Association between adverse childhood experiences and adult diseases in older adults: a comparative cross-sectional study in Japan and Finland

Abstract

ObjectiveWe aimed to examine the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and diseases in older adults in Japan and Finland.DesignCross-sectional comparative study.SettingData from a gerontological study in Japan and two public health studies in Finland were evaluated.ParticipantsA total of 13 123 adults (mean age, 69.5 years) from Japan and 10 353 adults (mean age, 64.4 years) from Finland were included in this study. Logistic regression was used to examine the association of each of, any of and the cumulative number of ACEs (parental divorce, fear of a family member and poverty in childhood; treated as ordered categorical variables) with poor self-rated health (SRH), cancer, heart disease or stroke, diabetes mellitus, smoking and body mass index. Models were adjusted for sex, age, education, marital status and working status.ResultsOf the respondents, 50% of those in Japan and 37% of those in Finland reported having experienced at least one of the measured ACEs. Number of ACEs was associated with poor SRH in both countries, and the point estimates were similar (OR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.25 to 1.46 in Japan; OR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.27 to 1.41 in Finland). Number of ACEs was associated with the prevalence of cancer, heart disease or stroke, diabetes mellitus, current smoking and an increase in body mass index in both countries.ConclusionsThe association between ACEs and poor SRH, adult diseases and health behaviours was similar among older adults in both Japan and Finland. This international comparative study suggests that the impact of ACEs on health is noteworthy and consistent across cultural and social environments.

The association between elder abuse and childhood adversity: A study of older adults in Malaysia

“…Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) can have profound effects on individuals of all ages [1][2][3]. Multiple studies have demonstrated that a history of adverse experiences during childhood and adolescence is linked with risky health behaviors [4][5][6] and many mental and physical health problems [3,7,8] well into adulthood [9,10].…”

Assessment of Additional Medical Costs Among Older Adults in Japan With a History of Childhood Maltreatment

“…Furthermore, recent research using a cohort study of independent adults older than 65 years in Japan 25,26 has shown that childhood maltreatment can lead to deteriorating health in late adulthood, including greater higher-level functional limitations and greater risk of diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.…”

Adverse childhood experiences and future self-rated health: a prospective cohort study

“…Moreover, ACEs have been found to cause disadvantageous health-behavioral strategies in adulthood leading to smoking, higher alcohol consumption, drug abuse and risky sexual behavior [ 4 , 18 – 20 ]. It is evidentially outlined that poor mental well-being and low socio-economic status (SES), including low parental education and income, are potential risk factors for reporting ACEs [ 5 , 14 , 21 – 28 ].…”

“…Denmark. To our knowledge, no previous studies investigating the association between ACEs and SRH in Denmark have been conducted and only two studies from Scandinavia were found [ 21 , 26 ]. Overall, the current evidence on the association between ACEs and SRH are dominated by cross-sectional studies studying elderly populations using a retrospective approach to collect information on ACEs, and the majority of these studies suffer from a risk of both survival- and information bias.…”

“…Amemiya et al [ 21 ] conducted a cross-sectional study comparing older adults in Japan (+ 69 years) with older adults in Finland (+ 64 years). The study used retrospective collection of information, including only three types of ACEs.…”