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Association of Adverse Childhood Experiences with Heart Conditions in Children:  Insight from the 2019-2020 National Survey of Children's Health

Presented By:

Ebenezer Adebiyi, MPH, MD; Jariselle M. Pietri-Toro, MD; Lisa Gwynn, DO

University of Miami / Jackson Health

jariselle.pietri@gmail.com

Overview:

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been shown by previous literature to have a negative influence on health outcomes. They have particularly been associated with a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and premature mortality in the adult population. We analyzed the combined 2019-2020 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) to explore the associations between ACEs and heart conditions among children in the United States. Data on children reported by parents/guardians to have current heart conditions were analyzed. Descriptive statistics were generated for the demographic characteristics and health outcomes using the chi-square of independence. Multivariate logistic regression models were generated to determine the associations between ACEs and heart conditions, the severity of heart conditions, and overall health status. All analyses were performed using STATA 17 (Stata Corp) accounting for the complex sampling designs and weights in NSCH data. There were 826 children identified with current heart conditions from a total of 68,753 surveyed children in 2019-2020, after excluding children with incomplete responses, Down syndrome, and other genetic diseases. This corresponds to an estimated 780,000 (1.13%) children living with heart conditions in the U.S. After controlling for possible confounders in the multivariate logistic models, several ACEs, including household economic hardship, parental/guardian’s alcohol/drug abuse, severe mental health illness of parents/guardians, racial/ethnic discrimination, and exposure to neighborhood violence, and the accumulation of two or more ACEs were significantly associated with heart diseases among children. Though the accumulation of two or more ACEs did not have a significant association with the severity of heart condition, it was significantly associated with caregiver reports of undesirable overall health status.