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The health of women who are suffering from cancer can deteriorate if they experience abuse in any form, according to a new study. The abuse can be physical, sexual, psychological or can even be childhood sexual abuse.

The research was done by University of Kentucky and the paper was published in the Journal of Women's Health. The first author of the paper is Ann L. Coker, associate dean for research, professor and Endowed Chair in the Center for Research on Violence Against Women at U.K.

For the research, data of women whose names were included in the Kentucky Cancer Registry and who had been recently diagnosed with breast, cervical or colorectal cancer was collected. The women who gave permission had telephonic interviews and 553 women actively volunteered in the research.

Cancer patients, due to the nature of their illness, often experience depression and anxiety. It was observed that among the patients suffering from cancer, women who were the victims of intimate partner violence were significantly more depressed than women who had not experienced any abuse. It indicated that depression was not only for being diagnosed with cancer, it also was because they were the victims of intimate partner violence.

Intimate partner violence is also known as domestic violence, spousal abuse, etc. It is where one of the partner abuses the other in an intimate relationship like marriage, dating or living together. The violence can be physical, sexual or psychological. The victims of childhood sexual abuse experience an elevated level of stress and a co-morbid condition which exist before the diagnosis of cancer.

"These data suggest that identifying these forms of abuse in cancer patients may provide healthcare providers with helpful information to better support and improve the well-being of female cancer patients. Clinicians could improve physical and psychological functioning of women with cancer by asking about their current and lifetime experience with these forms of abuse and providing appropriate referrals and services depending on the individual woman's experiences," Coker was quoted as saying in Medicalxpress.