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Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and later-life depression: perceived social support as a potential protective factor.

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Title: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and later-life depression: perceived social support as a potential protective factor.
Authors: Cheong, E Von, Sinnott, Carol, Dahly, Darren, Kearney, Patricia M
Publisher Information: BMJ
//doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013228
Publication Year: 2017
Collection: Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
Subject Terms: adverse childhood experience, depression and mood disorders, mental health, Adolescent, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse, Aged, Child, Child Abuse, Preschool, Cohort Studies, Depression, Depressive Disorder, Family Characteristics, Family Relations, Humans, Ireland, Life Change Events, Logistic Models, Middle Aged, Perception, Protective Factors, Self Report, Social Support, Surveys and Questionnaires
Description: OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and later-life depressive symptoms; and to explore whether perceived social support (PSS) moderates these. METHOD: We analysed baseline data from the Mitchelstown (Ireland) 2010-2011 cohort of 2047 men and women aged 50-69 years. Self-reported measures included ACEs (Centre for Disease Control ACE questionnaire), PSS (Oslo Social Support Scale) and depressive symptoms (CES-D). The primary exposure was self-report of at least one ACE. We also investigated the effects of ACE exposure by ACE scores and ACE subtypes abuse, neglect and household dysfunction. Associations between each of these exposures and depressive symptoms were estimated using logistic regression, adjusted for socio-demographic factors. We tested whether the estimated associations varied across levels of PSS (poor, moderate and strong). RESULTS: 23.7% of participants reported at least one ACE (95% CI 21.9% to 25.6%). ACE exposures (overall, subtype or ACE scores) were associated with a higher odds of depressive symptoms, but only among individuals with poor PSS. Exposure to any ACE (vs none) was associated with almost three times the odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR 2.85; 95% CI 1.64 to 4.95) among individuals reporting poor PSS, while among those reporting moderate and strong PSS, the adjusted ORs were 2.21 (95% CI 1.52 to 3.22) and 1.39 (95% CI 0.85 to 2.29), respectively. This pattern of results was similar when exposures were based on ACE subtype and ACE scores, though the interaction was clearly strongest among those reporting abuse. CONCLUSIONS: ACEs are common among older adults in Ireland and are associated with higher odds of later-life depressive symptoms, particularly among those with poor PSS. Interventions that enhance social support, or possibly perceptions of social support, may help reduce the burden of depression in older populations with ACE exposure, particularly in those reporting abuse.
Document Type: article in journal/newspaper
File Description: Electronic; application/pdf
Language: English
Relation: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/270746
DOI: 10.17863/CAM.17714
Availability: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/270746
https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.17714
Rights: Attribution 4.0 International ; Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International ; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Accession Number: edsbas.2A05C068
Database: BASE
Description
Abstract:OBJECTIVE: To investigate associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and later-life depressive symptoms; and to explore whether perceived social support (PSS) moderates these. METHOD: We analysed baseline data from the Mitchelstown (Ireland) 2010-2011 cohort of 2047 men and women aged 50-69 years. Self-reported measures included ACEs (Centre for Disease Control ACE questionnaire), PSS (Oslo Social Support Scale) and depressive symptoms (CES-D). The primary exposure was self-report of at least one ACE. We also investigated the effects of ACE exposure by ACE scores and ACE subtypes abuse, neglect and household dysfunction. Associations between each of these exposures and depressive symptoms were estimated using logistic regression, adjusted for socio-demographic factors. We tested whether the estimated associations varied across levels of PSS (poor, moderate and strong). RESULTS: 23.7% of participants reported at least one ACE (95% CI 21.9% to 25.6%). ACE exposures (overall, subtype or ACE scores) were associated with a higher odds of depressive symptoms, but only among individuals with poor PSS. Exposure to any ACE (vs none) was associated with almost three times the odds of depressive symptoms (adjusted OR 2.85; 95% CI 1.64 to 4.95) among individuals reporting poor PSS, while among those reporting moderate and strong PSS, the adjusted ORs were 2.21 (95% CI 1.52 to 3.22) and 1.39 (95% CI 0.85 to 2.29), respectively. This pattern of results was similar when exposures were based on ACE subtype and ACE scores, though the interaction was clearly strongest among those reporting abuse. CONCLUSIONS: ACEs are common among older adults in Ireland and are associated with higher odds of later-life depressive symptoms, particularly among those with poor PSS. Interventions that enhance social support, or possibly perceptions of social support, may help reduce the burden of depression in older populations with ACE exposure, particularly in those reporting abuse.
DOI:10.17863/CAM.17714