1 in 6
experienced four or more types of ACEs.
3 times
the risk of depression for those with an ACE score of 4 or more.
5 out of 10
leading causes of death are associated with ACEs.
44%
Preventing ACEs could reduce the number of adults with depression by as much as 44%.
What does your ACE score mean?
As your ACE score increases, so does the risk of disease, social, and emotional problems. You may want to think about it as a way of measuring the amount of toxic stress you endured as a child and a way of alerting yourself to some statistical indicators of health risks.
The higher your ACE score the higher your chance of suffering from a range of psychological and medical problems like chronic depression, cancer, or coronary heart disease.
The chart shows the consequences of a score of 4 or more. From this score the likelihood of chronic pulmonary lung disease increases 390%; hepatitis, 240 %; depression 460 %; and attempted suicide, 1,220 %.
However, there are still some serious consequences of a lower score. A quarter of Americans have an ACE score of only one and their chance of becoming an alcoholic doubled. An ACE score of two means four times the risk of alcoholism and an ACE score of 3 may explain your chronic depression.
Knowing what your ACE score means being able to understand your risks, and being able to prevent the possible consequences.
| ACE SCORE OF 0 | ACE SCORE OF 4 | INCREASED RISK | |
| Likelihood of becoming an alcoholic | 2.5% | 11% | four-fold increase |
| Suffering from chronic depression | 15% women
10% men |
42% women
30% men |
tripled |
| Having a serious problem working | 5% | 15% | tripled |
| Having serious financial problems | 10% | 20% | doubled |
| Chance of heart disease | 3.7% | 5.6% | doubled |
| Having a stroke | 2.6% | 4.1% | doubled |
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