ArticleInternational journal of epidemiology2023
A longitudinal study evaluating adverse childhood experiences and obesity in adulthood using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).
Article in International journal of epidemiology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Pooled it
- A Double-Hit Model of Early-Life Stress and High-Fat Feeding Reveals Enhanced Exocrine Pancreatic Remodeling.Biology · 2026Article
- Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences, Intimate Partner Violence, and Nutritional Inadequacy Among Women in an Urban Brazilian Setting.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- The impact of genetics and the environment on cancer risk in Indigenous Australians: a narrative review.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Review
- Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Co-occurrence of Poor Oral Health and Multimorbidity: Findings From the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.Community dentistry and oral epidemiology · 2025Article
- Applying the Principles of Trauma-Informed Care to the Evaluation and Management of Patients Who Undergo Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.Obesity surgery · 2025Review
- Adverse childhood experiences and perceived body size across the life course: a longitudinal study using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).BMJ public health · 2025Article
- Childhood adversity trajectories and weight status in young adult men: a register-based study including 359,783 Danish men.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2024Article
- The Weight of Trauma: Navigating Collider Stratification Bias in the Association Between Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Body Mass Index.CJC pediatric and congenital heart disease · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a risk factor for obesity; however, the causal mechanisms are not well understood. Objectives were to measure the impact of ACEs on adulthood obesity and to investigate whether the association was mediated by nutrition and stress.
methodsA longitudinal study was conducted using adults aged 46-90 years (n = 26 615) from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Participants were asked to recall ACEs from <18 years of age. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and per cent body fat were measured (2015-18) and obesity was defined using standard cut points. Nutrition was measured using data from the Short Diet Questionnaire and stress was measured using allostatic load. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs for each obesity measure. Causal mediation methods were used to determine whether nutrition and stress were mediators.
resultsThere were 66% of adults who had experienced one or more ACE. The odds of obesity defined by BMI and waist circumference increased in a dose-response manner with increasing number of ACEs (P trend <0.001). For instance, adults with four to eight ACEs, compared with none, had greater odds of obesity, defined by BMI (adjusted OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.28-1.75) and waist circumference (adjusted OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.15-1.47). There was no evidence of mediation by stress or nutrition.
conclusionsAdversity experienced in early life is strongly associated with obesity among Canadian adults. Further research is needed to identify other mechanisms for this association to inform obesity prevention strategies.
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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.