scholarly journals Adverse Childhood Experiences and Rate of Memory Decline From Mid to Later-Life: Evidence From the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan Q O’Shea ◽  
Panayotes Demakakos ◽  
Dorina Cadar ◽  
Lindsay C Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Memory Decline ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Rate Of Decline ◽  
English Longitudinal Study

Abstract Evidence on the role of early-life adversity in later-life memory decline is conflicting. We investigated the relationships between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and memory performance and rate of decline over a ten-year follow-up among mid-to-older adults in England. Data were from biennial interviews with 5,223 participants aged 54+ in the population-representative English Longitudinal Study of Ageing from 2006/07-2016/17. We examined self-reports of nine ACEs prior to age 16, which related to abuse, household dysfunction, and separation from family. Memory was assessed at each time point as immediate and delayed recall of 10 words. Using linear mixed-effects models with person-specific random intercepts and slopes and adjusted for baseline age, age2, sex, ethnicity, and childhood socioeconomic factors, we observed that most individual and cumulative ACE exposures had null-to-weakly negative associations with memory function and rate of decline over the 10-year follow-up. Having lived in residential or foster care was associated with lower baseline memory (adjusted β = -0.124 standard deviation units, 95% confidence interval: -0.273, -0.025), but not memory decline. Our findings suggest potential long-run impacts of residential or foster care on memory, and highlight the need for accurate and detailed exposure measures when studying ACEs in relation to later-life cognitive outcomes.

scholarly journals Social engagement and allostatic load mediate between adverse childhood experiences and multimorbidity in mid to late adulthood: the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Leslie Atkinson ◽  
Divya Joshi ◽  
Parminder Raina ◽  
Lauren E. Griffith ◽  
Harriet MacMillan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Allostatic Load ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Adverse Childhood

Abstract Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with multimorbidity in adulthood. This link may be mediated by psychosocial and biological factors, but evidence is lacking. The current study evaluates this mediation model. Method We analyzed data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging (N = 27 170 community participants). Participants were 45–85 years at recruitment, when allostatic load and social engagement data were collected, and 3 years older at follow-up, when ACEs and multimorbidity data were collected. Structural equation modeling was used to test for mediation in the overall sample, and in sex- and age-stratified subsamples, all analyses adjusted for concurrent lifestyle confounds. Results In the overall sample, ACEs were associated with multimorbidity, directly, β = 0.12 (95% confidence interval 0.11–0.13) and indirectly. Regarding indirect associations, ACEs were related to social engagement, β = −0.14 (−0.16 to −0.12) and social engagement was related to multimorbidity, β = −0.10 (−0.12 to −0.08). ACEs were related to allostatic load, β = 0.04 (0.03–0.05) and allostatic load was related to multimorbidity, β = 0.16 (0.15–0.17). The model was significant for males and females and across age cohorts, with qualifications in the oldest stratum (age 75–85). Conclusions ACEs are related to multimorbidity, directly and via social engagement and allostatic load. This is the first study to show mediated pathways between early adversity and multimorbidity in adulthood. It provides a platform for understanding multimorbidity as a lifespan dynamic informing the co-occurrence of the varied disease processes represented in multimorbidity.

scholarly journals Relationship between childhood socioeconomic position and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): a systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (12) ◽  
pp. 1087-1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Walsh ◽  
Gerry McCartney ◽  
Michael Smith ◽  
Gillian Armour
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Socioeconomic Position ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
The Relationship

Background‘Adverse childhood experiences’ (ACEs) are associated with increased risk of negative outcomes in later life: ACEs have consequently become a policy priority in many countries. Despite ACEs being highly socially patterned, there has been very little discussion in the political discourse regarding the role of childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) in understanding and addressing them. The aim here was to undertake a systematic review of the literature on the relationship between childhood SEP and ACEs.MethodsMEDLINE, PsycINFO, ProQuest and Cochrane Library databases were searched. Inclusion criteria were: (1) measurement of SEP in childhood; (2) measurement of multiple ACEs; (3) ACEs were the outcome; and (4) statistical quantification of the relationship between childhood SEP and ACEs. Search terms included ACEs, SEP and synonyms; a second search additionally included ‘maltreatment’. Overall study quality/risk of bias was calculated using a modified version of the Hamilton Tool.ResultsIn the ACEs-based search, only 6 out of 2825 screened papers were eligible for qualitative synthesis. The second search (including maltreatment) increased numbers to: 4562 papers screened and 35 included for synthesis. Eighteen papers were deemed ‘high’ quality, five ‘medium’ and the rest ‘low’. Meaningful statistical associations were observed between childhood SEP and ACEs/maltreatment in the vast majority of studies, including all except one of those deemed to be high quality.ConclusionLower childhood SEP is associated with a greater risk of ACEs/maltreatment. With UK child poverty levels predicted to increase markedly, any policy approach that ignores the socioeconomic context to ACEs is therefore flawed.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017064781.

scholarly journals Associations of Adverse Childhood Experiences with Executive Function and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 1034-1035
Author(s):  
Cindy Tsotsoros ◽  
Madison Stout ◽  
Misty Hawkins
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Adverse Childhood Experiences ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Neurocognitive Performance ◽  
Brain Health ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
Adverse Childhood ◽  
Beta Coefficient ◽  
Neurotropic Factor

Abstract Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may predict markers of neurocognitive performance (i.e., executive function; EF) and brain health/plasticity (i.e., brain-derived neurotropic factor; BDNF). This pilot examined the magnitude of effects between: 1) ACES and EF performance, 2) ACEs and BDNF levels, and 3) EF performance and BDNF levels. We hypothesize that higher ACEs will be associated with poorer EF scores and lower BNDF levels and that lower EF scores will be associated with lower BDNF levels. Given the pilot nature of the study, an emphasis is placed on effect size vs. significance. Participants were 36 middle-aged women enrolled in the NICE SPACES trial (age=31.4 years, BMI=34.2, racially minoritized=37.9%). ACES were quantified using the 10-item Adverse Childhood Experiences Scale. EF was measured using the fluid cognition composite from the NIH Toolbox – Cognition Battery. BDNF was estimated using proBDNF levels estimated from serum collected via venipuncture. Higher ACEs levels were not directly associated with EF scores (b = 0.03, p = .854); but did show a meaningful negative beta coefficient with BDNF levels (b = -0.34, p = .053). EF scores and BDNF showed a positive coefficient that did not reach significance (b = .26, p = .122). In a modest pilot of middle-age women, higher ACEs were associated with lower BDNF, indicating greater adversity in childhood is linked to lower neurotrophins levels in adulthood. The lower BDNF levels may help explain poorer performance on cognitive tasks. Larger follow-up studies in more powered samples are warranted given the size of detected coefficients.

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