Adverse Childhood Experiences and Sarcopenia in Later Life: Baseline Data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Backgrounds: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are linked to early and long-lasting mental health issues and somatic multimorbidity. Emerging evidence suggests ACEs may also accelerate physical frailty in old age. This study examines the association between ACEs and sarcopenia, an ageing-related disease and core component of frailty.

Methods: Baseline data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), including 25,327 participants aged 45-85 years (50.3% female sex) were analyzed. Sarcopenia was defined using the revised European Working Group of Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) guidelines. ACE were assessed via the Childhood Experiences of Violence Questionnaire and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health Wave III questionnaire, covering eight ACE categories. Multiple logistic regression models examined the association between the number of ACE count and sarcopenia, which were adjusted for age, sex, education, income, and ethnicity.

Results: Given a significant interaction between age and ACE (p < 0.01), analyses were stratified into four age groups (45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and 75-85 years). A significant association only emerged in the oldest group (75-85 years; OR = 0.93 [95% CI: 0.86-1.00], p = 0.043), but this result was in the opposite direction we hypothesized. Sensitivity analyses confirmed findings across different operationalisations of ACE and sarcopenia.

Conclusions: Higher ACE exposure was not associated with sarcopenia in middle aged and older adults. The unexpected protective association in the oldest-old subgroup may reflect survival bias. Age-stratified longitudinal studies are needed to clarify this relationship.