While there is much research on traumatic brain injuries in athletes and those serving in the military, the same data are scarce when it comes to conclusions and head and neck injuries sustained as a result. on intimate partner violence.
Carrie Esopenko, assistant professor in the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences at Rutgers School of Health Professionals, says the World Health Organization estimates that one in three women will experience close partner (IPV) violence. life, and studies suggest that anywhere between 30% to 90% of women who suffer physical abuse at the hands of a close partner received head trauma.
But insufficient data have been collected to understand how this head trauma affects mental and psychological activity in addition to the underlying neural effects.
Esopenko is part of a new Personal Partner Violence Working Group that is examining violence-related head trauma as part of the NeuroImaging Genetics Consortium through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA), an international, multidisciplinary organization that seeks to provide a collaborative framework for large-scale and neuroimaging analysis and genetic studies in patient groups.
She discusses the potential impact of head trauma on close partner violence on individuals and the challenges facing the workgroup in collecting data as recently published. short in Brain Imaging and Behavior magazine.
What is the risk for traumatic brain injury in the victims of abuse?
While intimate partner violence occurs at any age, it is more common in the 18- to 24-year-old age group, and older adults are also vulnerable. Men and women get IPV, but violence against women tends to cause more and more serious injuries. As a result of the high level of physical aggression associated with this type of abuse, there is a high risk for traumatic brain injury caused by blunt force trauma, being violently shaken or pushed.
Another major concern is anoxic brain injury, which may occur as a result of strangulation or attempts to prevent normal breathing. The incidence of head injuries in women who have maintained IPV is estimated to be between 30 percent and 92 percent, with a high proportion of these women reporting the injury. It is estimated that more than 50 percent of women exposed to intimate partner violence suffer multiple brain injuries as a result of head trauma related to abuse.
What is the impact of such injuries?
Previous research suggests that IPV can affect mental and psychological activity as well as neurological effects. These appear to be exacerbated in those who suffer brain injuries as a result of trauma to the head, face, neck or body as a result of physical and / or sexual violence. However, our understanding of the neurobehavioral and neurobiologic effects of head trauma is limited.
Studies suggest that women who experience IPV report mental disorders, including a weak response time, inhibition of response, working memory, attention and a range of mental, behavioral and mental disorders other emotional. They often report a high level of mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorder, suicide identification and PTSD. There is evidence that violence-related brain injuries also alter brain function and structure.
What is not known about traumatic brain injury in victims of domestic violence?
While research into traumatic brain injury in other populations, such as athletes and the military, has grown significantly over the past two decades, research into close-knit brain injury has been greatly expanded. reduction.
We need to find out more about the impact of gender, socio-economic status, race and / or ethnicity, age at first onset – including childhood trauma, duration and severity of IPV exposure, and psychiatric disorders of the neural, cognitive and psychological outcomes associated with IPV – associated brain injury. Knowing this can help us predict outcomes and help personalize treatment and intervention strategies.
What are the aims of the working group?
There are still important challenges in understanding the interaction between partner-related brain injury and cognitive and psychosocial activity, mental health, and cloud outcomes. Importantly is the identification and identification of brain injuries in this population, which is often complicated by the fact that brain trauma is often overlooked or undiagnosed in this population.
By creating global collaboration across disciplines – researchers, clinicians, first responders, community groups and policy makers – it is hoped to help design cross-agency measures for gathering consistent data that allows large-scale data to be combined to answer these complex questions and enables further translation of research findings into clinical care and community-based support.
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This story was published from a wire group group with no text changes.
