Version 1
: Received: 8 August 2024 / Approved: 8 August 2024 / Online: 12 August 2024 (03:27:33 CEST)
How to cite:
Martins, B.; Taveira-Gomes, T.; Costa Gomes, J.; Vidal-Alves, M. J.; Magalhaes, T. Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Outcomes: A 20-Year Real-World Study. Preprints2024, 2024080670. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.0670.v1
Martins, B.; Taveira-Gomes, T.; Costa Gomes, J.; Vidal-Alves, M. J.; Magalhaes, T. Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Outcomes: A 20-Year Real-World Study. Preprints 2024, 2024080670. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.0670.v1
Martins, B.; Taveira-Gomes, T.; Costa Gomes, J.; Vidal-Alves, M. J.; Magalhaes, T. Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Outcomes: A 20-Year Real-World Study. Preprints2024, 2024080670. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.0670.v1
APA Style
Martins, B., Taveira-Gomes, T., Costa Gomes, J., Vidal-Alves, M. J., & Magalhaes, T. (2024). Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Outcomes: A 20-Year Real-World Study. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.0670.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Martins, B., Maria Joao Vidal-Alves and Teresa Magalhaes. 2024 "Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health Outcomes: A 20-Year Real-World Study" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.0670.v1
Abstract
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) refer to traumatic life events in childhood that comprise abuse (e.g., psychological, physical, sexual), neglect (psychological and physical), indirect violence or household dysfunctions. Studies have found ACEs to be related to severe short-, medium- and long-term consequences in victims’ health. The current work consists of a real-world, multicentric, prevalence study of health outcomes in children <16 years suspected of ACEs by physicians. It relies on electronic health records and healthcare registries from a Portuguese local healthcare unit between January 2001 and December 2021 (N=40 536). Three health outcome groups were analyzed: (1) traumatic injuries and intoxications (2) mental health disorders, and (3) physical disorders. Keywords and ICD-9, ICD-10, and ICPC-2 codes from were employed. Children suspected of ACEs represent 2% (n=918). Social problems, injuries and intoxications, mental health disorders, and physical disorders arise in higher percentages in suspected victims than in non-suspected individuals. Findings uncover that child victims of ACEs may be underdiagnosed. Given the severe consequences for their current and future health, this should be taken as a critical warning for healthcare professionals. Detection and reports in health units are fundamental for early treatment, aiming to avoid an escalation of damage and prevent re-victimization.
Keywords
adverse childhood experiences; suspected victims; health outcomes; traumatic injuries; intoxications; mental health disorders; physical disorders
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Primary Health Care
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
