Adverse Childhood Experiences and Depression among Women in Rural Pakistan

Citation

LeMasters, Katherine; Bates, Lisa M.; Chung, Esther O.; Gallis, John A.; Hagaman, Ashley K.; Scherer, Elissa; Sikander, Siham; Staley, Brooke S.; Zalla, Lauren C.; & Zivich, Paul N., et al. (2021). Adverse Childhood Experiences and Depression among Women in Rural Pakistan. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 400. PMCID: PMC7905421

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are a common pathway to adult depression. This pathway is particularly important during the perinatal period when women are at an elevated risk for depression. However, this relationship has not been explored in South Asia. This study estimates the association between ACEs and women's (N = 889) depression at 36 months postpartum in rural Pakistan.
METHOD: Data come from the Bachpan Cohort study. To capture ACEs, an adapted version of the ACE-International Questionnaire was used. Women's depression was measured using both major depressive episodes (MDE) and depressive symptom severity. To assess the relationship between ACEs and depression, log-Poisson models were used for MDE and linear regression models for symptom severity.
RESULTS: The majority (58%) of women experienced at least one ACE domain, most commonly home violence (38.3%), followed by neglect (20.1%). Women experiencing four or more ACEs had the most pronounced elevation of symptom severity (

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-10409-4

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year Published

2021

Journal Title

BMC Public Health

Author(s)

LeMasters, Katherine
Bates, Lisa M.
Chung, Esther O.
Gallis, John A.
Hagaman, Ashley K.
Scherer, Elissa
Sikander, Siham
Staley, Brooke S.
Zalla, Lauren C.
Zivich, Paul N.
Maselko, Joanna

Article Type

Regular

PMCID

PMC7905421

Data Set/Study

Bachpan Cohort Study

Continent/Country

Pakistan

Sex/Gender

Women

ORCiD

Maselko - 0000-0002-6270-8237
LeMasters - 0000-0002-1754-1730
Chung, E - 0000-0002-2866-949X
Zivich - 0000-0002-9932-1095