More than one in three women in North America has experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. This is based on statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Globally, the number is roughly the same: an estimated 736 million women around the world “have been exposed to intimate partner violence, sexual violence without a partner, or both at least once in their lives,” writes the UN organization UN Women. It cites a study by the World Health Organization.
That is 30 percent of all girls and women aged 15 and over.
So the problem is pervasive. And now a US study has found that women who experience sexual violence do not only struggle with injuries sustained in the attacks and psychological consequences such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety or depression. But they can also be at higher risk for a certain type of brain disease, which is a precursor to dementia and stroke.
“Sexual assault is an unfortunate but all too common experience for women,” says Rebecca Thurston of the University of Pittsburgh, lead author of the study.
“This stressful experience is important not only for women’s mental health, but also for the health of their brains. This work is an important step in identifying a new risk factor for stroke and dementia in women, ”says Thurston.
Trauma can disrupt blood flow in the brain
Thurston is Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh. She presented the results of the study at the North American Menopause Society’s 2021 meeting. It is published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior.
For the study, Thurston and her team examined 145 women of “midlife” age in the USA. Of the participants, 68% said they had had at least one trauma, the most common trauma being sexual assault, of which 23% of women reported.
MRI scans are a way to determine a person’s risk for brain diseases such as dementia or stroke
The researchers wanted to find out if there was a link between trauma and white matter hyperintensities, which are signs of circulatory disorders and can cause damage to the brain.
White matter hyperintensities show up as small white spots on brain scans. They are early indicators of dementia, a risk of stroke, or similar illnesses. And they can be seen decades before these conditions set in.
Brain scans of the study participants showed that the women who had experienced trauma had more white matter hyperintensities than women without trauma – and that the specific traumatic experience associated with the white matter hyperintensities was sexual assault.
Important data to identify high risk at an early stage
In an earlier study from 2018, Thurston found that women who had experienced sexual assault were at significantly higher risk of developing depression or anxiety and sleeping worse than women who had not been assaulted.
Depression, anxiety, and insomnia have all been linked to poor overall health.
For example, mental disorders can be linked to heart disease, and lack of sleep can be linked to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
Thurston says the new study builds on these earlier findings. Even if the researchers in the new study had taken into account mental or other health conditions, they found that women who were attacked still had more white matter hyperintensity – regardless of whether they had other health problems such as depression or PTSD after the attack had developed.
The bottom line is that these early signs of dementia can be directly linked to the attack.
Thurston says research shows that better prevention of sexual assault is needed, but that also shows that doctors need to consider one more indicator when assessing a patient’s risk of stroke and dementia later in life.
Stephanie Faubion, medical director of the North American Menopause Society, says the new study can play an important role in preventive health care.
“Detecting early warning signs of stroke and dementia is critical to effective intervention,” says Faubion. “Studies like this one provide important information about the long-term effects of traumatic experiences on a woman’s general well-being and mental health.”
![An internally displaced mother and daughter who fled violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in Mekele, capital of the Tigray region, Ethiopia, on June 22, 2021]( "An internally displaced mother and daughter who fled violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in Mekele, capital of the Tigray region, Ethiopia, on June 22, 2021")
Tigray: War at the expense of women
Hundreds of thousands on the run
The civil war between the Tigray regional government and the central government of Ethiopia under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed continues to escalate. Hundreds of thousands are now on the run, starving and threatened with war crimes. After the self-proclaimed Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) recaptured Tigray’s regional capital, Mekele, many of the disputed areas flee to Mekele.
![Mother holds her malnourished daughter in the treatment tent of a medical clinic in the town of Abi Adi in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia in May 2021]( "Mother holds her malnourished daughter in the treatment tent of a medical clinic in the town of Abi Adi in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia in May 2021")
Tigray: War at the expense of women
Famine threatens
According to the United Nations, more than 400,000 people in the region are affected by famine, and another 1.8 million people are on the verge of famine. Abiy denies this and has blocked aid deliveries. UNICEF commented in August 2021: “This malnutrition crisis is taking place amid the systematic destruction of infrastructure for food, health, nutrition, water and sanitation.”
![Villagers return from a market to the town of Yechila in southern central Tigray on July 10, 2021 in Tigray, Ethiopia, walking past numerous burned vehicles]( "Villagers return from a market to the town of Yechila in southern central Tigray on July 10, 2021 in Tigray, Ethiopia, walking past numerous burned vehicles")
Tigray: War at the expense of women
Burned earth
The Ethiopian army is fighting side by side with soldiers from Eritrea – not only against the separatists, but also against the civilian population of Tigray. For Prime Minister Abiy, this is a means of breaking resistance in the Tigray region. Reports of war crimes and massacres are mounting. Burned out cars and destroyed houses are part of everyday life.
![A woman who said she was detained in a remote village near the Eritrean border and repeatedly raped by Eritrean soldiers speaks at a hospital in Mekele, Tigray]( "A woman who said she was detained in a remote village near the Eritrean border and repeatedly raped by Eritrean soldiers speaks at a hospital in Mekele, Tigray")
Tigray: War at the expense of women
Rape as a weapon
A new report from Amnesty International (AI) confirms that rape and sexual violence against women appear to be used to deliberately destabilize the situation. According to AI, soldiers from Eritrea are also massively involved in these acts. “They talked to each other. Some of them: ‘We’re killing them.’ Some of them: ‘No, no. Rape is enough for them,’ “recalled the woman pictured.
![Stones are arranged on a grave with a sheet of paper stating that an Ethiopian military soldier is buried on the outskirts of Yechila in Tigray, Ethiopia on July 10, 2021]( "Stones are arranged on a grave with a sheet of paper stating that an Ethiopian military soldier is buried on the outskirts of Yechila in Tigray, Ethiopia on July 10, 2021")
Tigray: War at the expense of women
Massacres and makeshift graves
The bodies of fighters from both sides are everywhere. Sometimes they are buried in makeshift places; sometimes they are dumped into rivers or simply left in place. This picture shows the makeshift grave of an Ethiopian soldier.
![Tigray Defense Force (TDF) soldiers walk in a line in Mekele, Tigray Region, Ethiopia on June 30, 2021]( "Tigray Defense Force (TDF) soldiers walk in a line in Mekele, Tigray Region, Ethiopia on June 30, 2021")
Tigray: War at the expense of women
Youth fighters
More and more young people are joining the resistance against the combined forces of the central government and Eritrea. Many of the new TDF fighters are just teenagers. You face an uncertain and potentially bloody future.
source https://www.bisayanews.com/2021/09/23/study-finds-sexual-assault-can-lead-to-dementia-science-in-depth-reporting-on-science-and-technology-dw/
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