General Medicine
January 11, 2019
Unlike many past studies, these women had not signed up initially for a study on sexual harassment and assult, but rather a medical study on menopause, which makes this study less susceptable to selection bias.
22% of the patients in the study had reported a history of sexual assault.
Researchers estimated that these patients had nearly triple the risk of depression compared to women without a history of sexual harassment, and more the double the risk of anxiety and poor sleep. All three effects were highly statistically significant.
While the psychological effects of workplace sexual harassment are relatively well known, the physical effects of sexual harassment have not been rigorously studied until recently.
Not surprisingly to some, this study found that workplace sexual harassment was more than just an annoyance, it also led to real symptoms.
They found that 19% of the patients had reported a history of workplace sexual harassment. These patients were found to have a significantly higher prevalence of sleep issues and high blood pressure.
High blood pressure is associated with a significantly higher risk of death.
The patients also had a possibly higher risk of depression, however this was slightly below significance threshold. (p=0.06)
The CDC monitors the prevalence of sexual assault in America.
If further research confirms that sexual assault doubles or triples a person's risk of depression, anxiety, and poor sleep, then it's plausable that a significant portion of the mental health burden we have in our society today can attributed to sexual violence.
A significant number of men also had experienced some type of sexual violence. While the proportion is lower at 25% vs 44% in women, it certainly warrents further study into the effects of sexual assault in men.