Domestic violence and disease

Women who suffer from domestic violence are, by definition, more likely to suffer physical injuries than other women. However, new research from Ohio State University suggests that they may also be more likely to suffer from a range of other physical and mental health problems as well. The study looked at the medical records of 3,568 women. Eight per cent had experienced some form of domestic violence in the previous year while 37% had suffered domestic violence at some point in their life. The study compared the women who had never been abused with those who reported recent domestic violence and found that the women who reported violence were more than six times as likely to have a drug problem and three times as likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. Other diseases which were more common among abused women were low back and neck pain, sexually-transmitted diseases, urinary tract infections and chest pains. The abused women were also more than twice as likely to smoke.

You can read more about this research at

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE59B4YW20091012?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&rpc=451&sp=true&pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0