A Summary of “Childhood Physical Abuse is Associated with Incident Metabolic Syndrome in Mid-Life Women”
A Summary of “Childhood Physical Abuse is Associated with Incident Metabolic Syndrome in Mid-Life Women”
Finding the effects of childhood abuse is one of the most important aspects of psychology. The article “Childhood Physical Abuse is Associated with Incident Metabolic Syndrome in Mid-Life Women”, by Midei, Matthews, Chang and Bromberger, aims to test the association between childhood abuse and Incident Metabolic Syndrome in mid-life women. This study was conducted on participants that enrolled in the Mental Health Study at the Pittsburg Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation site; they had to be women between 42 and 52 years old, have menstruated in the past 3 months, not use oral contraception or other female reproductive hormones, have not undergone a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy, and not be pregnant or breast-feeding. The main psychological measurement tool was the 28-item short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, which assesses emotional, physical and sexual abuse using 5-point Likert-type scales, which was self-administered; on the other hand, the definition of metabolic syndrome was done according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III definition, the measurements of which were taken by health professionals.
Traditional risk factors and covariates such as age, ethnicity and time-dependent menopausal status were used in the models. Chi-square analyses and logistic regressions were used for statistical analyses; also, many steps for the model were entered if significant relationships were found between abuse and baseline metabolic syndrome, like cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, etc. Results showed that 34% of the sample reported experiencing some form of childhood abuse, which was significantly more physical in nature in Blacks than in Whites. Childhood abuse did not predict the presence of the metabolic syndrome at baseline while controlling for age, ethnicity and menopausal status at baseline. Participants with any type of abuse did not have higher risk for metabolic syndrome at baseline.
In conclusion, women who reported physical abuse had approximately double the risk for being classified with the metabolic syndrome during midlife aging, which persisted above and beyond traditional risk factors. Physical abuse predicted incident metabolic syndrome, but sexual abuse did not, which only partially supported the hypothesis. The interpretation for this it that the perpetrator of violence could be an important link to health conditions after the abuse. Therefore, as a recommendation, further studies should consider recollecting data on the experience of childhood abuse including the perpetrator.
Works Cited
Midei, A. J., Matthews, K. A., Chang, Y.-F., & Bromberger, J. T. (2013). Childhood Physical Abuse is Associated with Incident Metabolic Syndrome in Mid-Life Women. Health Psychology Journal, 32(2), 121-127. doi: 10.1037/a0027891
