Sexual assault as a risk factor for gynaecological morbidity: An exploratory systematic review and meta-analysis

Among Australian females, sexual assault affects 1 in 5 Australian women [1], and 1 in 10 girls [2]. While it is well known that females who experience sexual assault have an increased risk of future pelvic pain, there is limited knowledge regarding the occurrence of other gynaecological morbidity....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology Vol. 255; pp. 222 - 230
Main Authors: Hassam, Tayla, Kelso, Emma, Chowdary, Prathima, Yisma, Engida, Mol, Ben W., Han, Alice
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01.12.2020
Subjects:
Australia
Child abuse
Female
Genital diseases
Gynecology
Humans
Morbidity
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Prolapse
Risk Factors
Sex Offenses
Sexual
Australia
Child abuse
Sexual
Gynecology
Female
Morbidity
Sex offenses
Genital diseases
ISSN:0301-2115, 1872-7654, 1872-7654
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Among Australian females, sexual assault affects 1 in 5 Australian women [1], and 1 in 10 girls [2]. While it is well known that females who experience sexual assault have an increased risk of future pelvic pain, there is limited knowledge regarding the occurrence of other gynaecological morbidity. We performed systematic review and meta-analysis for the relationship between sexual assault and gynaecological morbidity. We searched online electronic databases for observational studies on the subject published between 1993 and 2018. Search terms included variants of ‘sexual abuse’, ‘sexual assault’ and a range of gynaecological morbidity. Two independent reviewers completed study selection, quality assessment and data extraction. For each gynaecological symptom we calculated common odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals in relation to sexual abuse history. Our search identified 1846 studies, of which 38 studies were included. A history of sexual assault was significantly associated with overall gynaecological morbidity (RR 1.42; 95%CI, 1.27–1.59), pelvic pain (RR 1.60; 95%CI, 1.36–1.89), ‘dyspareunia’ (pooled RR 1.74, 95%CI, 1.50–2.02); ‘dysmenorrhea’ (pooled RR 1.20; 95%CI, 1.11–1.29); ‘abnormal menstrual bleeding’ (pooled RR 1.29; 95%CI, 1.12–1.49)) and ‘urinary incontinence’ (pooled RR 1.31; 95%CI, 1.12–1.53)), while association was not statistically significant for ‘vaginismus’(pooled RR 1.71; 95%CI, 0.87–3.36) and ‘vulvodynia’ (pooled RR 1.49; 95%CI, 0.76–2.91). There was no relation with ‘prolapse’ (pooled RR 1.10; 95%CI, 0.53–2.30). Females with a history of sexual assault have a significantly increased risk of different gynaecological disorders later in life.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ObjectType-Undefined-3
ISSN:0301-2115
1872-7654
1872-7654
DOI:10.1016/j.ejogrb.2020.10.038