title: The role of borderline personality disorder and depression in the relationship between sexual assault and body mass index among women veterans.
abstract: This article examines lifetime sexual assault (LSA) and mental health history as risk factors associated with body mass index (BMI) in a population of women veterans. This cross-sectional study of a retrospective cohort of 948 Veterans Affairs (VA)-enrolled midwestern enlisted rank women veterans included computer-assisted telephone interviews. Findings show that 33.4% of the participants had a BMI of 30.0 or more meeting the criteria for obesity and 62.5% reported lifetime attempted or completed sexual assault. Greater BMI was positively associated with older age, less education, LSA, depression, and borderline personality disorder (BPD) and negatively associated with current substance use disorder in multivariate models. Mediation analysis found that the relationship between sexual assault and BMI was completely mediated by BPD and depression. Interventions should combine physical and mental health care in gender-specific services for overweight women veterans with trauma histories and mental health conditions.
authors.forename: Ann M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Cheney
authors.forename: Brenda M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Booth
authors.forename: Teri D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Michelle A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mengeling
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Torner
authors.forename: Anne G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Sadler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult