Adverse childhood experiences and handgrip strength among middle-aged and older adults: a cross-sectional study in China

Abstract

Background Evidence on the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and handgrip strength (HGS) in later life was limited and inconclusive. We aimed to explore the impact of ACEs on HGS among middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study with data extracted from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a nationally representative survey with respondents recruited from 450 villages/urban communities of 28 provinces. Participants aged 45 years or older were drawn from the CHARLS 2014 life history survey and the 2015 health survey. Twelve ACE indicators before the age of 17 years were collected. HGS was measured with a dynamometer and the maximum value of HGS obtained from both hands was used in the analyses. Low muscle strength (LMS) was defined according to the recommendation of European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP). Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were constructed to evaluate the association of ACEs with continuous HGS and LMS, with adjustment for age, sex, marital status, ethnicity, area of residence, smoking and drinking status, body mass index, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, hip fracture, and memory-related disease. Results Of the 7209 eligible participants, 2258 (31.3%) had experienced three or more ACEs. Compared to individuals without ACEs, exposure to ≥ 3 ACEs was negatively associated with continuous HGS in kilogram (β = -0.93, 95% CI: -1.37, -0.49) and positively associated with the risk of LMS (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.12, 1.61). Such associations were consistently found both in men and women who had experienced three or more ACEs. Significant dose–response relationship between the number of ACEs and outcomes was also observed in the overall population and different sex groups. Conclusion Exposure to ACEs was associated with lower HGS and increased risk of LMS among middle-aged and older Chinese adults, indicating the importance of intervention in individuals with experience of ACEs in order to mitigate its detrimental impact on HGS and promote healthy ageing.

Childhood experiences and frailty trajectory among middle-aged and older adults in China

“…Literature showed that childhood experiences are generally divided into three parts, that is, adverse childhood experiences (ACE) (Hu 2021;Lin et al 2022;Tao et al 2021), childhood socio-economic status (SES) (Tao et al 2021;Zhang & Lu 2021) and childhood health and healthcare (Pan 2020;Zhang & Lu 2021). The severer ACE elder people had experienced, the worse their health is, while better childhood SES and healthcare are the protective factors of health status in later life (Pan et al 2021;Tao et al 2021).…”

Correction: Adverse childhood experiences and handgrip strength among middle-aged and older adults: a cross-sectional study in China

“…After publication of this article [ 1 ], the authors reported that in Fig. 1 , the number of participants without data in the CHARLS 2014 survey should have been 1549 (instead of 2376); the figure should have appeared as shown below.…”

Children's strains, parents' pains? How adult children's union dissolution influences older parents' health

“…Recent empirical evidence suggests that adverse family events can have an impact on both physical and mental health later in life (Thomeer & Ostergren Clark, 2021;Umberson & Thomeer, 2020). Collectively, these studies suggest that individuals with exposure to early-life adversities in the family domain have chronic stress and elevated allostatic load (e.g., Danese & McEwen, 2012;Lin et al, 2022;Nusslock & Miller, 2016). In turn, this is associated with increased levels of inflammation and dysfunction in the immune system (Danese & McEwen, 2012;Fagundes et al, 2013) which subsequently cause damage to skeletal muscle and lower physical functioning (Dalle et al, 2022;Kamper et al, 2021;Schaap et al, 2006).…”

“…Yet, disruptive family events could have an impact on both mental and physical health in later life (Thomeer & Ostergren Clark, 2021;Umberson & Thomeer, 2020). The extant evidence shows that exposure to adversities in the family domain can lead to increased levels of stress and allostatic load (Danese & McEwen, 2012;Lin et al, 2022;Nusslock & Miller, 2016), inflammation and dysfunction in the immune system (Danese & McEwen, 2012;Fagundes et al, 2013), which can, in turn, detrimentally affect muscular strength and physical functioning later in life (Dalle et al, 2022;Kamper et al, 2021;Schaap et al, 2006). Omitting the physical dimension of health may result in an incomplete picture of the impact of children's union dissolution on different dimensions of parental health.…”