The interaction of adverse childhood experiences and gender as risk factors for depression and anxiety disorders in US adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and being female are distinct risk factors for having a major depressive episode (MDE) or an anxiety disorder (AD) in adulthood, but it is unclear whether these two risk factors are synergistic. The purpose of this study was to determine whether exposure to ACEs and being female are more than additive (synergistic) in their association with MDE and AD in US adults.

Methods: We pooled cross-sectional survey data in the Midlife in the United States study from two nationally-representative cohorts of English-speaking US adults.