Childhood trauma and metabolic syndrome in men and women
Open accessAbstract
The long-term effects of childhood trauma on health are well-documented, but few population-based studies have explored how childhood trauma affects the risk of developing metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adulthood. Using data from 1234 adults in the second wave of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), we investigate (1) the extent to which childhood abuse affects the risk of developing MetS in adulthood; (2) how the severity of different types of abuse (emotional, physical, sexual, or cumulative abuse) affects this risk; and (3) the extent to which adult socioeconomic status (SES), maladaptive stress responses, and unhealthy behaviors mediate the association. We also test whether these associations differ significantly by sex. We find that emotional and physical abuse increase the risk of developing MetS for both sexes, whereas sexual abuse is a predictor for women only. For both sexes, individuals who experienced more cumulative abuse have a greater risk of developing MetS. Adult SES partially explains the association between childhood abuse and MetS. Maladaptive stress responses and unhealthy behaviors further explain the association. Among the potential mediators, poor sleep quality was a significant pathway for men and women, while stress-induced eating was a significant pathway for women only. Our findings suggest that the well-documented health consequences of early life trauma may vary by the nature of the trauma, the victim's sex, and the coping mechanisms that he or she employs.
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ELS/CT has been repeatedly found to be independently associated with higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome in later life.
“and higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (290, 294, 295) in later life”
From Developmental Trajectories of Early Life Stress and Trauma: A Narrative Review on Neurobiological Aspects Beyond Stress System Dysregulation (2019) · cites this paper as [295]
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- Authors
- Lee, C., Tsenkova, V., & Carr, D.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
- Corresponding author
- Lee, Chioun
- Venue
- Social Science & Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-03
- Volume
- 105
- Pages
- 122-130
- ISSN
- 0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4097386
- OpenAlex
- W2137839156
- Cited by
- 125
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 4
- FWCI
- 11.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (K01AG041179, P01AG020166)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Keywords
- childhood trauma, childhood abuse, metabolic syndrome, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, socioeconomic status, maladaptive stress response, sleep quality, stress eating, sex differences, mediation, MIDUS
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Child, Child Abuse, Child Abuse, Sexual, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Risk Factors, Social Class, Stress, Psychological, United States, Health Behavior, Sex Distribution, Metabolic Syndrome, Adult Survivors of Child Abuse
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