Multiple adverse childhood experiences and asthma onset in adulthood: Role of adulthood risk factors as mediators

This population-based study of 21,902 Finnish adults examined whether adulthood risk factors for asthma mediate the association between exposure to multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) assessed retrospectively and new-onset in adulthood. Baseline characteristics, occurrence ACEs, were collected with a postal survey at baseline 1998. The participants linked records on incident from national health registers 1999 2012. Counterfactual mediation analysis was used examine effects ACEs (≥2) through (mediators). Of without baseline, 7552 (34%) exposed during childhood. During follow-up period, 2046 diagnosed asthma. Exposure increased onset by 31% compared ≤1 ACE. partly mediated following factors: severe life events (29%), smoking (15%), allergic rhinitis (8%), low education level (6%), obesity (3%). Specific stressful mediating ACE–asthma ‘severe financial difficulties’ (24%), ‘emotional, physical or sexual violence’ ‘major increase marital problems’ conflicts supervisor’ (7%), ‘divorce separation’ (5%). Adulthood significant proportion effect onset.