Health concerns in Indigenous people are often greater in comparison to those in non-Indigenous populations, including increased rates of chronic diseases and mental health concerns. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) may be an explanatory variable for such heightened rates of mental and physical health difficulties for Indigenous populations as these communities have experienced a lack of adequate health care due to remoteness, historical traumas, cultural insensitivity, racism, and perpetuating systemic discrimination. To date, relatively few studies have examined ACEs within an Indigenous population and their relevance to both physical and mental health outcomes. The present study explored existing ACE literature relevant to Indigenous populations and mental or physical health outcomes by retrieving and organizing available ACE literature. A systematic review was conducted using 14 electronic databases of peer-reviewed literature and 18 grey literature databases. Twenty-one publications investigating general health outcomes and prevalence of ACEs met eligibility criteria. ACEs were reported to be higher in Indigenous populations when compared to non-Indigenous population. Higher ACE scores for Indigenous participants were associated with increased rates of suicidality and psychological distress. Protective factors to reduce the impact of ACEs were cultural identity and connectedness, education, social support, and psychological resilience. Future research may further explore the relationship between ACE scores and protective factors, varying prevalence within specific sub-populations, and consistent reporting of outcomes across studies. Ongoing research has the potential to clarify existing dose–response relationships between early traumatic experiences and current health disparities experienced within some Indigenous communities.

与非土著人口相比，土著人民的健康问题往往更为严重，包括慢性病发病率和心理健康问题的增加。童年不良经历 (ACE) 可能是原住民身心健康困难发生率升高的一个解释变量，因为这些社区由于地处偏远、历史创伤、文化不敏感、种族主义和长期存在的系统性问题而缺乏足够的医疗保健歧视。迄今为止，相对较少的研究检查了土著人口中的 ACE 及其与身心健康结果的相关性。本研究通过检索和组织可用的 ACE 文献，探索了与土著人口和心理或身体健康结果相关的现有 ACE 文献。使用 14 个同行评审文献的电子数据库和 18 个灰色文献数据库进行了系统评价。调查一般健康结果和 ACE 流行率的 21 篇出版物符合资格标准。据报道，与非土著人口相比，土著人口中的 ACE 更高。土著参与者较高的 ACE 分数与自杀率和心理困扰的增加有关。减少 ACE 影响的保护因素是文化认同和联系、教育、社会支持和心理弹性。未来的研究可能会进一步探索 ACE 分数与保护因素之间的关系、特定亚人群中不同的患病率以及跨研究结果的一致报告。