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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Allergy
Sec. Asthma
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/falgy.2024.1483911

Birthing Parent Adverse Childhood Experiences and Risk of Atopic Diseases in 5-Year-Old Children

Provisionally accepted
Makayla Freeman Makayla Freeman 1,2*Anna L Mackinnon Anna L Mackinnon 3,4*Mark Anselmo Mark Anselmo 5,6*Suzanne Tough Suzanne Tough 5,6,7Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen 2*
  • 1 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • 2 Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
  • 3 Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montréal, Montréal, Canada
  • 4 CHU Sainte Justine Research Center, University of Montreal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
  • 5 Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  • 6 Department of Paediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
  • 7 Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Following up on previous findings from the All Our Families (AOF) cohort, the current study investigated the relationship between birthing parent history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and child atopy, including asthma, allergy, and eczema, at five years of age. Potential indirect effects were explored. Participants completed the ACEs scale, validated questionnaires of anxiety and depression symptoms, and reported on their and their children's atopic disease history. Archival analyses of AOF data (N = 3387) was conducted using logistic regression and path analysis with counterfactually based indirect effects. Birthing parent history of ACEs was associated with an 18% increased risk of child allergy at five years (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.20). Exploratory path analyses indicated a significant indirect effect of ACEs through birthing parent history of atopy on child asthma, allergy, and eczema at five years. There were no significant indirect effects through birthing parent symptoms of anxiety or depression during pregnancy, at two or five years postpartum. Birthing parent history of ACEs, combined with birthing parent history of atopy, may elevate the risk of child atopy. This presents an opportunity for early intervention for children at risk of atopic disease.

    Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences, atopic diseases, intergenerational health outcomes, Pregnancy, Asthma, allergy

    Received: 20 Aug 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Freeman, Mackinnon, Anselmo, Tough and Tomfohr-Madsen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Makayla Freeman, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary, Calgary, T2N 1N4, Alberta, Canada
    Anna L Mackinnon, Department of Psychiatry and Addiction, University of Montréal, Montréal, Canada
    Mark Anselmo, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), Calgary, T2N 1N4, Alberta, Canada
    Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology and Special Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.