Association of Adverse Prenatal Exposure Burden with Persistent Psychopathology and Accelerated Cortical Thinning in Youth

Abstract Importance: Adverse prenatal exposures (APEs) often co-occur and independently associate with risk for childhood psychopathology. Whether exposure to multiple APEs associates with persistent clinical effects through adolescence or underlying changes in brain maturation remains uncertain. Objective: To evaluate longitudinal associations among cumulative APE burden, risk for psychopathology, and age-related cortical thinning in adolescents. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study analyzed 4-year follow-up data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which enrolled 11,868 youth aged 9 to