Heterogeneity in adverse childhood experiences and heart disease among U.S. Black Women and Men.

OBJECTIVES

Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACE) accounts for up to 1.9 million heart disease cases. This study extends research by examining the association between heart disease and four-forms of ACE heterogeneity (i.e. counts, scores, clusters, and individually) among Black men and women.

DESIGN

Data come from the 2019-2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System's ACE supplement (n = 30,746). Latent class analysis of eleven ACEs - verbal, physical, or sexual abuse; experiencing divorced parents, rape, or sexual coercion; or living in a household with domestic violence, imprisonment, drug use, alcohol abuse, or mental illness - identified seven-classes. Multiple gender-stratified binary logistic regressions estimated adjusted odds of heart disease based on ACE counts, scores, individual events, and the seven-classes, which reflected: (1) domestic violence and alcohol abuse, (2) sexual violence, (3) abusive parents, (4) universal ACEs, (5) non-sexual ACEs, (6) few ACEs, and (7) household imprisonment/substance abuse.

RESULTS

Odds of heart disease were higher for women and men with more ACE exposures (i.e. counts and universal-ACEs classification), and when exposed specifically to sexual violence, household drug use, and mental illness. Exceeding the threshold of two-plus ACEs increased odds of heart disease for women but not men. Women's and men's odds of heart disease were higher when experiencing physical/verbal abuse and household imprisonment, respectively.

CONCLUSION

ACE heterogeneity factors into heart disease patterns for Black men and women with important implications for intersectional screening, intervention, and the advancement of health equity.