Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T09:31:57.541Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Retrospective and prospectively assessed childhood adversity in association with major depression, alcohol consumption and painful conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2014

S. B. Patten ,
T. C. R. Wilkes ,
J. V. A. Williams ,
D. H. Lavorato ,
N. el-Guebaly ,
D. Schopflocher ,
C. Wild ,
I. Colman  and
A. G. M. Bulloch
S. B. Patten*
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada
T. C. R. Wilkes
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada
J. V. A. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada
D. H. Lavorato
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada
N. el-Guebaly
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada
D. Schopflocher
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada
C. Wild
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada
I. Colman
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada
A. G. M. Bulloch
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada
*
*Address for correspondence: Professor S. B. Patten, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N4Z6, Canada. (Email: [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background.

Considerable evidence now links childhood adversity to a variety of adult health problems. Unfortunately, almost all of these studies have relied upon retrospective assessment of childhood events, creating a vulnerability to bias. In this study, we sought to examine three associations using data sources that allowed for both prospective and retrospective assessment of childhood events.

Methods.

Methods. A 1994 national survey of children between the ages of 0 and 11 collected data from a ‘person most knowledgeable’ (usually the mother) about a child. It was possible to link data for n = 1977 of these respondents to data collected from the same people in a subsequent adult study. The latter survey included retrospective reports of childhood adversity. We examined three adult health outcomes in relation to prospectively and retrospectively assessed childhood adversity: major depressive episodes, excessive alcohol consumption and painful conditions.

Results.

Results. A strong association between childhood adversities (as assessed by both retrospective and prospective methods) and major depression was identified although the association with retrospective assessment was stronger. Weaker associations were found for painful conditions, but these did not depend on the method of assessment. Associations were not found for excessive alcohol consumption irrespective of the method of assessment.

Conclusions.

These findings help to allay concerns that associations between childhood adversities and health outcomes during adulthood are merely artefacts of recall bias. In this study, retrospective and prospective assessment strategies produced similar results.

Keywords

Alcohol consumptionback painepidemiological studieslongitudinal studiesmajor depressive episodesmigrainepainful conditions
Type
Original Articles
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , April 2015 , pp. 158 - 165
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Retrieved 14 August 2013 from http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/questionnaires/index.htm.Google Scholar
Chapman, DP, Whitfield, CL, Felitti, VJ, Dube, SR, Edwards, VJ, Anda, RF (2004). Adverse childhood experiences and the risk of depressive disorders in adulthood. Journal of Affective Disorders 82, 217–225.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Colman, I, Garad, Y, Zeng, Y, Naicker, K, Weeks, M, Patten, SB, Jones, PB, Thompson, AH, Wild, TC (2013). Stress and development of depression and heavy drinking in adulthood: moderating effects of childhood trauma. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 48, 265–274.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edwards, VJ, Holden, GW, Felitti, VJ, Anda, RF (2003). Relationship between multiple forms of childhood maltreatment and adult mental health in community respondents: results from the adverse childhood experiences study. American Journal of Psychiatry 160, 1453–1460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Felitti, VJ, Anda, RF, Nordenberg, D, Williamson, DF, Spitz, AM, Edwards, V, Koss, MP, Marks, JS (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults. The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 14, 245–258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fergusson, DM, Horwood, LJ, Woodward, LJ (2000). The stability of child abuse reports: a longitudinal study of the reporting behaviour of young adults. Psychological Medicine 30, 529–544.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hardt, J, Rutter, M (2004). Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: review of the evidence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45, 260–273.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heir, T, Piatigorsky, A, Weisaeth, L (2009). Longitudinal changes in recalled perceived life threat after a natural disaster. British Journal of Psychiatry 194, 510–514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kessler, RC, McGonagle, KA, Zhao, S, Nelson, CB, Hughes, M, Eshleman, S, Wittchen, HU, Kendler, KS (1994). Lifetime and 12-month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States. Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry 51, 8–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kessler, RC, Andrews, G, Mroczek, D, Ustun, B, Wittchen, HU (1998). The World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short-Form (CIDI-SF). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research 7, 171–185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kessler, RC, McLaughlin, KA, Green, JG, Gruber, MJ, Sampson, NA, Zaslavsky, AM, Aguilar-Gaxiola, S, Alhamzawi, AO, Alonso, J, Angermeyer, M, Benjet, C, Bromet, E, Chatterji, S, De, GG, Demyttenaere, K, Fayyad, J, Florescu, S, Gal, G, Gureje, O, Haro, JM, Hu, CY, Karam, EG, Kawakami, N, Lee, S, Lepine, JP, Ormel, J, Posada-Villa, J, Sagar, R, Tsang, A, Ustun, TB, Vassilev, S, Viana, MC, Williams, DR (2010). Childhood adversities and adult psychopathology in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. British Journal of Psychiatry 197, 378–385.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keyes, KM, McLaughlin, KA, Demmer, RT, Cerda, M, Koenen, KC, Uddin, M, Galea, S (2013). Potentially traumatic events and the risk of six physical health conditions in a population-based sample. Depression and Anxiety 30, 451–460.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleinbaum, DG, Kupper, LL, Morgenstern, H (1982). Information bias. In Epidemiologic Research, pp. 220–241. Van Nostrand Reinhold: New York.Google Scholar
McLaughlin, KA, Conron, KJ, Koenen, KC, Gilman, SE (2010). Childhood adversity, adult stressful life events, and risk of past-year psychiatric disorder: a test of the stress sensitization hypothesis in a population-based sample of adults. Psychological Medicine 40, 1647–1658.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, AH, Maletic, V, Raison, CL (2009). Inflammation and its discontents: the role of cytokines in the pathophysiology of major depression. Biological Psychiatry 65, 732–741.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). 2010. Statistics Canada. Retrieved 14 August 2013 from http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=4450&Item_Id=44678.Google Scholar
Patten, SB (2013). Childhood and adult stressors and major depression risk: interpreting interactions with the sufficient-component cause model. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 48, 927–933.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patten, SB, Beck, CA, Kassam, A, Williams, JVA, Barbui, C, Metz, LM (2005). Long-term medical conditions and major depression: strength of association for specific conditions in the general population. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 50, 195–202.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Poulin, C, Hand, D, Boudreau, B (2005). Validity of a 12-item version of the CES-D used in the National Longitudinal Study of Children and Youth. Chronic Diseases in Canada 26, 65–72.Google ScholarPubMed
Raphael, KG, Widom, CS, Lange, G (2001). Childhood victimization and pain in adulthood: a prospective investigation. Pain 92, 283–293.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raphael, KG, Chandler, HK, Ciccone, DS (2004). Is childhood abuse a risk factor for chronic pain in adulthood? Current Pain and Headache Reports 8, 99–110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scott, KM, McLaughlin, KA, Smith, DA, Ellis, PM (2012). Childhood maltreatment and DSM-IV adult mental disorders: comparison of prospective and retrospective findings. British Journal of Psychiatry 200, 469–475.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stata Corporation (2012). Stata, Version 12.1. Stata Corporation: College Station, TX.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada (2012). National Population Health Survey – Household Component – Longitudinal (NPHS). Retrieved 14 August 2013 from http://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=3225&Item_Id=1213.Google Scholar
Strigo, IA, Simmons, AN, Matthews, SC, Craig, AD, Paulus, MP (2008). Increased affective bias revealed using experimental graded heat stimuli in young depressed adults: evidence of “emotional allodynia”. Psychosomatic Medicine 70, 338–344.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swain, L, Catlin, G, Beaudet, MP (1999). The National Population Health Survey – its longitudinal nature. Health Reports 10, 69–82.Google ScholarPubMed
Thiessen, D, Steinberg, L, Kuang, D (2002). Quick and easy implementation of the Benjamini-Hochberg Procedure for controlling the false positive rate in multiple comparisons. Journal of Educational and Behavioural Statistics 27, 77–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar