The Association Between Intimate Partner Violence and 30-Year Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among Young Adult Women

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV), the physical, sexual, psychological abuse or control by a former or current intimate partner, affects almost one third of women in the United States. IPV exposure can result in many negative outcomes including physical injury, increased stress, and depression. Currently, there is a growing body of literature examining the link between IPV victimization and poor heart health. However, there is little known on how IPV affects cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk among young adult women and what outcomes associated with IPV victimization may be increasing this risk. A secondary analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) was conducted to examine the association between past-year IPV exposure and 30-year CVD risk score among a representative sample of young adult women in the United States. Regression analyses were run to examine the relationship between IPV and 30-year CVD risk score. The results of the bivariate analyses suggested that past-year IPV exposure may have a small but significant impact on 30-year CVD risk score; however, this finding becomes insignificant when important covariates are introduced into the model highlighting the complexity of IPV and its co-occurring phenomenon. The findings of this study reveal that 30-year CVD risk in the context of IPV victimization should continue to be examined in this population as CVD risk may continue to grow as one experiences IPV. Future research should examine possible mediating factors in this relationship as well as biological markers that may help better understand this relationship.