SynthesisPediatrics2016
The Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Risk of Cancer in Adulthood: A Systematic Review of the Literature.
Synthesis in Pediatrics, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 105 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
105 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 214 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mapping Psychosocial Determinants for Cancer Onset: An Umbrella Review.Psycho-oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Association between adverse childhood experiences and asthma: a meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Chronic psychosocial stress: a role in breast cancer etiology?Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Global landscape, research hotspots, and evolutionary trends in childhood adversity and chronic disease research: a bibliometric analysis based on three databases.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Life course health consequences and associated annual costs of adverse childhood experiences across Europe and North America: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The Lancet. Public health · 2019Pooled it
- Childhood Adversities and the ATTACHInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Trial
- Impact of a home visiting program on sleep problems among young children experiencing adversity.Child abuse & neglect · 2019Trial
- Associations between adverse childhood experiences and health outcomes in adults aged 18-59 years.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Long-term impact of childhood exposure to interparental physical violence on cancer risk in adulthood: a prospective cohort study.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Article
- Improving Neonatal Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Screening in the NICU: A Quality Improvement Initiative.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026Article
- Emerging Perspectives on Adverse Childhood Experiences and Brain Cancer Immunotherapy.Cancers · 2026Article
- Adverse childhood experiences and risk of non-mental medical diseases in adulthood: an umbrella review.EClinicalMedicine · 2026Article
- Determining adverse childhood experiences and their association with substance use among young adults in universities and colleges in Mombasa County, Kenya.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2026Article
- Associations Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Physical Activity, Recreational Screen Time, and Sleep Among U.S. Children.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Incidence, mortality, and cumulative risk of cancer in adolescents and young adults in Switzerland.European journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Socioecological Predictors of Child Flourishing and Family Resilience Status Among Children with Adverse Childhood Experiences.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Social genomics and cancer - untangling nature from nurture in squamous cell carcinoma outcomes.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Review
- Psychosocial and mental health correlates of perceived teacher support among young adults across cultures: above and beyond the effects of childhood trauma.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Past hurts, present hurdles: Analyzing the impact of adult socioeconomic status and healthcare access on cancer screening among childhood abuse survivors.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Casting a long shadow: Exploring the link between childhood maltreatment and cancer in adulthood.PloS one · 2026Article
45 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
contextAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can affect health and well-being across the life course.
objectiveThis systematic review summarizes the literature on associations between ACEs and risk of cancer in adulthood. DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed to identify relevant publications published on or before May 31, 2015. STUDY SELECTION: We included original research quantifying the association between ACEs and adult cancer incidence. Case reports and reviews were excluded. DATA ABSTRACTION: Two reviewers independently abstracted and summarized key information (eg, ACE type, cancer type, risk estimates) from included studies and resolved all discrepancies.
resultsTwelve studies were included in the review. In studies in which ACE summary scores were calculated, significant associations were observed between the scores and an increased risk of cancer in adulthood. Of the different types of ACEs examined, physical and psychological abuse victimization were associated with risk of any cancer in 3 and 2 studies, respectively. Two studies also reported significant associations with regard to sexual abuse victimization (1 for cervical cancer and 1 for any cancer). However, 2 other studies reported no significant associations between childhood sexual or physical abuse and incidence of cervical or breast cancer. LIMITATIONS: Because of heterogeneity across studies, we were unable to compute a summary effect estimate.
conclusionsThese findings suggest that childhood adversity in various forms may increase a person's cancer risk. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms driving this relationship and to identify opportunities to prevent and mitigate the deleterious effects of early adversity on long-term health.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.