title: Adverse childhood experiences and child-to-adult height trajectories in the 1958 British birth cohort.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adverse childhood experiences (maltreatment and household dysfunction) are associated with adult cardiovascular disease (CVD). One possible pathway is through physical development, which has been linked to CVD risk. Our aim was to examine whether adverse childhood experiences are associated with child-to-adult height trajectories.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 1958 British birth cohort (n=17,638) includes all born in one week in March 1958, followed up to mid adulthood. Height was measured at 7, 11 and 16 years (y) and adulthood (converted to standard deviation scores (SDS); ≥1 height measurement n=16,444, adult leg length n=9180). Multivariate response models were used to examine the associations between childhood experiences (ascertained at 7 y and self-reported at 45 y) and child-to-adult height.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Childhood neglect, prospectively assessed at 7 y, was associated with shorter stature throughout childhood: for each increment across a score ranging 0-7, average height reduced by 0.06 SDS (males) and 0.05 SDS (females) at 7 y (≈0.3 cm), with smaller deficits (0.03 SDS, ≈0.2 cm) in adulthood, after adjustment for parental height, birthweight and socio-economic factors. In males, the adult deficit was mainly due to shorter leg length. Household dysfunction was associated with shorter stature at 7-11 y, with adjusted deficits from 0.04 to 0.07 SDS per increment across a score ranging 0-7, but not at later ages. Adjusted models showed no associations for retrospectively reported abuse or neglect to 16 y.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Those with a higher neglect score by 7 y grew more slowly, with deficits through to adulthood. No associations were found for abuse over the longer period to 16 y. Deficits associated with early life neglect and household dysfunction might have implications for adult CVD risks.
authors.affiliation: MRC Centre of Epidemiology for Child Health / Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCL Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Denholm
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Power
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D001827:Body Height; D049628:Body Size; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002657:Child Development; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010290:Parents; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Child maltreatment; child abuse; child adversity; child neglect; cohort study; height deficit; height trajectories; household dysfunction