I think ACE stuff really is chosen because it’s stuff backed by published research and encompasses more common occurrences

I think it holds value in that it paints a clear, simple picture that childhood trauma directly links to a lot of measurable health or social problems that maybe otherwise people would be unlikely to relate to childhood trauma

I agree it would be nice to include more things in it, and perhaps that will happen eventually. I feel it’s especially odd how it specifies someone at least 5 years older for sexual abuse, I’m sure there’s a reason for that that I’m missing, but it’s an odd limitation.

As for omitting health problems, I’d suspect it’s due to that being a different type of trauma than some other things, as it’s not really relational trauma while all the other stuff is, which while trauma in itself, maybe makes sense to consider separately and just study that one on its own. Loss of a family member perhaps is the same way, worthy of looking into how it impacts people of course, but perhaps not something you want to lump in with other relational trauma. I’d argue that a lot of ACE stuff focuses on some kind of betrayal of trust, where you counted on someone close to you for love and stability and they betrayed it, likely leading to a lot of problems trusting others or letting others get close in a way these things don’t. It’s not that these things are any less traumatic, but they aren’t things that drive home a “I can’t trust other people not to harm me” message like all the ACE stuff does