Associations of adverse childhood experiences with common psychiatric disorder in later life: results from the China mental health survey

Jinhao Li; Zhaorui Liu; Minghui Li; Yueqin Huang; Huifang Yin; Guangming Xu; Lingjiang Li; Tingting Zhang; Jie Yan; Yaqin Yu; Xiufeng Xu; Zhizhong Wang; Yifeng Xu; Tao Li; Xiaofei Hou; Xiangdong Xu; Limin Wang; Yongping Yan; Shuiyuan Xiao; Xiangdong Du; Guohua Li

doi:10.1186/s12877-023-04421-z

Associations of adverse childhood experiences with common psychiatric disorder in later life: results from the China mental health survey

BMC Geriatr. 2023 Oct 31;23(1):706. doi: 10.1186/s12877-023-04421-z.

Authors

Jinhao Li^#¹, Zhaorui Liu^#², Minghui Li^#¹, Yueqin Huang², Huifang Yin³, Guangming Xu⁴, Lingjiang Li⁵, Tingting Zhang², Jie Yan⁶, Yaqin Yu⁷, Xiufeng Xu⁸, Zhizhong Wang⁹, Yifeng Xu¹⁰, Tao Li^{11

12}, Xiaofei Hou¹, Xiangdong Xu¹³, Limin Wang¹⁴, Yongping Yan¹⁵, Shuiyuan Xiao¹⁶, Xiangdong Du¹⁷, Guohua Li¹⁸

Affiliations

¹ Tianjin Anding Hospital, Mental Health Center of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.
² National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders & Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Mental Health), Peking University Sixth Hospital, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China.
³ Tianjin Anding Hospital, Mental Health Center of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. yinhf1983@163.com.
⁴ Tianjin Anding Hospital, Mental Health Center of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China. xugm@tmu.edu.cn.
⁵ Mental Health Institute, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central-south University, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China.
⁶ Institute of Social Science Survey, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
⁷ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, 650032, China.
⁹ Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of Public Health and Management, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, Ningxia, 750004, China.
¹⁰ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
¹¹ Mental Health Centre of West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
¹² Department of Psychiatry, Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Hangzhou, 310013, Zhejiang, China.
¹³ The Fourth People's Hospital in Urumqi, Urumqi, 830002, China.
¹⁴ National Center for Chronic and Non-communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing, 100050, China.
¹⁵ Department of Epidemiology, the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, Shaanxi Province, China.
¹⁶ Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, Hunan, China.
¹⁷ Suzhou Guangji Hospital, Suzhou, 215008, Jiangsu, China.
¹⁸ Chifeng Anding Hospital, Chifeng, 024000, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and common psychiatric disorders among older Chinese individuals have not been well reported. The objectives of this study are to examine the prevalence of ACEs and the associations of ACEs with common psychiatric disorders among older adults in China.

Methods: The study used data from the China Mental Health Survey (CMHS), a nationally representative epidemiological survey, which used computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI), logistic regression models were used to examine community-based adult psychiatric disorders and associated risk factors. Finally, 2,317 individuals aged 60 years or over were included in the CMHS. The national prevalence of ACEs in older adults were estimated and logistic regression were used to analyse the association between ACEs and past-year psychiatric disorders.

Results: Prevalence of ACEs among older adults in China was 18.1%. The three most common types of ACEs were neglect (11.6%), domestic violence (9.2%), and parental loss (9.1%). This study proved the association between ACEs and common past-year psychiatric disorders in older adults. ACEs increased the risk of past-year psychiatric disorders in older adults. After adjustment for age, sex, marital status, employment status, education, rural or urban residence, region, and physical diseases, the association between ACEs and past-year psychiatric disorders were still significant.

Conclusions: ACEs are linked to an increased risk for past-year psychiatric disorders in older adults. ACEs may have long-term effects on older adults' mental well-being. Preventing ACEs may help reduce possible adverse health outcomes in later life.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; Mental health; Older adults; Psychiatric disorder.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adverse Childhood Experiences*
Aged
China / epidemiology
Health Surveys
Humans
Mental Disorders* / epidemiology
Mental Health