Trauma, including abuse and neglect, is associated with higher cardiovascular disease risk for lesbian and bi women.
This is according to preliminary research presented in Chicago in the US, at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2018, a global exchange of the latest advances in cardiovascular science for researchers and clinicians. The research – led by researchers from the Columbia University – showed that sexual minority women with increased severity of childhood, adulthood or lifetime trauma had higher risk for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a perception of less social support.
For this, the researchers studied 547 sexual minority women. They measured three forms of childhood trauma: physical abuse, sexual abuse and parental neglect; three forms of adult trauma: physical abuse, sexual abuse and intimate partner violence; and lifetime trauma, which was the sum of childhood and adulthood trauma. They analyzed how increasing trauma severity was associated with higher report of several cardiovascular risk factors.
They found that women were 30% more likely to suffer from anxiety if they experienced any forms of adulthood trauma and 41% more likely to be depressed if they faced childhood trauma.
Other findings included:
- 22% more likely to be depressed if they had experienced more forms of lifetime trauma.
- 44% more likely to report overeating in the past three months if they experienced increased forms of childhood trauma.
- 58% more likely to have diabetes if they experienced increasing severity of childhood trauma, and lifetime trauma notably increased their risks of obesity and high blood pressure.
These findings suggest healthcare providers should screen for trauma as a cardiovascular disease risk factor in this population, according to the researchers.
The results were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Chicago.
The research was recognized as the “Cardiovascular Stroke Nursing Best Abstract Award.”
