Santaularia Jeanie, Johnson Monica, Hart Laurie, Haskett Lori, Welsh Ericka, Faseru Babalola
Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Bureau of Health Promotion, Topeka, KS, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2014 Dec 16;14:1286. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-1286.
Sexual assault is a traumatic event with potentially devastating lifelong effects on physical and mental health. Research has demonstrated that individuals who experience sexual assault during childhood are more likely to engage in risky behaviors later in life, such as smoking, alcohol and drug use, and disordered eating habits, which may increase the risk of developing a chronic disease. Despite the high prevalence and economic burden of sexual assault, few studies have investigated the associations between sexual violence and chronic health conditions in the US. The purpose of this study is to identify associations between sexual violence and health risk behaviors, chronic health conditions and mental health conditions utilizing population based data in Kansas.
Secondary analysis was done using data from the 2011 Kansas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System sexual violence module (N = 4,886). Crude and adjusted prevalence rate ratios were computed to examine associations between sexual assault and health risk behaviors, chronic health conditions and mental health conditions, overall and after adjusting for social demographic characteristics. Additional logistic regression models were implemented to examine the association between sexual assault and health risk behaviors with further adjustment for history of anxiety or depression.
There was a significantly higher prevalence of health risk behaviors (heavy drinking, binge drinking and current smoking), chronic health conditions (disability, and current asthma) and mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation) among women who ever experienced sexual assault compared to women who did not, even after adjustment for potential confounders.
Study findings highlight the need for chronic disease prevention services for victims of sexual violence. There are important implications for policies and practices related to primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention, as well as collaborations between sexual violence, chronic disease, and health risk behavior programs.
性侵犯是一种创伤性事件，可能对身心健康造成潜在的终身毁灭性影响。研究表明，童年时期遭受性侵犯的个体在日后生活中更有可能从事危险行为，如吸烟、酗酒、吸毒以及饮食紊乱，这可能会增加患慢性病的风险。尽管性侵犯的发生率很高且带来经济负担，但在美国，很少有研究调查性暴力与慢性健康状况之间的关联。本研究的目的是利用堪萨斯州的基于人群的数据，确定性暴力与健康风险行为、慢性健康状况和心理健康状况之间的关联。
使用2011年堪萨斯行为风险因素监测系统性暴力模块的数据（N = 4886）进行二次分析。计算粗患病率和调整后的患病率比值，以检验性侵犯与健康风险行为、慢性健康状况和心理健康状况之间的关联，包括总体关联以及在调整社会人口统计学特征之后的关联。实施额外的逻辑回归模型，以进一步调整焦虑或抑郁病史后，检验性侵犯与健康风险行为之间的关联。
与未曾经历过性侵犯的女性相比，曾经历过性侵犯的女性在健康风险行为（大量饮酒、暴饮和当前吸烟）、慢性健康状况（残疾和当前哮喘）以及心理健康状况（抑郁、焦虑和自杀意念）方面的患病率显著更高，即使在调整潜在混杂因素之后也是如此。
研究结果凸显了为性暴力受害者提供慢性病预防服务的必要性。这对于与一级、二级和三级预防相关的政策和实践，以及性暴力、慢性病和健康风险行为项目之间的合作具有重要意义。
