“It could be either childhood sexual abuse or adult sexual assault,” said study author Rebecca Thurston, a professor and director of the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health.
“Based upon population data, most women have their sexual assaults when they are in early adolescence and early adulthood,” she added, “so these are likely early experiences that we’re seeing the marks of later in life.”
Physical manifestations
The new study, presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society, adds to a growing body of research on the long-term impact of sexual assault on the body and the mind.
“We need to keep our attention on this issue of sexual violence against women and not let it fall off the radar screen of society, because it continues to be a major women’s health issue,” Thurston said.
Prior studies have found sexual trauma to be linked to higher levels of triglycerides and blood pressure in midlife, and a three-fold greater risk of developing carotid plaque, all key risk factors for heart disease.
In addition, a 2018 study Thurston conducted found women who reported prior sexual assault were three times more likely to experience depression and twice as likely to have elevated anxiety and insomnia than women without a history of sexual trauma.
Depression, anxiety and sleep disorders are all linked to poorer health outcomes, including heart disease, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC statistics also show more than 1 in 3 women in the US (and 1 in 4 men) experience sexual assault at least once in their lifetimes. Considering the widespread impact, Thurston said physicians should be asking their patients about any prior sexual trauma, and then carefully monitoring the woman’s cardiovascular risk as she ages.
Women who have been sexually traumatized should also feel empowered to speak up and tell their doctors, she added.
Madder than before.