Adverse Childhood Experiences, Depression and Subjective Cognitive Decline by Gender: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Studies assessing depression as a mediating factor between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and subjective cognitive decline (SCD) are lacking. Therefore, the aims of this study were to: (1) determine the mediating role of depression in the association between ACEs and SCD; and (2) assess the moderating role of gender. Data were obtained from the 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Study (BRFSS) survey (N = 38,600). Crude and adjusted path analyses were used to determine the mediating role of depression between ACEs and SCD. Adjusted analyses controlled for sociodemographic confounders. ACEs were positively associated with depression (B = 0.129, p < 0.001), depression was positively associated with SCD (B = 0.224, p < 0.001), and ACEs were positively associated with SCD (B = 0.066, p < 0.001). Depression mediated the association between ACEs and SCD in the overall population (B = 0.029, p < 0.001), and for men (B = 0.025, p < 0.001) and women (B = 0.032, p < 0.001). Intervention programs addressing ACEs may reduce depression and help with cognition for men and women.