November 04, 2009

This season give a gift...just for the health of it.

November 4, 2009 in Infectious Awarables | Permalink | TrackBack (0)

September 01, 2009

Sexual Abuse Linked to Somatic Disorders

Public Release Date: 01-Sep-2009

Sexual abuse is associated with an increased risk of somatic disorders, in which patients report physical symptoms or complaints with no clear underlying cause, a review of nearly two dozen studies concluded.
Patients with a history of sexual abuse, as children or adults, were more likely to experience gastrointestinal disorders (OR 2.43; 95% CI 1.36 to 4.31), nonspecific chronic pain (OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.54 to 3.15), psychogenic seizures (OR 2.96; 95% CI 1.12 to 4.69) and chronic pelvic pain (OR 2.73; 95% CI 1.73 to 4.30), according the report in the August 5 Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Building greater awareness of the association between sexual abuse and somatic disorders may lead to improved health care delivery and outcomes for sexual abuse survivors," Ali Zirakzadeh, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, and colleagues wrote. "As a group, survivors of abuse have higher medical care use and incur greater costs compared with the general patient population."

Surveys have determined that the incidence of sexual violence in the United States is 2.5% for women and 0.9% for men, according to the review, and researchers have estimated that one in 15 adults has experience forced sexual intercourse. Studies have also estimated that 16% of men and 25% of women in the United States are survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

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September 1, 2009 in Educational , Infectious Awarables , Women’s Health | Permalink | TrackBack (0)