Childhood Adversity and COVID-19 Outcomes in the UK Biobank

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused global declines in life expectancy; it is therefore critical to understand risk factors related to mortality and morbidity for this infectious disease. Past work indicates that certain pre-existing medical conditions, behavioral patterns, and sociodemographic factors may increase COVID-19-related negative outcomes. Left unexplored, however, is whether COVID-19 outcomes are influenced by exposure to childhood adversity. This is a notable gap given that childhood adversity is associated with lifelong physical health disparities and early mortality. We leverage data from the UK Biobank cohort (N=151,200) to investigate relations between early childhood adversity and COVID-19 mortality and morbidity. As predicted, we show that childhood adversity is associated with a higher risk of COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality, even after adjusting for potential confounding variables. Such results highlight the importance of considering early-life experiences and their impact on COVID-19 outcomes to guide public health intervention and prevention strategies.