Adverse childhood experiences and health outcomes in adults: The Ace study

Headnote

Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. Felitti, VJ., Anda, RF, Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D.E, Alison, M.S., Edwards, V, Koss, M.P, and Marks, J.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14 (4)

A recent study of 9508 residents of San Diego, California, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, documents an assessment of the long-term relationship of childhood experiences to important medical and public health outcomes in adults, specifically, disease risk factors and incidence, quality of life, health care utilization, and mortality. The study reports that childhood exposure to certain kinds of abuse or severe family dysfunction can lead to a greater incidence of serious physical problems such as heart, lung, and liver disease, cancer, and injuries in adults.

Labeled the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, the researchers studied seven categories of experiences. Three of the seven...