The Associations between Area of Residence, Sexual Violence Victimization, and Asthma Episodes among US Adult Women in 14 States and Territories, 2005–2007

Abstract

Gaps in understanding of how area-based differences in exposure to violence are associated with asthma prevalence may limit the development of effective prevention programs and the identification of risk for asthma episodes. The current investigation examines the associations between sexual violence victimization and asthma episodes among US adult women across three different metropolitan settings. The association between sexual assault victimizations and asthma attacks in the past year was examined using data from the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System surveys. Cross-sectional analyses were based on adult women with current asthma (n= 4,099). Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify associations between four categories of sexual violence victimization and asthma episodes across three categories of metropolitan and non-metropolitan settings. Our findings show that unwanted touching, attempted unwanted intercourse, forced unwanted intercourse, and any sexual violence victimization (touching, attempted intercourse, or forced intercourse) were significantly associated with asthma episodes (OR adj. =3.67, 95% CI, 1.76-7.69; OR adj. =1.77, 95% CI, 1.32-2.37; OR adj. =2.24, 95% CI, 1.64-3.05, and OR adj. =1.93, 95% CI, 1.47-2.53, respectively). While no significant differences in the associations between asthma episodes and metropolitan status were found, a significant interaction between non-metropolitan areas and attempted sexual intercourse was identified (OR adj =0.53, 95% CI, 0.29-0.96). Sexual victimization appears to be an important, but understudied, correlate of asthma morbidity among adult women in the USA, suggesting that additional research is needed to better understand the associations between sexual violence, psychological distress, and asthma.

Health Inequities among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults in North Carolina, 2011–2014

“…LB women had 3.5 times the odds of having a disability, and over twice the odds of ever having been diagnosed with COPD or asthma, and over 2.5 times the odds of being obese. Stress and obesity [ 26 ] have been associated with asthma [ 26 , 27 ], which is consistent with the minority stress model, which posits unique stressors for LGB people [ 3 ]. LB women had higher odds of ever smoking cigarettes and current smoking even after adjusting for age, education, and employment status (all of which were significantly related to current smoking in the general population).…”

Asthma Disparities and Within-Group Differences in a National, Probability Sample of Same-Sex Partnered Adults

“…5,6 Additionally, victimization in general has been associated with asthma. 21,22 Although studies document that sexual minority persons are more likely to experience discrimination and victimization specifically related to their minority status, 23,24 the 2004 BRFSS did not Several limitations must be noted. First, the analytic sample was derived from a question that screened respondents based on several characteristics (e.g., age, gender), limiting generalizability.…”

Perceived neighborhood safety and asthma morbidity in the School Inner‐City Asthma Study

“…Furthermore, caretaker‐reported exposure to community violence is associated with childhood asthma morbidity . Exposures to violence and victimization have also been shown to affect asthma morbidity among adult patients . However, while there are data regarding an association between caregiver perception of safety and asthma diagnosis as well as data regarding violence and asthma morbidity, to the best of our knowledge, there are no previous studies examining the association between caregivers' perception of neighborhood safety and asthma morbidity outcomes in children, particularly in the urban, poor, primarily non‐white, school‐based setting, such as the School Inner City Asthma Study (SICAS).…”