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Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are widely prevalent and interrelated. They affect multiple domains of health while having a dose-response effect. These effects are biologically plausible, where ACEs are found to be highly associated with physical and mental comorbidities., Objectives: The study aimed to measure the magnitude of ACE and its relationship to mental and physical illnesses in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia by assessing its prevalence., Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study that took place in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia in 2020., Setting: It was applied to a population-based, random adult sample from both genders, different educational levels and socioeconomic statuses., Participants: Those who were 19 years old and above and living in the Eastern region were included. Everyone under the age of 19, those not currently living in the Eastern Region, and those who did not complete the questionnaire were excluded., Results: The total sample size was 611 respondents, but after applying the exclusion criteria, 507 respondents were included. Most participants were females (65.1%). The mean age of the participants was 29.7 years, with a standard deviation of 11.2 years. Regarding educational level, 69.6% were college/university graduates. Most study respondents (81.8%) were exposed to four or more types of ACEs, with emotional neglect being the most common type (82.2%). Having four or more ACEs increases the risk of having physical illnesses compared to those with only one. Furthermore, female respondents who had four or more ACEs had the highest likelihood of having depressed mood (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0-1.07), stress (AOR = 2.8; 95% CI = 1.11-7.3), and insomnia (AOR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01-1.07)., Conclusion: Our study showed that in the Eastern Region, ACEs are highly prevalent and are associated with an increased risk of mental and physical illness., (© 2022 The Authors. Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: A reliable, migraine-specific biomarker has not been identified so far. Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) and Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) might serve as migraine biomarkers due to their roles in migraine pathophysiology. However, their diagnostic usefulness has not been explored yet. Present study explored the diagnostic accuracy of CGRP and ApoE in migraine., Methods: A cross-sectional, case-control study was conducted from November 2019 to April 2020 at Physiology department of our university. Fourteen female migraine patients, 18-25 years old, with confirmed "Migraine" diagnosis by a neurologist, were recruited. Control group consisted of 14 age-matched healthy females with no personal/family history of migraine. Blood was drawn once from control subjects and twice from migraine patients (ictal and interictal phase). Serum CGRP and ApoE levels were assessed by ELISA. Statistical analysis involved paired t -test, one-way ANOVA, Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and cross-tabs., Results: ApoE (mg/dl) was higher significantly in interictal (1.90±0.50) and ictal (1.97±0.65) phases of migraine compared to control (1.07±0.26) (p ≤ 0.001). ROC curves for ApoE were significant in migraine ictal vs control (AUC= 0.91, AUC 95% CI: 0.78-1.0) and migraine interictal vs control (AUC=0.92, AUC 95% CI: 0.8-1.0) subjects. ROC curve for CGRP (pg/mL) was significant in migraine ictal vs control subjects only (AUC=0.79, AUC 95% CI: 0.6-0.97)., Conclusion: Serum ApoE has "excellent" accuracy to diagnose migraine patients whether in ictal or interictal phase, from healthy subjects. ApoE levels of patients in these two phases of migraine are raised significantly than healthy subjects. CGRP has "fair" diagnostic accuracy to discriminate between migraine ictal phase and healthy subjects. Its levels do not differ significantly among migraine ictal, interictal phase and healthy controls., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest for this work., (© 2021 Latif et al.)