期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2020
卷号：117
期号：37
页码：22628-22630
DOI：10.1073/pnas.2015162117
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) have been defined as those that exhibit a dose–response relationship with health risk behaviors and chronic diseases known to increase mortality (1). ACEs are also associated with biomarkers related to inflammation, genetics, and endocrine functioning (e.g., cortisol) (2). The standard compendium of 10 ACEs includes abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), neglect (physical, emotional), and household dysfunction (mental illness, mother treated violently, divorce, incarcerated relative, substance abuse). ACEs are, unfortunately, an all-too-prevalent reality in the US population. In 2017 to 2018, about 33% of children aged 0 to 17 had experienced at least one ACE, and 14% had experienced two or more (3). The question that now occupies many researchers in this field is, “How do events that happen in childhood persist to affect adult physical and mental health?” Data that address life course questions such as this are rarely available in studies of humans. In PNAS, Rosenbaum et al. (4) take advantage of a rich longitudinal data resource in their long-standing field study of female savannah baboons to test the plausibility of a well-reasoned hypothesis: Early life adversity is associated with increased fecal glucocorticoid (fGC) concentrations in adulthood, and this effect is mediated by social bond strength in adulthood (Fig. 1 A ).
