Social determinants of health, personalized medicine, and child maltreatment

Abstract

This review begins with a brief summary of the importance of child maltreatment as a major public health problem, given its prevalence and the substantial human and economic costs involved. The focus then shifts to consideration of personalized medicine and child maltreatment, including genetic and genomics factors, as well as the role of social determinants of health. Research on epigenetics related to child abuse and neglect is presented, followed by that pertaining to a few specific social factors, such as poverty, parental depression and substance use, and domestic (or intimate partner) violence. The review ends with a discussion of interventions to help address social determinants of health with brief descriptions of several model programs, and thoughts concerning the role of personalized medicine in addressing child maltreatment in the foreseeable future. IMPACT: This paper synthesizes knowledge on social determinants of health and advances in genetics and genomics related to the prevention of child maltreatment. It provides examples of model approaches to addressing the prevention of child maltreatment in primary care practices.