Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and repeated wheezing from 6 to 30 months of age: exploring the role of race and ethnicity

Identifying children at risk for respiratory disorders involves understanding early risk factors. This study prospectively examines how specific types of early adversity influence childhood wheeze and how these vary by race and ethnicity. Analyses included N = 746 mother-infant dyads from an urban p...

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Main Authors: Francheska M. Merced-Nieves, Marina Schechter, Elena Colicino, Allison Frost, Rosalind J. Wright
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Stress
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10253890.2025.2477530
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author Francheska M. Merced-Nieves
Marina Schechter
Elena Colicino
Allison Frost
Rosalind J. Wright
author_facet Francheska M. Merced-Nieves
Marina Schechter
Elena Colicino
Allison Frost
Rosalind J. Wright
author_sort Francheska M. Merced-Nieves
collection DOAJ
description Identifying children at risk for respiratory disorders involves understanding early risk factors. This study prospectively examines how specific types of early adversity influence childhood wheeze and how these vary by race and ethnicity. Analyses included N = 746 mother-infant dyads from an urban pregnancy cohort. Mothers completed the Lifetime Stressor Checklist-Revised (LSC-R), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Posttraumatic stress disorder Checklist–Civilian version (PCL-C), and Traumatic Events Screening Inventory (TESI) when infants were 6 months old to assess adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Mothers reported child wheeze at 4-month intervals to index wheezing episodes from age 6–30 months. We first assessed independent associations between ACE measures and wheeze frequency using Poisson regression. We then used weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression to derive an ACEs mixture index to estimate joint associations with wheeze frequency in the overall sample and stratified by maternal race and ethnicity adjusting for child sex, maternal asthma and education. There was a 2.05 increase (95% CI = 1.21, 3.49) in wheeze frequency with each quintile increase of the ACEs index in Black/Black Hispanics; the TESI (72%) contributed most strongly to the mixture. In non-Black Hispanics, there was a 1.33 (95% CI = 1.05, 1.67) increase in wheeze frequency with each ACEs quintile increase with EPDS (76%) contributing most strongly. Findings support the need to move the ACEs paradigm beyond a simple cumulative score when examining effects on early respiratory disease risk. Results also highlight how the impact of early life ACEs varies by ethnoracial identity.
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spelling doaj-art-b29d2b043a1447ef8076c78f8bc815ad2025-08-20T03:48:14ZengTaylor & Francis GroupStress1025-38901607-88882025-12-0128110.1080/10253890.2025.2477530Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and repeated wheezing from 6 to 30 months of age: exploring the role of race and ethnicityFrancheska M. Merced-Nieves0Marina Schechter1Elena Colicino2Allison Frost3Rosalind J. Wright4Department of Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USAIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USADepartment of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USACarolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USADepartment of Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USAIdentifying children at risk for respiratory disorders involves understanding early risk factors. This study prospectively examines how specific types of early adversity influence childhood wheeze and how these vary by race and ethnicity. Analyses included N = 746 mother-infant dyads from an urban pregnancy cohort. Mothers completed the Lifetime Stressor Checklist-Revised (LSC-R), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Posttraumatic stress disorder Checklist–Civilian version (PCL-C), and Traumatic Events Screening Inventory (TESI) when infants were 6 months old to assess adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Mothers reported child wheeze at 4-month intervals to index wheezing episodes from age 6–30 months. We first assessed independent associations between ACE measures and wheeze frequency using Poisson regression. We then used weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression to derive an ACEs mixture index to estimate joint associations with wheeze frequency in the overall sample and stratified by maternal race and ethnicity adjusting for child sex, maternal asthma and education. There was a 2.05 increase (95% CI = 1.21, 3.49) in wheeze frequency with each quintile increase of the ACEs index in Black/Black Hispanics; the TESI (72%) contributed most strongly to the mixture. In non-Black Hispanics, there was a 1.33 (95% CI = 1.05, 1.67) increase in wheeze frequency with each ACEs quintile increase with EPDS (76%) contributing most strongly. Findings support the need to move the ACEs paradigm beyond a simple cumulative score when examining effects on early respiratory disease risk. Results also highlight how the impact of early life ACEs varies by ethnoracial identity.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10253890.2025.2477530Adverse childhood experiencesinfancywheezeasthmamixturesrace and ethnicity
spellingShingle Francheska M. Merced-Nieves
Marina Schechter
Elena Colicino
Allison Frost
Rosalind J. Wright
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and repeated wheezing from 6 to 30 months of age: exploring the role of race and ethnicity
Stress
Adverse childhood experiences
infancy
wheeze
asthma
mixtures
race and ethnicity
title Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and repeated wheezing from 6 to 30 months of age: exploring the role of race and ethnicity
title_full Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and repeated wheezing from 6 to 30 months of age: exploring the role of race and ethnicity
title_fullStr Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and repeated wheezing from 6 to 30 months of age: exploring the role of race and ethnicity
title_full_unstemmed Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and repeated wheezing from 6 to 30 months of age: exploring the role of race and ethnicity
title_short Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and repeated wheezing from 6 to 30 months of age: exploring the role of race and ethnicity
title_sort adverse childhood experiences aces and repeated wheezing from 6 to 30 months of age exploring the role of race and ethnicity
topic Adverse childhood experiences
infancy
wheeze
asthma
mixtures
race and ethnicity
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10253890.2025.2477530
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