Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Adulthood: Examining Potential Psychological, Biological, and Behavioral Mediators in the Whitehall II Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: This study investigated potential psycho‐bio‐behavioral mediators of the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in adulthood. METHODS AND RESULTS: Participants were 5610 British civil servants (mean age, 55.5; 28% women) from the Whitehall II cohort study without CHD at baseline in 1997 to 1999 (wave 5) when retrospective data on the number of ACEs were collected via questionnaire (range, 0–8). Potential mediators assessed at wave 5 included depression and anxiety symptoms, health behaviors (smoking, alcohol dependence, sleep, and physical activity), and cardiometabolic dysregulations. New diagnoses of CHD (myocardial infarction, definite angina, coronary artery bypass grafting, or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) were assessed from wave 6 (2001) to wave 11 (2012–2013). Logistic regressions examined associations between ACEs, potential mediators, and CHD during the follow‐up period. Natural indirect effects were examined using mediation analysis. A total of 566 (10.1%) participants developed CHD during the follow‐up period. ACEs were associated with an increased likelihood of CHD (odds ratio per ACE, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.00–1.19). Controlling for age and sex, mediation analyses revealed an indirect effect of depression symptoms (natural indirect effects, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.03–1.07), anxiety symptoms (natural indirect effects, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.10–1.15), and a greater number of cardiometabolic dysregulations (natural indirect effects, 1.02; 95% CI, 1.01–1.03) in the association between ACEs and incident CHD. Behavioral factors were not statistically significant mediators. CONCLUSIONS: Depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and cardiometabolic dysregulations partially mediated the association between ACEs and CHD. Regular screening and treatment of symptoms of psychological disorders and cardiometabolic dysregulations may help mitigate the long‐term health burden of ACEs.