Adverse childhood experiences tied to lower urinary tract symptoms among women

Family-based adverse childhood experiences among women contribute to lower urinary tract symptoms and impact against bladder health during adulthood, suggests a study.

The authors used the CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) cohort study data and retrospectively assessed the frequency of exposure to adverse childhood experiences in 2000-2001. They also examined the extensiveness of social networks in 2000-2001, 2005-2006, and 2010-2011; scores were averaged. In 2012-2012, they collected data on lower urinary tract symptoms/impact.

Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine whether adverse childhood experiences, extensiveness of social networks, and their interaction were associated with lower urinary tract symptoms/impact, with adjustments for age, race, education, and parity (n=1,302).

Recall of more frequent family-based adverse childhood experiences correlated with more reports of lower urinary tract symptoms/impact over 10 years later (odds ratio [OR], 1.26, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.07‒1.48).

However, social networks during adulthood helped temper the association between adverse childhood experiences and lower urinary tract symptoms/impact (OR, 0.64, 95 percent CI, 0.41‒1.02).

Among women with less extensive social networks, the estimated probability of experiencing moderate or severe lower urinary tract symptoms/impact versus bladder health or mild symptoms/impact was 0.29 for those reporting an adverse childhood experiences frequency corresponding to more than “a little” and 0.21 for those reporting “rarely or none of the time.”

In women with more extensive social networks, the respective estimated probabilities were 0.20 and 0.21.

“Additional research is needed to corroborate the potentially attenuating effect of social networks,” the authors said.