Cumulative environmental risk in early life is associated with mental disorders in childhood

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dc.contributor.authorO'Hare, K.
dc.contributor.authorWatkeys, O.
dc.contributor.authorWhitten, T.
dc.contributor.authorDean, K.
dc.contributor.authorLaurens, K.R.
dc.contributor.authorHarris, F.
dc.contributor.authorCarr, V.J.
dc.contributor.authorGreen, M.J.
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractBackground: No single environmental factor is a necessary or sufficient cause of mental disorder; multifactorial and transdiagnostic approaches are needed to understand the impact of the environment on the development of mental disorders across the life course. Method: Using linked multi-agency administrative data for 71 932 children from the New South Wales Child Developmental Study, using logistic regression, we examined associations between 16 environmental risk factors in early life (prenatal period to <6 years of age) and later diagnoses of mental disorder recorded in health service data (from age 6 to 13 years), both individually and summed as an environmental risk score (ERS). Results: The ERS was associated with all types of mental disorder diagnoses in a dose-response fashion, such that 2.8% of children with no exposure to any of the environmental factors (ERS = 0), compared to 18.3% of children with an ERS of 8 or more indicating exposure to 8 or more environmental factors (ERS ⩾ 8), had been diagnosed with any type of mental disorder up to age 13-14 years. Thirteen of the 16 environmental factors measured (including prenatal factors, neighbourhood characteristics and more proximal experiences of trauma or neglect) were positively associated with at least one category of mental disorder. Conclusion: Exposure to cumulative environmental risk factors in early life is associated with an increased likelihood of presenting to health services in childhood for any kind of mental disorder. In many instances, these factors are preventable or capable of mitigation by appropriate public policy settings.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityKirstie O, Hare, Oliver Watkeys, Tyson Whitten, Kimberlie Dean, Kristin R. Laurens, Felicity Harris, Vaughan J. Carr, and Melissa J. Green
dc.identifier.citationPsychological Medicine, 2023; 53(10):4762-4771
dc.identifier.doi10.1017/S0033291722001702
dc.identifier.issn0033-2917
dc.identifier.issn1469-8978
dc.identifier.orcidWhitten, T. [0000-0001-8391-1990]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/139401
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherCambridge University Press
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP110100150
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP170101403
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT170100294
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1058652
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1148055
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1133833
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1175408
dc.rights© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291722001702
dc.subjectCumulative risk
dc.subjectearly childhood
dc.subjectenvironmental risk score
dc.subjectmental illness
dc.subjectrecord linkage
dc.titleCumulative environmental risk in early life is associated with mental disorders in childhood
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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