or hypertension (130/80 mm Hg or higher) according to the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics.
“We know that the experience of sexual violence in the form of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace is common and that women are disproportionately victims of that violence, with 13-44 % of women report sexual assault and up to 80% of women report sexual harassment in the workplace, however, exposure to sexual violence is not widely recognized as a contributing factor We feel it is important to investigate the relationship between common forms of sexual violence and the risk of developing hypertension. helpful at the outset to identify factors that influence women’s long-term cardiovascular health,” Study author Rebecca B. Lawn, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in epidemiology at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
The team analyzed data for seven years, starting with the 2008 Nurses’ Health Study II follow-up (an ongoing cohort study of US women). It was found that about one in five (almost 7,100) women self-reported having hypertension, which was confirmed by medical records.
Lifetime prevalence of Sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace are 23% and 12% respectively. respectively for women.
“Our finding that experiencing both sexual assault and sexual harassment in the workplace is associated with the highest risk of hypertension underlines the potential dual effect of more exposure to sexual violence on women’s long-term cardiovascular health”. Lawn said.
Source: Medindia
