Rebecca C. Thurston|Yue?Fang Chang|Karen A. Matthews|Roland von Känel|Karestan C. Koenen
Association of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault With Midlife Women’s Mental and Physical Health
University of Pittsburgh|University of Pittsburgh|University of Pittsburgh|University Hospital of Zurich|Harvard University
sexual harassment sexual assault prevalent experiences among women however association health indices less well understoodto investigate association history sexual harassment sexual assault blood pressure mood anxiety sleep among midlife womennonsmoking women without cardiovascular disease recruited community undergo physical measurements blood pressure height weight medical history questionnaire psychosocial assessments workplace sexual harassment sexual assault depression anxiety sleepsexual harassment sexual assaultblood pressure depressive symptoms anxiety sleep characteristicsamong 304 nonsmoking women aged 40 60 years participated study free clinical cardiovascular disease mean sd age 5405 399 years total 19 reported history workplace sexual harassment n 58 22 reported history sexual assault n 67 sexual harassment related significantly greater odds stage 1 2 hypertension among women taking antihypertensives odds ratio 236 95 ci 110506 p 03 well clinically poor sleep 189 95 ci 105342 p 03 adjusting covariates sexual assault associated significantly greater odds clinically elevated depressive symptoms 286 95 ci 142577 multivariable p 003 clinically relevant anxiety 226 95 ci 126406 p 006 clinically poor sleep 215 95 ci 123377 multivariable p 007 adjusting covariatessexual harassment sexual assault prevalent experiences among midlife women sexual harassment associated higher blood pressure poorer sleep sexual assault associated poorer mental health sleep efforts improve womens health target sexual harassment assault prevention