High prevalence of symptoms in a severely abused “non-patient” women population

• Published in: United European gastroenterology journal Vol. 2; no. 6; pp. 513 - 521
• Main Authors: Pallotta, N, Piacentino, D, Ciccantelli, B, Rivera, M, Golini, N, Spagnoli, A, Vincoli, G, Farchi, S, Corazziari, ES
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-12-2014
• Subjects: abuse severity measure; Chronic gastrointestinal disorders; functional gastrointestinal disorders; Original; physical abuse; sexual abuse; somatization; abuse severity measure; physical abuse; functional gastrointestinal disorders; Chronic gastrointestinal disorders; somatization; sexual abuse
• ISSN: 2050-6406; 2050-6414
• DOI: 10.1177/2050640614552010

Objective
The objective of this article is to assess the prevalence of somatic symptoms and of gastrointestinal (GI) syndromes in abused “non-patient” women and the association with the time of perpetration, type, and severity of abuse.
Methods
Sixty-seven women, 18–58 years, receiving shelter in anti-violence associations were invited to fill out an anonymous questionnaire with a medical and an abuse section. The severity of abuse was expressed as the 0–6 Abuse Severity Measure (ASM). The association between abuse characteristics and the number of symptoms, and GI syndromes was assessed by Poisson regression model.
Results
Most women suffered from childhood and adulthood sexual and physical abuse. They reported a mean of 5.1 GI symptoms (range 0–13; median 5; IQR 6) and of 1.3 extra-GI symptoms (range 0–6; median 1; IQR 2); 30% of women matched the Rome II Criteria for one, 36% for two, and 4.4% for three or more syndromes, respectively. Women with an ASM of 5–6, having suffered from both sexual and physical abuse, reported significantly (p = 0.02) more GI symptoms, but not extra-GI ones (p = 0.07), and met criteria for more GI syndromes than women with an ASM ≤4 and those reporting only one type of abuse. No association was found between the time of perpetration of the abuse and the number of GI and extra-GI symptoms.
Conclusions
Symptoms in abused “non-patient” women mainly concern the abdomen and the GI tract. A history of severe, combined physical and sexual abuse is associated with a higher number of GI symptoms.