TOPLINE:

Strangulation during intimate partner violence (IPV) occurred in 64% of women who participated in a new study and was associated with more severe neurobehavioral symptoms, traumatic stress, and vision problems, with effects lasting an average of nearly 9 years. 

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a study from 2020 to 2023 and included 139 adult women (mean age, 40 years; 71% White individuals) with a history of IPV.
• Participants completed online sessions that included demographic interviews, cognitive testing, questionnaires, and clinical interviews.
• Measures included the Brain Injury Severity Assessment; the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method; the revised Conflict Tactics Scale; the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory; and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.
• Potential confounders included age, years of education, traumatic stress symptomatology, a history of partner-related traumatic brain injury, alcohol intake in the past year, and the presence of neurologic disorders such as convulsions/epilepsy, fainting spells, stroke, and confusional states.

TAKEAWAY:

• Overall, 64% of women reported a history of strangulation, of which 30% experienced strangulation-related alteration in consciousness (AIC), and 15% reported strangulation-related loss of consciousness (LOC). The mean time since the most recent strangulation event was 8.7 years.
• Women who experienced strangulation had significantly higher levels of traumatic stress (P = .03) and vision problems (P < .01) than those who never experienced strangulation. After adjusting for confounders, only vision problems remained significantly associated with strangulation (P < .01).
• Participants who experienced strangulation-related AIC reported significantly higher levels of traumatic stress (P = .05), more severe dizziness (P = .01) and vision problems (P < .01), and poorer concentration (P < .01) than those who experienced strangulation without AIC. Again, only vision problems remained significant after adjusting for confounders (P < .01).
• Women who experienced strangulation-related LOC had significantly more severe traumatic stress symptoms (P = .02) than women who experienced strangulation-related AIC without LOC, and the association remained significant even after adjusting for potential confounders (P = .02).

IN PRACTICE:

“This study highlights potential long-term consequences of IPV-related strangulation and reinforces the importance of IPV prevention and providing treatment for women in need,” corresponding investigator Eve Valera, PhD, Harvard Medical School, Boston, said in a press release.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Maria C. Xu, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was published online on November 20 in the Journal of Neurotrauma.

LIMITATIONS:

This study was limited by the absence of validated measures for strangulation-related AICs and LOC. The reliance on self-reported strangulation events introduced potential recall bias, and the small sample size limited the analysis of confounders. Additionally, the study population was primarily White women from Massachusetts, which limited generalizability across sociodemographic and cultural groups.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. One investigator reported having financial and other ties with various organizations and industries, which are fully listed in the original article. The other investigators reported no relevant financial disclosures.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.