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. 2022 Nov;76(11):544-551.
doi: 10.1111/pcn.13464. Epub 2022 Sep 24.

Impact of adverse childhood experience on physical and mental health: A life-course epidemiology perspective

Takeo Fujiwara  1
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Free article

Impact of adverse childhood experience on physical and mental health: A life-course epidemiology perspective

Takeo Fujiwara. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2022 Nov.
Free article

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been shown to have long-term effects on physical and mental health, not only in the US, but also other countries, including Japan. In this paper, measurement of assessment of ACEs has been discussed, that is, concept (what is ACEs), inquiry (how to ask about ACEs), scoring (how to count the number of ACEs), and prevalence (how many ACEs do we have). In addition, a possible mechanism on how ACEs affect health was summarized from a life-course perspective, using the critical/sensitive period model, pathway model, and cumulative model with recent evidence on neurological findings. Intergenerational transmission, that is, maternal ACEs affecting the health of the offspring was also reviewed. Finally, future directions on how to prevent and remedy the impact of ACEs on health was discussed.

Keywords: adverse childhood experiences; life-course epidemiology; mental health; physical health.

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