Prevalence and 3-year incidence of abuse among postmenopausal women.
OBJECTIVE
We examined prevalence, 3-year incidence, and predictors of physical and verbal abuse among postmenopausal women.


METHODS
We used a cohort of 91,749 women aged 50 to 79 years from the Women's Health Initiative. Outcomes included self-reported physical abuse and verbal abuse.


RESULTS
At baseline, 11.1% reported abuse sometime during the prior year, with 2.1% reporting physical abuse only, 89.1% reporting verbal abuse only, and 8.8% reporting both physical and verbal abuse. Baseline prevalence was associated with service occupations, having lower incomes, and living alone. At 3-year follow-up, 5.0% of women reported new abuse, with 2.8% reporting physical abuse only, 92.6% reporting verbal abuse only, and 4.7% reporting both physical and verbal abuse.


CONCLUSIONS
Postmenopausal women are exposed to abuse at similar rates to younger women; this abuse poses a serious threat to their health.
Mouton
Charles P
CP
Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 78229-7795, USA. mouton@uthscsa.edu
Rodabough
Rebecca J
RJ
Rovi
Susan L D
SL
Hunt
Julie L
JL
Talamantes
Melissa A
MA
Brzyski
Robert G
RG
Burge
Sandra K
SK
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000453:epidemiology; D018585:Battered Women / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008019:Life Style; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009790:Occupations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017698:Postmenopause; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health