Childhood adversity is linked to frailty in later life

In an observational study, researchers analysed data from 10,643 adults aged 50 years and older in England, the United States, and China. All participants were initially free of multidimensional frailty, defined as frailty in at least two physical, psychological, or social domains. The researchers assessed eight domains of adverse childhood experiences. Overall, 61.9% of participants reported at least one adverse childhood experience, and 61.8% developed multidimensional frailty during follow-up. Experiencing childhood adversity was associated with higher risks of four incident frailty patterns, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.15 to 1.32. Cumulative exposure was linked to a 3% to 12% higher risk per additional adverse experience across all four patterns, as well as higher risks for most transitions toward multidimensional frailty.