Interpersonal Trauma and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events Among Women

Incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) over time among (A) women with and without a history of childhood abuse, (B) women with and without a history of adult abuse, (C) women with and without intimate partner violence in The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation.

Trauma has been linked to risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and interpersonal violence is a trauma that is prevalent in women. Dr. Thurston and her team followed a group of midlife women for two decades to examine whether interpersonal violence (childhood abuse, adulthood abuse, or intimate partner violence [IPV]) was related to increased risk of subsequent clinical CVD events. Findings show that childhood abuse, particularly sexual abuse, was associated with increased risk of CVD.