Adverse childhood experiences and circadian syndrome in middle-aged and older adults: A multi-method analysis of a national sample

Background

Emerging evidence underscores the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and poor health across the lifespan.

Methods

Latent class analysis was used to identify distinct classes of ACEs. Generalized linear regression and binary logistic regression were employed to assess the associations between ACEs and circadian syndrome (CircS). Additionally, network analysis was conducted to identify central nodes.

Results

The study had a total of 7896 participants. The latent class analysis identified three classes of ACEs, namely class 1 ‘household mental illness’, class 2 ‘physical abuse and bullying’, and class 3 ‘low ACEs’. Significant associations with CircS were observed for higher cumulative ACE exposure, including total ACEs (OR = 1.08), 3 ACEs (OR = 1.28), ≥4 ACEs (OR = 1.60), total threat-related ACEs (OR = 1.10), and ≥ 2 threat-related ACEs (OR = 1.32). The class 2 cluster, marked by ‘physical abuse and bullying’, was associated with increased CircS (OR = 1.22). Similarly, individual ACEs—household violence, household mental illness, and parental separation/divorce—were linked to higher risk of CircS (OR = 1.26–2.69). These exposures were also associated with a larger number of CircS components (β = 0.05–0.28). Network analysis further highlighted household mental illness, household violence, bullying, and physical abuse as the most central nodes.

Conclusions

This study provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the effects of ACEs and underscores the importance of screening for them to better address their associations with circadian health.