Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31660899›Full record

ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2019

Adverse childhood experiences and poor birth outcomes in a diverse, low-income sample.

Joshua P Mersky, ChienTi Plummer Lee

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
8.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 69 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
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  5. Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Framework for Culturally Responsive Home Visitation.Journal of transcultural nursing : official journal of the Transcultural Nursing Society · 2026
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  10. Associations of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) with pregnancy outcomes in people with cardiac disease.European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Joshua P MerskyInstitute for Child and Family Well-being, Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2400 E. Hartford Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, USA. mersky@uwm.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-8702
ChienTi Plummer LeeInstitute for Child and Family Well-being, Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2400 E. Hartford Ave, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, USA.
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee · US

Funding

HRSA HHS X10MC295120100HRSA HHS X10MC311790100
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAdverse childhood experiences (ACE) are associated with an array of health consequences in later life, but few studies have examined the effects of ACEs on women's birth outcomes.

methodsWe analyzed data gathered from a sample of 1848 low-income women who received services from home visiting programs in Wisconsin. Archival program records from a public health database were used to create three birth outcomes reflecting each participant's reproductive health history: any pregnancy loss; any preterm birth; any low birthweight. Multivariate logistic regressions were performed to test the linear and non-linear effects of ACEs on birth outcomes, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and education.

resultsDescriptive analyses showed that 84.4% of women had at least one ACE, and that 68.2% reported multiple ACEs. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that cumulative ACE scores were associated with an increased likelihood of pregnancy loss (OR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.08-1.17), preterm birth (OR = 1.07; 95% CI = 1.01-1.12), and low birthweight (OR = 1.08; 95% CI = 1.03-1.15). Additional analyses revealed that the ACE-birthweight association deviated from a linear, dose-response pattern.

conclusionsFindings confirmed that high levels of childhood adversity are associated with poor birth outcomes. Alongside additive risk models, future ACE research should test interactive risk models and causal mechanisms through which childhood adversity compromises reproductive health.

Indexed as

Pregnancy ComplicationsPregnancy OutcomeAdultAdult Survivors of Child Adverse EventsAdverse Childhood ExperiencesFemaleHumansInfant, Low Birth WeightInfant, NewbornInfant, PrematureMalePovertyPregnancyReproductive HistoryRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsAdverse childhood experiencesBirth outcomesLow BirthweightLow-incomePregnancy lossPreterm birthReproductive health

Identifiers

PMID31660899
PMCPMC6819344
OpenAlexW2981605045

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

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.