Associations between adverse childhood experiences and cardiometabolic health in later adulthood in Colombia
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic events that occur before a child reaches the age of 15 with long-term health consequences, economic costs and intergenerational challenges for society. This study investigated the association between ACEs and cardiometabolic risk (cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, hypertension and obesity) in adulthood.
Methods We used data from the Survey on Health, Well-Being and Ageing (SABE)-Colombia (n=18 044 adults aged >65). Exposures were defined as single and cumulative ACEs score. Logistic regression, adjusted for demographics and socioeconomic position, was used to investigate associations.
Results 41.3% reported at least one ACE and 4.2% reported four or more. Associations between individual ACEs and outcomes differed by gender. In women, exposure to all ACEs, except childhood migration, was associated with increased odds of CVD, for example, emotional abuse (OR=1.69 (95% CI 1.32 to 2.13)) and poor childhood health status (OR=1.64 (95% CI 1.39 to 1.91)). Among men, these associations were much weaker and often non-statistically significant, except childhood migration that showed increased odds of CVD (OR=1.55 (95% CI 1.09 to 2.15), diabetes (OR=1.55 (95% CI 1.11 to 2.14)) and hypertension (OR=1.40 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.83) in adulthood). A significant association was observed between cumulative ACEs score and odds of CVD, diabetes and hypertension in both men and women. This pattern was not observed for obesity.
Conclusion The long-term health consequences of ACEs differ by gender. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish causality and identify mediators. Public health interventions should adopt gender-sensitive, holistic approaches integrating biological, environmental, social and behavioural dimensions, and prioritise early-life interventions to address long-term health inequalities.
Methods We used data from the Survey on Health, Well-Being and Ageing (SABE)-Colombia (n=18 044 adults aged >65). Exposures were defined as single and cumulative ACEs score. Logistic regression, adjusted for demographics and socioeconomic position, was used to investigate associations.
Results 41.3% reported at least one ACE and 4.2% reported four or more. Associations between individual ACEs and outcomes differed by gender. In women, exposure to all ACEs, except childhood migration, was associated with increased odds of CVD, for example, emotional abuse (OR=1.69 (95% CI 1.32 to 2.13)) and poor childhood health status (OR=1.64 (95% CI 1.39 to 1.91)). Among men, these associations were much weaker and often non-statistically significant, except childhood migration that showed increased odds of CVD (OR=1.55 (95% CI 1.09 to 2.15), diabetes (OR=1.55 (95% CI 1.11 to 2.14)) and hypertension (OR=1.40 (95% CI 1.07 to 1.83) in adulthood). A significant association was observed between cumulative ACEs score and odds of CVD, diabetes and hypertension in both men and women. This pattern was not observed for obesity.
Conclusion The long-term health consequences of ACEs differ by gender. Longitudinal studies are needed to establish causality and identify mediators. Public health interventions should adopt gender-sensitive, holistic approaches integrating biological, environmental, social and behavioural dimensions, and prioritise early-life interventions to address long-term health inequalities.
Date Issued
2026-05-01
Date Acceptance
2025-11-27
Citation
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2026, 80 (5), pp.301-308
ISSN
0143-005X
Publisher
BMJ
Start Page
301
End Page
308
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
Volume
80
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ Group. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made. See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41365617
PII: jech-2024-222234
Subjects
AGING
CHILD
DIABETES MELLITUS
Life course epidemiology
OBESITY
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2025-12-09