Associations of childhood exposure to interparental physical violence and verbal conflict with the risk of adult-onset diabetes.

BACKGROUND

Adverse childhood experiences have been associated with health across the life course. However, the associations of childhood exposure to interparental physical violence and verbal conflict with the risk of adult-onset diabetes remain unclear.

METHODS

A total of 6769 participants without diabetes were enrolled. We assessed childhood exposure to interparental physical violence and verbal conflict through the standard questionnaire. The outcome was adult-onset diabetes, defined as the new occurrence of diabetes during follow-up. Diabetes was ascertained if any of the following criteria were met: self-reported physician diagnosis, current use of glucose-lowering medication, glycated haemoglobin A1c ≥6.5%, fasting plasma glucose ≥126 mg/dL, or two-hour postprandial plasma glucose ≥200 mg/dL. The associations between childhood exposure to interparental violence and adult-onset diabetes were assessed using Cox proportional hazards models.

RESULTS

The mean age was 58.6 years, and 3146 participants (46.5%) were male. Among all participants, 565 (8.3%) reported childhood exposure to interparental physical violence, and 1523 (22.5%) reported exposure to interparental verbal conflict. During a follow-up of seven years, 854 participants (12.6%) developed diabetes. The multivariable Cox model showed that childhood exposure to interparental physical violence and verbal conflict was associated with a 67.0% and 20.0% increased risk of adult-onset diabetes, respectively (for physical violence adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.67; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.36-2.05; for verbal conflict aHR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.02-1.40).

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood exposure to interparental physical violence and verbal conflict was associated with a higher risk of adult-onset diabetes. These findings underscore the long-term health implications of early adverse family environments on offspring.