Citation

Becker-Dreps S, Morgan D, Pena R, Cortes L, Martin CF, Valladares E. Violence Against Women 2010; 16(7): 832-845.

Affiliation

Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 590 Manning Drive, CB No. 7595, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7595, USA. sbd@unc.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1077801210374816

PMID

20558772

PMCID

PMC3127242

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disabling functional gastrointestinal disorder, which serves as a model for abdominal pain syndromes. An association between intimate partner violence and IBS has been shown among White women in the industrialized world. To determine whether this relationship transcends cultural boundaries, we conducted a population-based, cross-sectional survey in Nicaragua using the innovative Health and Demographic Surveillance System in the León province. Women who had experienced physical intimate partner violence had significantly increased risk of IBS (odds ratio OR. = 2.08; 95% confidence interval CI. = 1.35, 3.21), as did those who had experienced sexual intimate partner violence (OR = 2.85; 95% CI = 1.45, 5.59). These findings argue for intimate partner violence screening among Latina women with IBS.

Language: en