computed with 76 health-related characteristics of physical and cognitive performance, self-rated health, chronic conditions, visual and hearing ability, activities of daily living, and well-being. Self-reported exposure to ACEs included physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, neglect, and witnessing intimate partner violence prior age of 16 and parental death, divorce, and living with a family member with mental illness prior age of 18. Generalized linear regression models with gamma error distribution and identity link function, adjusted for age and sex, were used to examine associations of each ACE type and the number of ACE types (0, 1, 2, or 3+) reported by an individual with FI. All models were adjusted for income, education, smoking, and alcohol consumption in sensitivity analysis. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Individuals exposed to ACEs had elevated levels of FI (mean = 0.13, SD = 0.09) than those unexposed, with the largest difference observed for neglect (<i>B</i> [95% CI]: 0.05 [0.04, 0.06]) and the smallest for parental death and divorce (0.015 [0.01,0.02]). The ACE count was associated with frailty in a graded manner, with the FI difference reaching 0.04 [0.037, 0.044] for participants exposed to 3+ ACE types. The association between ACEs and frailty tended to be stronger for women than men and for men aged 45–64 years than older men. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Our study supports previous studies showing that exposure to ACEs is associated with frailty in adults. Our findings suggest that screening for ACEs involving childhood maltreatment may be useful for identifying individuals at risk of frailty and prevention of ACEs may have long-term benefits for healthy aging.

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