Gender-based disparities in the impact of adverse childhood experiences on adult health: findings from a national study in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

International Journal for Equity in Health

Research

Nathalie ElChoueiry¹  Hassan N. Saleheen¹  Majid Al-Eissa²  Maha Almuneef³ 

[1] King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, P. O. Box 22490, Mail code 3202, 11426, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;National Family Safety Program, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard- Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, P. O. Box 22490, Mail code 3202, 11426, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;National Family Safety Program, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard- Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Department of Pediatrics Emergency, King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard -Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, P. O. Box 22490, Mail code 3202, 11426, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;National Family Safety Program, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard- Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;Department of Pediatrics, King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of National Guard -Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;

关键词: Adverse childhood experiences;    Kingdom of Saudi Arabia;    Mental health problems;    Chronic illness;    Health risk behaviors;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-017-0588-9

 received in 2016-09-21, accepted in 2017-05-23,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAdverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been linked to an increased risk of health and social problems throughout life. Studies on gender differences from developing countries are scarce. In this paper, we will examine gender variations in the types of reported ACEs and gender-specific relationships between cumulative ACEs and physical and mental health, and Risky Health Behaviors (RHB) in adulthood in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).MethodsA cross sectional national study was conducted in all of the 13 regions in KSA in 2013 using the ACE- International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). We used multivariate logistic regression to examine the relationship between 4 + ACEs and physical, mental health and RHBs for both men and women separately after adjusting for age, education, marital status and current employment.ResultsThe total number of participants was 10,156 and women comprised 48% of the sample. The majority of respondents (80%) reported at least one ACE. Women had higher percentages of < =2 ACEs (65% vs 55%; p <0.05) while men were more likely to have 4+ ACEs (33% vs 25%; p < 0.05). When compared to participants with 0 ACE, men who reported 4+ ACEs were associated with the highest likelihood of using drugs (OR = 9.7; 95% CI: 6.4-14.5) and drinking alcohol (OR = 9.2; 95% CI: 6.3-13.6). On the other hand, women who experienced 4+ ACEs were associated with the highest likelihood of depression (OR = 7.0; 95% CI: 5.2-9.4), anxiety (OR = 6.4; 95% CI: 5.0-8.2) and other mental illnesses (OR = 7.4; 95% CI: 5.2-10.6). As for chronic diseases, abused men and women in childhood showed similarly a twofold increased risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease and obesity when compared to non-abused participants.ConclusionFindings highlight the need to consider gender specific differences in the development of preventive strategies to address ACEs in KSA.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017