Search Here

According to a new study, physical abuse may lead to poor heart health decades later and middle-aged women who were child abuse victims at increased risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Researchers studied 342 women from the Pittsburgh area and gave them each a childhood trauma questionnaire that assessed past physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Approximately 34 percent of the participants reported experiencing some type of childhood abuse.

The study was published by the American Psychological Association and it is the first study to show that a history of childhood physical abuse is related to the development of metabolic syndrome in women at mid-life.

Researchers concluded that middle-aged women who report having been physically abused as children are "about two times more likely than other women their age to have high blood pressure, high blood sugar, a larger waistline and poor cholesterol levels."

"Our research shows us that childhood abuse can have long-lasting consequences, even decades later, on women's health and is related to more health problems down the road," said Aimee Midei, study co-author.>

Researchers diagnosed as having metabolic syndrome, placing them at an increased risk of developing heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Researchers said the findings show that physical abuse is a unique factor in women's cardiovascular health. Results showed that physical abuse was strongly associated with metabolic syndrome, even after controlling for ethnicity, age, menopause and other traditional risk factors. Sexual abuse and emotional abuse were unrelated to metabolic syndrome, according to the findings.

"It's possible that women with histories of physical abuse engage in unhealthy eating behaviors or have poor stress regulation," said Midei. "It appears that psychology plays a role in physical health even when we're talking about traumatic incidents that happened when these women were children."

According to the CDC, in 2008, over 616,000 people died of heart disease and it is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Among U.S. residents aged 65 years and older, 10.9 million had diabetes in 2010.