Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Department of Epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
JAMA Intern Med. 2019 Jan 1;179(1):48-53. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2018.4886.
Sexual harassment and sexual assault are prevalent experiences among women. However, their association with health indices is less well understood.
To investigate the association of history of sexual harassment and sexual assault with blood pressure, mood, anxiety, and sleep among midlife women.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Nonsmoking women without cardiovascular disease were recruited from the community to undergo physical measurements (blood pressure, height, weight), medical history, and questionnaire psychosocial assessments (workplace sexual harassment, sexual assault, depression, anxiety, sleep).
Sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Blood pressure, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and sleep characteristics.
Among the 304 nonsmoking women aged 40 to 60 years who participated in the study, all were free of clinical cardiovascular disease, and the mean (SD) age was 54.05 (3.99) years. A total of 19% reported a history of workplace sexual harassment (n = 58), and 22% reported a history of sexual assault (n = 67). Sexual harassment was related to significantly greater odds of stage 1 or 2 hypertension among women not taking antihypertensives (odds ratio [OR], 2.36; 95% CI, 1.10-5.06; P = .03) as well as clinically poor sleep (OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.05-3.42; P = .03), after adjusting for covariates. Sexual assault was associated with significantly greater odds of clinically elevated depressive symptoms (OR, 2.86; 95% CI, 1.42-5.77; multivariable P = .003), clinically relevant anxiety (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.26-4.06; P = .006), and clinically poor sleep (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.23-3.77; multivariable P = .007), after adjusting for covariates.
Sexual harassment and sexual assault are prevalent experiences among midlife women. Sexual harassment was associated with higher blood pressure and poorer sleep. Sexual assault was associated with poorer mental health and sleep. Efforts to improve women's health should target sexual harassment and assault prevention.
性骚扰和性侵犯在女性中普遍存在。然而，它们与健康指标的关系还不太清楚。
调查中年女性的性骚扰和性侵犯史与血压、情绪、焦虑和睡眠之间的关系。
设计、地点和参与者：从社区招募无心血管疾病的不吸烟女性进行身体测量（血压、身高、体重）、病史和问卷调查社会心理评估（工作场所性骚扰、性侵犯、抑郁、焦虑、睡眠）。
性骚扰和性侵犯。
血压、抑郁症状、焦虑和睡眠特征。
在参与研究的 304 名年龄在 40 至 60 岁之间的不吸烟女性中，所有人均无临床心血管疾病，平均（SD）年龄为 54.05（3.99）岁。共有 19%（n=58）的人报告有工作场所性骚扰史，22%（n=67）的人报告有性侵犯史。在未服用抗高血压药物的女性中，性骚扰与 1 期或 2 期高血压的发生几率显著增加相关（比值比[OR]，2.36；95%置信区间[CI]，1.10-5.06；P=0.03），以及临床睡眠不佳（OR，1.89；95%CI，1.05-3.42；P=0.03），在调整了协变量后。性侵犯与临床明显升高的抑郁症状（OR，2.86；95%CI，1.42-5.77；多变量 P=0.003）、临床相关焦虑（OR，2.26；95%CI，1.26-4.06；P=0.006）和临床睡眠不佳（OR，2.15；95%CI，1.23-3.77；多变量 P=0.007）的发生几率显著增加相关，在调整了协变量后。
性骚扰和性侵犯在中年女性中很常见。性骚扰与更高的血压和更差的睡眠有关。性侵犯与更差的心理健康和睡眠有关。改善女性健康的努力应针对性骚扰和性侵犯的预防。
