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Association between cumulative exposure to adverse childhood experiences and childhood obesity

Pooja Purswani1, Sarah M Marsicek1, Ernest K Amankwah2,3

  • 1Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg, Florida, United States of America.

Plos One
|September 29, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may not be directly linked to childhood obesity. After adjusting for key factors, the association between high ACE exposure and increased odds of obesity became insignificant.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health
  • Childhood Development

Background:

  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are linked to various health issues.
  • The connection between ACEs and childhood obesity remains unclear.
  • This study examines the relationship between cumulative ACE score and Body Mass Index (BMI) in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between reported cumulative ACE score and BMI in a pediatric population.
  • To determine if ACEs are a significant predictor of childhood obesity.
  • To explore the impact of adjusting for demographic and clinical factors on this association.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study of 948 children aged 2-20 years screened for ACEs.
  • ACEs were categorized into 'no exposure', 'low exposure', and 'high exposure' groups.
  • Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between ACEs and overweight/obesity (BMI percentile ≥ 85).

Main Results:

  • 30% of children were overweight/obese.
  • High ACE exposure was initially associated with increased odds of obesity (OR = 1.47).
  • After adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, insurance, and birth weight, the association became null (OR = 1.01).

Conclusions:

  • The initial association between ACEs and childhood obesity attenuated after statistical adjustments.
  • The findings suggest that other factors may mediate the relationship between ACEs and obesity.
  • Further prospective research is needed to clarify the complex association between ACEs and childhood obesity.
Abstract

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