Citation

Davies R, Lehman E, Perry A, McCall-Hosenfeld JS. Women Health 2015; 56(5): 561-575.

Affiliation

d Division of Health Services Research, Department of Public Health Sciences , Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center , Hershey , Pennsylvania , USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/03630242.2015.1101741

PMID

26495745

Abstract

We examined the association of physical and non-physical IPV (intimate partner violence) with obesity. Women (N = 1,179) were surveyed regarding demographics, obesity, and IPV exposure using HARK (humiliate-afraid-rape-kick), an IPV screening tool. A three-level lifetime IPV exposure variable measured physical, non-physical or no IPV. Healthcare provider-identified obesity was defined if participants were told by a medical provider within the past 5 years that they were obese. Bivariate analyses examined obesity by IPV and demographics. Multivariable logistic regression assessed odds of obesity by IPV type, adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, education and marital status. Among participants, 44% reported lifetime IPV (25% physical, 19% non-physical), and 24% reported healthcare provider-identified obesity. In unadjusted analyses, obesity was more prevalent among women exposed to physical IPV (30%) and non-physical IPV (27%), compared to women without IPV (20%, p = .002). In multivariable models, women reporting physical IPV had 1.67 times greater odds of obesity (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20, 2.33), and women reporting non-physical IPV had 1.46 times greater odds of obesity (95% CI 1.01, 2.10) compared to women reporting never exposure. This study extends prior data by showing not only an association between physical IPV and obesity, but also an association between obesity and non-physical IPV.

Language: en