Study finds sexual assault and harassment can affect women's health later in life

A new study published by JAMA Internal Medicine found that female victims of sexual assault could be affected all their lives, reports the Los Angeles Times. The study, which was presented on October 3 at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society, has made many surprising discoveries. Specifically, the study found that women aged 40 to 60 who had been sexually assaulted at any time in their lives were almost three times more likely to suffer from depression and more than twice as likely to suffer from anxiety. compared to women did not suffer sexual assault.

In addition, this study found that female victims of sexual harassment were twice as likely to suffer from untreated hypertension and that female victims of sexual assault and / or harassment were about twice as likely to have sleep problems. in the study who were not assaulted or harassed.

The study was made up of 304 women in Pittsburgh. Fifty-eight (19%) reported having experienced sexual harassment at work, 67 (22%) of whom had been sexually assaulted. Ten percent of the group had known both. These percentages are well below the national average: 36% of women experienced "unwanted sexual contact" in the country and between 40% and 75% of women were physically or verbally harassed in the workplace, according to the centers. for the control and prevention of diseases.

The study points out that the health problems faced by women aged 40 to 60 can unfortunately worsen. For example, hypertension in young people increases the risk of developing heart disease, and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety have been shown to contribute to the deterioration of heart and brain health. Poor sleep quality can also lead to many health problems, ranging from obesity to dementia.

Of the women in the group who did not experience sexual assault, about 12% of women had symptoms of depression, 23% had some form of anxiety, and 40% had sleep disorders. Look at the group that fact However, 25% of people are depressed, 40% are anxious and 57% have sleep problems.

Rebecca C. Thurston, a psychologist and epidemiologist from the University of Pittsburgh who led the study, said the problem could no longer be "ignored".

"It's a huge number of women, so it's a huge public health problem. If we want to prevent mental health problems, sleep problems and high blood pressure, I think we really need to think about the toxic exposures that women experience in their workplace and elsewhere. "