Sexual assault and white matter hyperintensities among midlife women

AbstractTraumatic experiences have been linked to poor mental and physical health. However, there has been little examination of their relationship to neuroimaging markers of cerebrovascular risk. White matter hyperintensities (WMHs) are markers of brain small vessel disease. WMHs can be detected decades before the onset of dementia and other disorders and can serve as early markers for these brain disorders. We tested whether traumatic experiences were associated with brain WMH volume among midlife women. In the MsBrain study, 145 women (mean age  = 59 years) without cardiovascular disease, stroke, or dementia were recruited. Women completed questionnaires [trauma checklist, depression, post-traumatic stress measures]; physical measures [body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP)]; phlebotomy; actigraphy sleep measurement, and 3 Tesla m agnetic resonance brain imaging for WMHs. Cross-sectional associations between traumatic experiences and WMH volume were assessed in linear regression models. Covariates were age, race/ethnicity, education, BMI, BP, lipids, preeclampsia, sleep, and additionally depressive and post-traumatic stress d isorder symptoms. 68% of women endorsed at least one of the traumas assessed. The most common trauma was sexual assault (23% of women). Women with trauma exposure had greater WMH volume than women without trauma [B(SE) = .24 (.09), p = .01, multivariable]. The single trauma most associated w ith WMH was sexual assault [B(SE) = .25...
Source: Brain Imaging and Behavior - Category: Neurology Source Type: research