Deborah Loxton

Mental and Physical Health and Intimate Partner Violence against Women: A Review of the Literature

Associations between intimate partner violence (IPV) and poor physical and mental health of women have been demonstrated in the international and national literature across numerous studies. This paper presents a review of the literature on this topic. The 75 papers included in this review cover both original research studies and those which undertook secondary analyses of primary data sources. The reviewed research papers published from 2006 to 2012 include quantitative and qualitative studies from Western and developing countries. The results show that while there is variation in prevalence of IPV across various cultural settings, IPV was associated with a range of mental health issues including depression, PTSD, anxiety, self-harm, and sleep disorders. In most studies, these effects were observed using validated measurement tools. IPV was also found to be associated with poor physical health including poor functional health, somatic disorders, chronic disorders and chronic pain, gynaecological problems, and increased risk of STIs. An increased risk of HIV was reported to be associated with a history of sexual abuse and violence. The implications of the study findings in relation to methodological issues, clinical significance, and future research direction are discussed.

Longitudinal weight gain in women identified with polycystic ovary syndrome: results of an observational study in young women.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 6‐18% of women. The natural history of weight gain in women with PCOS has not been well described. Here we aimed to examine longitudinal weight gain in women with and without PCOS and to assess the association between obesity and PCOS prevalence.

The Impact of Attrition in an 11-Year Prospective Longitudinal Study of Younger Women

PURPOSE To investigate the impact of attrition on prevalence and associations between variables across four waves of a longitudinal study. METHODS Prevalence of socio-demographic and health characteristics were estimated for respondents to one, two, three or all four waves of the Australian Longitudinal Study of Womens Health cohort born between 1973 and 1978. Associations with self-rated General Health (GH) and Mental Health (MH) were compared using fixed effects in separate mixed models for respondents to at least one wave, at least two waves, at least three waves, or four waves of the longitudinal study. RESULTS 14,247 women aged 18-23 years responded to Wave 1 in 1996. Respondents to all waves were more educated, and less likely to be stressed about money, to be smokers and to have children than respondents to some waves. Across all models, better GH was consistently associated with more education, no monetary stress, being married, having children, fewer visits to the doctor and not smoking. Similar results were obtained for MH. CONCLUSIONS Although the potential for bias due to attrition must be considered, the current paper contributes to the growing body of evidence that suggests such biases are insufficient to preclude meaningful longitudinal analyses.

History of Domestic Violence and Physical Health in Midlife

The association between domestic violence and physical health in middle-aged Australian women is investigated via a cross-sectional survey of 14,100 women (45 to 50 years old) who responded to the first Australian Longitudinal Study on Womens Health survey. After adjustment for demographic and health behavior characteristics and menopause status in multivariate analyses, various physical conditions (allergies or breathing problems, pain or fatigue, bowel problems, vaginal discharge, eyesight and hearing problems, low iron, asthma, bronchitis or emphysema, cervical cancer) were associated with domestic violence. The results highlight the link between health and domestic violence in middle-aged women and underscore the need for health professionals to take a full social history from women presenting with physical symptoms.

Cohort Profile Update: Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health

In 1996 the Australian Longitudinal Study on Womens Health recruited a nationally representative sample of more than 40,000 women in three age cohorts, born in 1973-78, 1946-51 and 1921-26. At least six waves of 3-yearly surveys have been completed. Although the focus remains on factors affecting the health and well-being of women and their access to and use of health services across urban, rural and remote areas of Australia, the study has now been considerably expanded by linkage to other health data sets. For most women who have ever participated in the study, linked records are now available for: government-subsidized non-hospital services (e.g. all general practitioner visits); pharmaceutical prescriptions filled; national death index, including codes for multiple causes of death; aged care assessments and services; cancer registries; and, for most states and territories, hospital admissions and perinatal data. Additionally, a large cohort of women born in 1989-95 have been recruited. The data are available to approved collaborators, with more than 780 researchers using the data so far. Full details of the study materials and data access procedures are available at [http://www.alswh.org.au/].

Psychological Health in Midlife Among Women Who Have Ever Lived With a Violent Partner or Spouse

This study examines the psychological health correlates of domestic violence in a large random sample of mid-aged Australian women (N = 11,310, age 47 to 52 years). Logistic regressions were used to investigate the associations between domestic violence and depression, anxiety, and psychological wellbeing, after adjusting for demographic variables (marital status, income management, area). Results indicate increased odds of having experienced domestic violence for those who had: ever experienced a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, or an “other” psychiatric disorder; recent symptoms of depression and anxiety; used psychoactive medication for depression or anxiety in the 4 weeks prior to the survey; and who reported current depression. Current psychological well-being had an inverse association with a history of domestic violence: As psychological well-being decreased, the odds of having ever experienced domestic violence increased. The results indicate that a history of domestic violence is associated with decreased psychological well-being in mid-aged Australian women.

A comparison of complementary and alternative medicine users and use across geographical areas: A national survey of 1,427 women

BackgroundEvidence indicates that people who reside in non-urban areas have a higher use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) than people who reside in urban areas. However, there is sparse research on the reasons for such differences. This paper investigates the reasons for geographical differences in CAM use by comparing CAM users from four geographical areas (major cities, inner regional, outer region, rural/remote) across a range of health status, healthcare satisfaction, neighbourhood and community factors.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 1,427 participants from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Womens Health (ALSWH) conducted in 2009.ResultsThe average total cost of consultations with CAM practitioners was

Mortality and Disability Outcomes of Self‐Reported Elder Abuse: A 12‐Year Prospective Investigation

416 per annum and was highest for women in the major cities, declining with increasing distance from capital cities/remoteness (p < 0.001). The average total cost of self-prescribed CAM was

Factors predicting sexual relationships in older people: an Australian study

349 per annum, but this did not significantly differ across geographical areas. The increased use of CAM in rural and remote areas appears to be influenced by poorer access to conventional medical care (p < 0.05) and a greater sense of community (p < 0.05) amongst these rural and remote residents. In contrast to the findings of previous research this study found that health status was not associated with the differences in CAM use between urban and non-urban areas.ConclusionIt appears that a number of factors influence the different levels of CAM use across the urban/non-urban divide. Further research is needed to help tease out and understand these factors. Such research will help support health care policy and practice with regards to this topic.

Recruiting Online: Lessons From a Longitudinal Survey of Contraception and Pregnancy Intentions of Young Australian Women

To determine whether elder abuse can predict mortality and disability over the ensuing 12 years.