Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39973158›Full record

ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2025

Loneliness Links Adverse Childhood Experiences to Mortality Risk Across 26 Years.

Aisling Curtis, Emma M Kirwan, Martina Luchetti, Ann-Marie Creaven, Nicholas Turiano, Máire McGeehan, Eileen K Graham, Páraic S O'Súilleabháin

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Aisling CurtisDepartment of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Emma M KirwanDepartment of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Martina LuchettiDepartment of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7370-8443
Ann-Marie CreavenDepartment of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Nicholas TurianoDepartment of Psychology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
Máire McGeehanDepartment of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Eileen K GrahamDepartment of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3095-4625
Páraic S O'SúilleabháinDepartment of Psychology, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0002-1423-7119

Funding

STATISTICS COREP01AG020166 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI RYFF, CAROL D. · 2002 to 2015
$50.6M
Advancing the Study of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults Through the Use of Integrative Data AnalysisR01AG082954 · NIA · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO · PI Eileen Kranz Graham · 2023 to 2026
$2.4M
Personality and Mortality Risk in Adulthood: Behavioral and Physiological MechanismsR03AG081592 · NIA · WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY · PI TURIANO, NICHOLAS ANDREW · 2023 to 2023
$151k
Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship GOIPG/2023/3522John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur FoundationNIA NIH HHS 5-PO1-AG20166-04NIA NIH HHS 5-PO1- AG20166-04NIA NIH HHS P01 AG020166NIA NIH HHS R01 AG082954NIA NIH HHS R01-AG082954NIA NIH HHS R03 AG081592NIH HHSResearch Network on Successful Midlife DevelopmentU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with increased mortality risk. Individuals with a history of certain adversity during childhood tend to report higher levels of loneliness in later life. In our preregistered study, we examined whether loneliness mediates the ACEs to mortality risk relation.

methodsParticipants were from the Midlife in the United States Survey (N = 4,963; M [SD] = 46.44 [12.52] years, 53.3% female). Follow-up period spanned 26 years. A comprehensive measure of ACEs was employed consisting of 20 ACEs from 5 categories: physical abuse, emotional abuse, socioeconomic disadvantage, adverse family structure, and poor health at age 16 years.

resultsACE was a significant predictor of mortality risk. Loneliness mediated the ACEs-mortality risk relation. In other words, loneliness in adulthood accounted for the relation between ACEs and future death. These effects withstood a range of sensitivity checks and adjustments for important factors, such as social isolation. DISCUSSION: Loneliness appears to be a central mechanism in the long-term impact of ACEs on longevity, such that, for adversity during childhood, loneliness experienced during adulthood may be a toxic pathway to future death.

Indexed as

Adult Survivors of Child AbuseAdult Survivors of Child Adverse EventsAdverse Childhood ExperiencesLonelinessMortalityAdolescentAdultAgedChildChild AbuseFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRisk FactorsUnited StatesAdversityIsolationLonelyLongevityTrauma

Identifiers

PMID39973158
PMCPMC12067061

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.