Blackpool Council Annual Health Report 2019 Blackpool Council Annual Health Report PAGES | Page 25

• 2.3 times more likely to develop cancer
• 3.1 times more likely to have cardiovascular disease
• 2.5 times more likely to have liver or digestive disease
• 2.1 times more likely to a regular binge drinker
• 3.3 times more likely to be a current smoker
• 10.9 times more likely to be a heroin or crack user
• 7.5 times more likely to have been a victim of violence in the previous 12 months
• 7.7 times more likely to have perpetrated violence in the previous 12 months
• 11.3 times more likely to have been in prison or cells.
ACEs have also been shown to have impacts on educational attainment, with poor
childhood health and school absenteeism increased with number of ACEs reported 15 .
These findings indicate that ACEs are associated with significant burden on health and
social care, the education and criminal justice systems and wider society.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs – see image) such as those experienced by children
in care as well as many others have been shown to have strong correlations with poor
adult health outcomes. Studies conducted that looked at the ACEs experienced by adults
in England 14 found that compared to those with no ACES, adults who had experienced four
or more ACEs were:
Modelling based on the England ACEs study indicates that preventing ACEs in future
generations could reduce levels of smoking by 22.7%, binge drinking by 11.9%, poor
diet by 13.6%, violence perpetration by 52.0%, heroin/crack cocaine use by 58.7%, and
unintended teenage pregnancy by 37.6% 15 .
Blackpool Council Public Health team is working in collaboration with partners from across
Lancashire and South Cumbria, including local authorities, health services, education,
policing and the Better Start Partnership to create “Trauma Informed Lancashire”. The
aim is to establish an evidence base of interventions and ways of working designed to
prevent ACEs, reduce their impact should they occur in childhood and enable adults with
ACEs or other trauma to engage with services and activities that enable healing. The
ultimate vision of this working group is to propagate a cultural shift towards the whole of
Lancashire and South Cumbria becoming trauma informed and ACE-aware, with a view to
reducing the poor health outcomes associated with ACEs and trauma.
14. Bellis MA et al. Measuring mortality and the burden of adult disease associated with adverse childhood experiences in England: a national survey.
Journal of Public Health 2015 Jan-1;37(3):445-454.
15. Bellis et al. BMC Public Health (2018) 18:792
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