Childhood sexual abuse is associated with physical illness burden and functioning in psychiatric patients 50 years of age and older.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) with cumulative illness burden, physical function, and bodily pain (BP) in a sample of male and female psychiatric patients >or=50 years of age. Previous research on the health consequences of sexual abuse has focused on nonpsychiatric samples of younger-age adults, especially women. The health implications of abuse for mixed-gender samples of older psychiatric patients have not been explored.

METHODS

Participants were 163 patients with primary mood disorders. Sexual abuse histories were collected via patient self-report, as was BP. The measure of medical illness burden was based on chart review. Clinical interviewers rated physical function, using the activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) scales. Linear and logistic regressions examined the association between CSA and health outcomes.

RESULTS

As hypothesized, severe childhood sexual abuse was associated with higher cumulative medical illness burden, worse physical function, and greater BP. Comparisons of regression coefficients revealed that severe CSA's influence on illness burden is roughly comparable to the effects of adding 8 years of age. For ADL impairment and BP, the effects are comparable to adding 20 years of age.

CONCLUSIONS

Strong relationships exist between CSA and medical illness burden, function, and pain among psychiatric patients >or=50 years of age. These relationships cannot be ascribed to shared method variance. Early detection of patients' abuse histories could inform targeted interventions to prevent or decelerate the progression of morbidity in this high-risk group.