Black-White Differences in the Association between Maternal Early Life Adversity and Child Asthma Outcomes from the Add Health Study
Presenter Biography
Jennifer Seamans, MST, is an MPH Epidemiology student at the Oregon Health & Science University-Portland State University (OHSU-PSU) School of Public Health, with interests that include the influences of structural inequalities on life course and intergenerational health, and implications for public health practice and policy. She is currently completing supervised research on racial differences in the association between maternal early life adversity and asthma in children. As a research assistant in the Oregon Prevention Research Center (PRC), she also supports evaluation and dissemination of a culturally appropriate sexual health curriculum for AI/AN teens. Prior to pursuing the MPH, Jen earned a MST in science learning and assessment, and worked for over a decade managing community-centered watershed health projects.
Institution
OHSU
Program/Major
Epidemiology
Degree
MPH
Presentation Type
Presentation
Room Location
Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 294
Start Date
4-3-2019 12:00 AM
End Date
4-3-2019 12:00 AM
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/30971
Abstract
Background: Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with greater risk of poor health in children of exposed mothers. Structural inequalities such as race and socioeconomic status (SES) confer differential exposure to ACEs; effects in the association with child asthma are underexplored. This study tests the hypothesis that the association between maternal ACEs and child asthma is stronger in Black compared to White mothers.
Methods: This study examined 2,557 mother-child dyads from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Using log-binomial regression stratified by maternal race and child sex, asthma diagnosis in a firstborn child was modeled as a function of high maternal ACEs (binary variable using cutpoint of 3 ACEs). Analyses including interaction with child sex and maternal race were adjusted for mothers’ childhood income, education, and smoking, and accounted for complex survey design.
Results: The association between maternal ACEs and child asthma was strongest for Black mothers of female children (3-way interaction between ACEs, child sex, and race: p = 0.018); mothers in this category with high ACEs were 5.3 times as likely to report an asthma diagnosis in their children relative to similar mothers with low ACEs (95% CI: 2.22-12.69). Associations for male children born to Black mothers, and children of White mothers, were weak or absent.
Conclusions: Study findings suggest that maternal ACEs exposure elevates the risk of asthma in female children of Black mothers. Greater understanding of structural, environmental and psychosocial contributions to these differences is needed to mitigate intergenerational propagation of inequities.
Black-White Differences in the Association between Maternal Early Life Adversity and Child Asthma Outcomes from the Add Health Study
Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 294
Background: Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with greater risk of poor health in children of exposed mothers. Structural inequalities such as race and socioeconomic status (SES) confer differential exposure to ACEs; effects in the association with child asthma are underexplored. This study tests the hypothesis that the association between maternal ACEs and child asthma is stronger in Black compared to White mothers.
Methods: This study examined 2,557 mother-child dyads from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Using log-binomial regression stratified by maternal race and child sex, asthma diagnosis in a firstborn child was modeled as a function of high maternal ACEs (binary variable using cutpoint of 3 ACEs). Analyses including interaction with child sex and maternal race were adjusted for mothers’ childhood income, education, and smoking, and accounted for complex survey design.
Results: The association between maternal ACEs and child asthma was strongest for Black mothers of female children (3-way interaction between ACEs, child sex, and race: p = 0.018); mothers in this category with high ACEs were 5.3 times as likely to report an asthma diagnosis in their children relative to similar mothers with low ACEs (95% CI: 2.22-12.69). Associations for male children born to Black mothers, and children of White mothers, were weak or absent.
Conclusions: Study findings suggest that maternal ACEs exposure elevates the risk of asthma in female children of Black mothers. Greater understanding of structural, environmental and psychosocial contributions to these differences is needed to mitigate intergenerational propagation of inequities.