Having a traumatic event was related to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Interpersonal violence was a common traumatic experience among women. Researchers looked at whether interpersonal violence (childhood abuse, adulthood abuse, or intimate partner violence [IPV]) was linked to an elevated risk of clinical CVD events in midlife women who were followed for 2 decades. Over the course of 22 years, 2,201 women, ranging in age from 42 to 52, were subjected to up to 16 in-person visits. Questionnaires (on childhood physical/sexual abuse, adult physical/sexual abuse, and IPV) were used, as well as physical measurements, phlebotomy, and reported CVD events (myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, and revascularization). Investigators gathered death certificates. Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the links between childhood maltreatment, adult abuse, and IPV and fatal and nonfatal CVD incidents. Women with a history of childhood abuse had a higher risk of incident CVD (compared to women who had never been abused; hazard ratio [HR] [95% CI], 1.65 [1.12–2.44]; P=0.01; adjusted for demographics and CVD risk variables); the most significant relationships were for childhood sexual abuse. CVD was not found to be significantly linked to adult abuse. In demographically adjusted models, women with IPV had a doubling of the risk of incident CVD (vs no IPV; IPV: HR [955 CI], 2.06 [1.01–4.23]; P=0.04; no partner: HR [95% CI], 1.79 [0.91–3.53]; P=0.09); systolic blood pressure partially moderated links between IPV and CVD. Childhood maltreatment, particularly sexual abuse, was linked to a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease in women. IPV was linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, with more significant systolic blood pressure among IPV-exposed women playing a vital role in these correlations. Women’s CVD risk may be reduced by preventing interpersonal violence.
Source:www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.121.024724
