Estimating the causal effect of an exposure on change from baseline using directed acyclic graphs and path analysis.

When estimating the causal effect of an exposure of interest on change in an outcome from baseline, the choice between a linear regression of change adjusted or unadjusted for the baseline outcome level is regularly debated. This choice mainly depends on the design of the study and the regression-to-the-mean phenomena. Moreover, it might be necessary to consider additional variables in the models (such as factors influencing both the baseline value of the outcome and change from baseline).

Childhood adversity as a risk for cancer: findings from the 1958 British birth cohort study.

Background: To analyse whether Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) are associated with an increased risk of cancer.

Methods: The National child development study (NCDS) is a prospective birth cohort study with data collected over 50 years. The NCDS included all live births during one week in 1958 (n=18558) in Great Britain.

Adverse childhood experiences and premature all-cause mortality.

Events causing stress responses during sensitive periods of rapid neurological development in childhood may be early determinants of all-cause premature mortality. Using a British birth cohort study of individuals born in 1958, the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and mortality≤50 year was examined for men (n=7,816) and women (n=7,405) separately. ACE were measured using prospectively collected reports from parents and the school: no adversities (70%); one adversity (22%), two or more adversities (8%).