The importance of adverse childhood experiences for labour market trajectories over the life course: a longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Transitioning from school to work is important in influencing people's trajectories throughout their life course. This study investigated the extent to which adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were associated with differences in labour market trajectories for young adults in the context of a Nordic child care regime with low levels of child poverty. METHODS: Information on labour market participation, educational events, and public transfer records was recoded into seven state spaces for each month between ages 16 and 32 for a cohort of Danish adolescents born in a rural county in 1983 (N = 3373). Cluster analysis of the sequences using the optimal matching algorithm was used to identify groups with similar trajectories. Multinomial regression was used to assess the association between self-reported ACEs and cluster membership, taking gender and family of origin into account. RESULTS: 'In employment' was the state space in which the young adults spent the most time over their early life courses (mean: 85 out of 204 months; 42%). Cluster analysis identified three clusters. Cluster 3 was most distinct, where the mean time 'outside the labour market' was 149 months (73%), and only 17 months (8%) were spent 'in employment'. Cumulative ACEs increased the probability of being included in Cluster 3 (OR: 1.51). Experiencing parental divorce (OR: 3.05), witnessing a violent event (OR: 3.70), and being abused (OR: 5.64) were most strongly associated with Cluster 3 membership. CONCLUSIONS: Labour market trajectories among adolescents with a higher number of ACEs consisted of more time outside the labour market, compared to adolescents who had experienced fewer adversities. The lasting consequences of childhood adversity should be taken more into account in welfare policies, even in countries such as Denmark, with high social security levels and high-quality universal childcare.

Age at menarche and pregnancy-related pelvic pain.

AIM: Menarcheal age is a predictor of several complications related to pregnancy and diseases later in life. We aimed to study if menarcheal age is a risk factor for pregnancy-related pelvic pain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A nested case-control study was conducted within the Danish National Birth Cohort, a cohort of pregnant women, recruited during 1996-2002, and their children. In the second trimester of pregnancy the women provided information about age at menarche and potential confounders. Selection of cases (n = 2227) was based on self-reported pelvic pain during pregnancy from an interview done 6 months post-partum. The controls (n = 2588) were randomly selected among women who did not report pelvic pain. We used logistic regression analysis to calculate odds ratios (OR) for pregnancy-related pelvic pain according to age at menarche. RESULTS: In the cohort, 18.5% of all pregnant women reported pregnancy-related pelvic pain. Compared to women who were 12-14 years old at menarche, the adjusted OR for overall pelvic pain were 1.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1-1.7) in women 11 years or younger and 0.8 (95%CI 0.6-0.9) in women 15 years or older. The corresponding adjusted OR for severe pelvic pain were 1.6 (95%CI 1.3-2.0) and 0.7 (95%CI 0.6-0.9). When age was analyzed as a continuous variable, the odds for overall and severe pelvic pain decreased with 14% and 16%, respectively, for each increasing year. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of pregnancy-related pelvic pain decreased with increasing menarcheal age in an 'exposure-response' pattern. A low menarcheal age is a risk indicator and may be a risk factor for pregnancy-related pelvic pain.