Adverse childhood experiences and 10-year depressive-symptoms trajectories among middle-aged and older adults in China: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) influence depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were heterogeneous from the perspective of life course.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the effects of ACEs on the trajectory of depressive symptoms in China.

PARTICIPANTS

The data is from the 5 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and the 2014 Life Course Survey of it. A total of 17,106 individuals were included, without the people younger than 45 years.

METHODS

We dealt with the missing values using multiple interpolation. The CESD-10 and a 12-item questionnaire was used to assess the depressive symptom and ACEs, respectively. We used group-based trajectory modelling (GBTM) to identify the 10-year depressive-symptoms. Logistic regression models were used to explore associations between the trajectory and the ACEs.

RESULTS

Five depressive-symptom trajectories were identified based on the GBTM analysis (BIC = 540533.61; AIC = 540347.68;  = 17,106). Compared to the participants without depressive symptoms, the older adults who have more adverse childhood experiences have more odds of being in the other four groups, and the more ACEs the older adults experienced, the more likely it is.

CONCLUSION

The 10-year depressive-symptoms trajectories among middle-aged and older adults in China were different from previous features. The significance of a life-course intervention plan to prevent childhood adversity and the related mental health damage in later life is demonstrated by the long-term influence of ACEs on depressive symptoms.