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Thielcke, T.A.* ; Klinger-König, J.* ; Stracke, S.* ; Berger, K.* ; Castell, S.* ; Greiser, K.H.* ; Harth, V.* ; Heier, M. ; Karch, A.* ; Keil, T.* ; Krist, L.* ; Leitzmann, M.* ; Lerch, S.* ; Markus, M.R.P.* ; Meinke-Franze, C.* ; Mikolajczyk, R.* ; Velásquez, I.M.* ; Obi, N.* ; Pischon, T.* ; Schmidt, C.O.* ; Schipf, S.* ; Siewert‐Markus, U.* ; Völzke, H.* ; Woeckel, M. ; Grabe, H.J.* ; Ittermann, T.* ; Töpfer, P.*

Childhood maltreatment and adult blood pressure-based outcomes: Age- and sex-specific associations in the German National Cohort (NAKO).

BMC Public Health 26:2698 (2026)
Publ. Version/Full Text Research data DOI
Open Access Gold
Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is associated with adult cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure (BP), key markers of CVD risk, exhibit age- and sex-dependent variability, which was insufficiently accounted for in previous studies on the CM-BP relationship. This study therefore aimed to assess age- and sex-specific associations between CM and adult BP-based outcomes and hypertension using cross-sectional data from the population based German National Cohort (NAKO). Methods: Complete data were available for 150,983 participants (49.3% female), who took part in the baseline assessment between 2014 and 2019. CM was assessed via the Childhood Trauma Screener (CTS). Resting BP was assessed using a standardized procedure. Hypertension was defined as either SBP ≥ 140 mmHg or DBP ≥ 90 mmHg or intake of antihypertensive medication. Age- and sex-stratified multivariable regression models estimated age- and sex-specific associations between CM and BP-based markers and sex-stratified logistic regression models were calculated for hypertension as the outcome. Results: A pattern of inverse associations between CTS sum score (CTSSUM) and BP markers emerged. Compared to their non-exposed counterparts, females (OR = 0.87, 95%-CI: 0.80; 0.94) but not males (OR = 1.01, 95%-CI: 0.91; 1.13) with high cumulative CM exposure (i.e., ≥ 3 CM categories) had lower odds of hypertension. Age-dependent inverse associations between CTSSUM and BP markers revealed sex-specific patterns. The age- and sex-dependent inverse associations of CM with BP markers were more consistent for the abuse vs. neglect subscales. Conclusions: The association between CM and BP revealed age- and sex-dependent patterns, highlighting the complexity of physical consequences in adulthood associated with CM.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Keywords Logistic Regression ; Cohort ; Blood Pressure ; Epidemiology ; Odds Ratio ; Cohort Study ; Biostatistics ; Population ; Poison Control; Heart-disease; Experiences; Stress; Health; Abuse
ISSN (print) / ISBN 1471-2458
e-ISSN 1471-2458
Journal BMC Public Health
Quellenangaben Volume: 26, Issue: 1, Pages: , Article Number: 2698 Supplement: ,
Publisher Springer
Publishing Place Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9xw, England
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute of Epidemiology (EPI)
Grants Universittsmedizin Greifswald (8976)