Military Sexual Trauma in Older Women Veterans: Prevalence and Comorbidities.
J Gen Intern Med
; 35(1): 207-213, 2020 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-31713042
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Recent attention has highlighted the common occurrence and health consequences of military sexual trauma (MST) in younger women veterans. However, almost nothing is known about MST in older veterans.OBJECTIVE:
To describe MST among older women veterans, including prevalence and common comorbidities.DESIGN:
Cross-sectional observational study, using data from national Department of Veterans Affairs medical records.PARTICIPANTS:
Population-based sample of women Veterans aged 55+ with at least one documented MST screen response and at least one clinical encounter in fiscal years 2005-2015. MAINMEASURES:
MST screen medical diagnoses (diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular disease, congestive heart failure, obesity, chronic pain conditions, back pain, dementia, insomnia, sleep apnea, menopause symptoms) and mental health diagnoses (anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, tobacco use, alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, opioid use disorder, suicidal ideation) from International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision Clinical Modification codes in the medical record. KEYRESULTS:
In this cohort of older women veterans (n = 70,864, mean age 65.8 ± 10.4 years), 13% had a positive MST screen. In multivariable regression analyses adjusted for age, race/ethnicity, and marital status, MST was strongly associated with most mental health diagnoses, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (OR 7.25, 95% CI 6.84-7.68), depression (OR 2.39, 95% CI 2.28-2.50), and suicidal ideation (OR 2.42, 95% CI 2.08-2.82). MST was also associated with multiple medical conditions, particularly sleep disorders (insomnia OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.43-1.82; sleep apnea OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.37-1.61) and pain (chronic pain OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.50-1.67; back pain OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.34-1.47).CONCLUSIONS:
A history of MST is common among older women veterans and associated with a range of medical and mental health diagnoses. These findings call attention to the need for additional research in this understudied population, and the importance of trauma-informed care approaches for women across the lifespan.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Sex Offenses
/
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
/
Veterans
/
Military Personnel
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
America do norte
Language:
En
Journal:
J Gen Intern Med
Journal subject:
MEDICINA INTERNA
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
United States