Figure 1
Flow diagram of the papers selected.
Table 1
Overview of included papers.
| 1st author, year; Study name | Participant recruitment and data collection technique | Number of women; Mean age/range; Length of follow-up in longitudinal studies | Exposure examined, and description of scales used, or questions asked | Outcomes examined | Overall study exposures and outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LONGITUDINAL: United States | |||||
| Mason, 2012 [34] Nurses’ Health Study II (NHSII) | Registered female nurses; Mailed surveys | 51 434; mean age: 52 years; 6-year follow-up | Sexual IPV in adulthood (age 18+); ‘Has your spouse/significant other ever forced you to have sexual activities?’ | Self-reported hypertension | Exposures: physical, sexual and emotional IPV Outcomes: hypertension incidence |
| Mason, 2013 [35] NHSII | Registered female nurses; Mailed surveys | 64 732; mean age 47 years; 6-year follow-up | Lifetime sexual IPV: ‘Has your spouse/significant other ever forced you to have sexual activities?’ | Self-reported diabetes, BMI assessment was not described | Exposures: physical, sexual, and psychological IPV Outcomes: diabetes incidence |
| Mason, 2017 [36] Project EAT | Public middle and high school; Mailed questionnaires (baseline); Online or paper surveys (follow-up) | 619; mean age: 19 years at baseline; ≥18 years at baseline; 5-year follow-up | Ever sexual IPV; sexual IPV questions derived from Sexual Experiences Survey | Self-reported height and weight to calculate BMI | Exposures: physical and sexual IPV; depressive symptoms Outcomes: weight-related health |
| CROSS-SECTIONAL: United States | |||||
| Frayne, 1999 [37] Veterans Administration (VA) Women’s Health Project | VA outpatient health services; Mailed survey | 3,543; ≥18 years | Sexual assault while in the military; ‘Did you ever have an experience where someone used force or the threat of force to have sexual relations with you against your will while you were in the military?’ | Self-reported treatment for a heart attack or stroke within the past year; angina or chest pain, other heart problems, hypertension, diabetes, obesity | Exposures: sexual assault while in the military Outcomes: a wide spectrum of physical symptoms and medical conditions |
| Bonomi, 2007 [38] | Health insurer enrolment files; Telephone survey | 3,008; 18–64 years | Adult lifetime sexual IPV; questions from BRFSS survey | Collection of weight and height data to calculate BMI is not described | Exposures: sexual and physical IPV Outcomes: mental, social and physical health |
| Smith, 2010 [39] Epidemiologic STudy of HEalth Risk (ESTHER) Project | Community-based convenience sample of heterosexual and lesbian women | 867; 35–64 years | Adult sexual abuse; ‘Since the age of 18, was there a time when someone forced you to have sexual activity that you really did not want?’ | Clinical assessments of height and weight done to diagnose obesity | Exposures: sexual abuse and sexual orientation Outcomes: heart disease risk factors |
| Newton, 2011 [40] | Community-based convenience sample of 45–60-year-old post-menopausal women; questionnaire interviews and clinical measurements | 68; mean age: 54.7 years | IPV: Sexual coercion experienced >1 year ago; assessed by the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale | Collection of weight and height data to calculate BMI is not described | Exposures: IPV: physical assault, sexual coercion, stalking, and psychological aggression Outcomes: biologic mediators of inflammation |
| Cichowski, 2017 [41] | Women treated by a VA primary care physician at any time since 1997; Clinical records obtained from American Veterans’ Health Administration Corporate Data Warehouse | 516,950; mean age: 63.3 years (MST) mean age: 67.4 years (no MST) | MST; MST screening questionnaire | Average BMI calculated using average height and weight over time | Exposures: MST Outcomes: chronic pain conditions |
| Pandey, 2018 [42] | Veterans’ Health Administration database for 2014; Review of electronic medical records | 213,985; ≥18 years Age range: 20–103 years | MST; MST screen or use of a specialty MST clinic in 2014 | Anthropometric data from electronic medical records calculated BMI | Exposures: MST, PTSD Outcomes: obesity |
[i] BP: blood pressure; BMI: body mass index; IPV: intimate partner violence; MST: military sexual trauma; BRFSS: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; PTSD: post-traumatic stress disorder.
Table 2
Distribution of included articles by type of abuse and outcomes (article references shown in the table).
| Perpetrator of sexual abuse | Number of papers | Collection of outcome data | Heart attack (n = 1) | Stroke (n= 1) | Hypertension (n= 2) | Diabetes (n= 2) | Adiposity (n= 8) | Cholesterol (n= 0) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any | One | Clinically assessed [39] | N/S [39] | |||||
| Intimate partner | Five | Self-report [34, 35, 36] Not described [38, 40] | N/S [34] | N/S [35] | N/S [35, 36, 38, 40] | |||
| Military personnel | Three | Self-report [37] Medical records [41, 42] | S [37] | N/S [37] | S [37] | N/S [37] | S [37, 41, 42] |
[i] N/S: not significant, S: significant.