The Mediating Role of Behavioral Risk Factors in the Pathway Between Childhood Disadvantage and Adult Psychological Distress in a Finnish Employee Cohort

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2024 Oct 8

PMID 39379440

Authors

Jatta Salmela

Tea Lallukka

Tomi Maki-Opas

Luka Vahasarja

Aino Salonsalmi

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Childhood disadvantage is associated with increased adult psychological distress, but the role of behavioral risk factors in the pathway remains unclear. We examined whether behavioral risk factors mediate the effects of childhood disadvantage on adult psychological distress. We used the Helsinki Health Study data of employees of the City of Helsinki, Finland, aged 19-39 (mean age 32.0) years at baseline (2017). We included women (n = 2397) and men (n = 586) who responded to both baseline and follow-up (2022) surveys. At baseline, eight types of childhood disadvantage were asked retrospectively, and six adult behavioral risk factors were included. Psychological distress was measured by the DASS-21 at follow-up. We conducted mediation analyses using generalized structural equation modeling. Among women, we found indirect path effects of childhood disadvantage on adult psychological distress through behavioral risk factors (symptoms of depression: β = 0.68, 95% CI 0.20-1.17; anxiety: β = 0.54, 95% CI 0.13-0.95; and stress: β = 0.69, 95% CI 0.20-1.09). Among men, childhood disadvantage contributed only directly to adult depressive (β = 0.71, 95% CI 0.16-1.26) and stress (β = 0.61, 95% CI 0.10-1.13) symptoms. Our findings suggest that behavioral risk factors can mediate some of the adverse effects of childhood disadvantage on adult psychological distress among women.

References

Burgin D, Boonmann C, Schmid M, Tripp P, ODonovan A . Fact or artefact? Childhood adversity and adulthood trauma in the U.S. population-based Health and Retirement Study. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2020; 11(1):1721146. PMC: 7034429. DOI: 10.1080/20008198.2020.1721146. View

Collins S, Hoare E, Allender S, Olive L, Leech R, Winpenny E . A longitudinal study of lifestyle behaviours in emerging adulthood and risk for symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. J Affect Disord. 2023; 327:244-253. DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.02.010. View

Danese A, McEwen B . Adverse childhood experiences, allostasis, allostatic load, and age-related disease. Physiol Behav. 2011; 106(1):29-39. DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.08.019. View

Nelson C, Scott R, Bhutta Z, Burke Harris N, Danese A, Samara M . Adversity in childhood is linked to mental and physical health throughout life. BMJ. 2020; 371:m3048. PMC: 7592151. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.m3048. View

Wickham S, Amarasekara N, Bartonicek A, Conner T . The Big Three Health Behaviors and Mental Health and Well-Being Among Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Sleep, Exercise, and Diet. Front Psychol. 2020; 11:579205. PMC: 7758199. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.579205. View

Lynch J, Davey Smith G . A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology. Annu Rev Public Health. 2005; 26:1-35. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.26.021304.144505. View

Sideli L, Murray R, Schimmenti A, Corso M, La Barbera D, Trotta A . Childhood adversity and psychosis: a systematic review of bio-psycho-social mediators and moderators. Psychol Med. 2020; 50(11):1761-1782. DOI: 10.1017/S0033291720002172. View

Oshio T, Umeda M, Kawakami N . Impact of interpersonal adversity in childhood on adult mental health: how much is mediated by social support and socio-economic status in Japan?. Public Health. 2013; 127(8):754-60. DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2013.05.005. View

Solmi M, Radua J, Olivola M, Croce E, Soardo L, Salazar de Pablo G . Age at onset of mental disorders worldwide: large-scale meta-analysis of 192 epidemiological studies. Mol Psychiatry. 2021; 27(1):281-295. PMC: 8960395. DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01161-7. View

10.

Salinas-Miranda A, Salemi J, King L, Baldwin J, Berry E, Austin D . Adverse childhood experiences and health-related quality of life in adulthood: revelations from a community needs assessment. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2015; 13:123. PMC: 4530491. DOI: 10.1186/s12955-015-0323-4. View

11.

Walsh D, McCartney G, Smith M, Armour G . Relationship between childhood socioeconomic position and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): a systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2019; 73(12):1087-1093. PMC: 6872440. DOI: 10.1136/jech-2019-212738. View

12.

Hardt J, Rutter M . Validity of adult retrospective reports of adverse childhood experiences: review of the evidence. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2004; 45(2):260-73. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00218.x. View

13.

Haaramo P, Rahkonen O, Hublin C, Laatikainen T, Lahelma E, Lallukka T . Insomnia symptoms and subsequent cardiovascular medication: a register-linked follow-up study among middle-aged employees. J Sleep Res. 2013; 23(3):281-9. DOI: 10.1111/jsr.12116. View

14.

Schilling E, Aseltine R, Gore S . The impact of cumulative childhood adversity on young adult mental health: measures, models, and interpretations. Soc Sci Med. 2008; 66(5):1140-51. PMC: 2362506. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2007.11.023. View

15.

Whiteford H, Degenhardt L, Rehm J, Baxter A, Ferrari A, Erskine H . Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2013; 382(9904):1575-86. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61611-6. View

16.

Stanton R, Best T, Williams S, Vandelanotte C, Irwin C, Heidke P . Associations between health behaviors and mental health in Australian nursing students. Nurse Educ Pract. 2021; 53:103084. DOI: 10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103084. View

17.

Kalmakis K, Chandler G . Health consequences of adverse childhood experiences: a systematic review. J Am Assoc Nurse Pract. 2015; 27(8):457-65. DOI: 10.1002/2327-6924.12215. View

18.

Lee J, Lee E, Moon S . Systematic review of the measurement properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 by applying updated COSMIN methodology. Qual Life Res. 2019; 28(9):2325-2339. DOI: 10.1007/s11136-019-02177-x. View

19.

Necho M, Tsehay M, Birkie M, Biset G, Tadesse E . Prevalence of anxiety, depression, and psychological distress among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2021; 67(7):892-906. DOI: 10.1177/00207640211003121. View

20.

McKay M, Kilmartin L, Meagher A, Cannon M, Healy C, Clarke M . A revised and extended systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between childhood adversity and adult psychiatric disorder. J Psychiatr Res. 2022; 156:268-283. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.10.015. View