Adverse experiences in childhood increase the risk of multiple long-term health conditions in adulthood.

New research from the University of Dundee has looked at how negative experiences during childhood (known as adverse childhood experiences) impact health later in life.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are potentially stressful events or environments that occur before the age of 18. They include things like abuse, neglect, and challenges in or around the home (e.g. separation of parents).

People with a history of ACEs are at a higher risk of developing long-term health conditions, like heart disease, chronic pain, and mental health disorders. Often people have more than one of these long-term health conditions – this is sometimes called multimorbidity.

In this study, researchers reviewed all previous studies that had examined the relationship between ACEs and the likelihood of developing multiple long-term health conditions. They identified 25 relevant studies, which together included information from over 370,000 people. They analysed the data from multiple studies together – this is known as a meta-analysis.

The study found that the more ACEs someone has experienced, the more likely they are to develop multiple long-term health conditions in adulthood. This risk increases by nearly 13% for each extra type of ACE someone experiences.

This shows that events during childhood can have a lasting impact on health in adulthood. For individuals, acknowledging this trauma in healthcare settings (known as “trauma-informed healthcare”) may help them understand and manage their conditions. For health systems and policymakers, attempts to reduce the burden of disease in older adults may need to include measures to address childhood circumstances.

The full article is available (for free) here: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03505-w

APDP Conference in Nottingham

The APDP (Advanced Pain Discovery Platform) Conference recently took place in Nottingham.  Sessions included a presentation from CAPE Project Lead, Professor Lesley Colvin.

Chronic Pain Advisory Group (CPAG) member, Debs Smith, has been representing CAPE as a member of the Organising Committee for the conference.

Debs said:

“I enjoyed the conference and there was a lot of opportunity for learning and meeting other people.  My experience of the organising committee is that there weren’t many opportunities for people on the committee to input and we did raise issues of accessibility and were assured the building was accessible.  However, in getting there, I found accessibility issues and others fed back similar experiences. In future, accessibility needs to be assessed by someone with disabilities visiting the building to check if the building is truly accessible in practice.”

APDP have recently convened a PPI Working Group to increase real opportunities for people with lived experience to be heard in their work, which will report back by the end of this year.

CAPE Chronic Pain Advisory Group member, Debs Smith, at the APDP Conference in Nottingham.

CAPE/Alleviate Conference Leads with Lived Experience Involvement

 

The joint CAPE/Alleviate Conference took place at the V&A in Dundee on the 23rd and 24th of May. We welcomed a wide range of speakers, including from HDRUK, Versus Arthritis and a host of academic institutions.

CAPE’s Chronic Pain Advisory Group (CPAG) members were all in attendance and led a session exploring the impact that lived experience involvement has had on CAPE’s work and looking forward to developing this further in the year ahead. This was led by Group members, Gillian Carroll and Maureen O’Reilly, who both presented to the full conference.

Gillian Carroll presenting at the CAPE/Alleviate Conference

People living with pain who are involved in other research projects also attended the conference and CPAG members were able to share ideas and experiences across a range of areas.

Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Co-ordinator, Judith Fisher, said, “Hearing directly from people with lived experience had a huge impact on the whole conference. It highlights the importance and relevance of CAPE’s work in improving the quality of life of people living with chronic pain.”

 

CAPE Chronic Pain Advisory Group Sharing Their Experiences of Research Involvement on a National Stage

CAPE Chronic Pain Advisory Group member, Maureen O’Reilly, recently presented at the NHS Scotland Research Conference on Patient Involvement in Research.  She has written a blog about her experiences:

“Debs Smith and I were invited to speak at the NHS Scotland Research Conference on Patient Involvement in research.  We were talking about our experience as members of the CAPE Chronic Pain Advisory Group.

The Conference was really interesting, highlighting the variety of projects that people with lived experience are involved in.

This was the first time in years that I’d spoken in front of such a large group of people and I felt very anxious beforehand. Talking about the impact of adverse childhood events can be really emotional. I now know that I need to take some time to myself beforehand to use calming breathing practices which helps with my anxiety.

Afterwards, participants said that they had felt inspired and privileged to hear my story. 

The feedback I received has encouraged me to do more public speaking around ACEs (Adverse Childhood Events). I feel the information around the linking of ACEs and ill health really needs to be out there and spoken about more widely. 

I found the whole experience really empowering. Being involved with CAPE has increased my confidence and helped me feel able to go out and communicate the work we’re involved in.”

CAPE Chronic Pain Advisory Group member, Maureen O'Reilly, presenting at the NHS Scotland Research Conference on Patient Involvement in Research.

Airing Pain Podcast

Professors Tim Hales and Lesley Colvin from CAPE featured on episode 140 of the Airing Pain podcast entitled Childhood Pain  – Adverse Experiences And Parental Relationships wherein they discuss how adverse childhood experiences may impact future vulnerability to chronic pain and how people respond to treatment.

The episode can be found here: https://painconcern.org.uk/airing-pain-140-childhood-experiences/

Episode Description: