Female violence, post-traumatic stress after years for more than half of the victims

The daily stories say it, epigenetics confirms it: suffering violence leads to a post-traumatic stress disorder in women that remains years later. A vulnerability that can also bring with it depression and the risk of being 'victims' again.

This was revealed by the research project EpiWE, Epigenetics for Women, coordinated by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Iss) and financed by the Ministry of Health to investigate whether, how much and for how long violence affects the activity of genes and compromises women's psycho-physical health. Well, from the data collected from the first one hundred women who agreed to donate a blood sample for this study, it emerged that more than half of the women who have been victims of violence after years present a post-traumatic stress disorder, a quarter have symptoms of depression, and a third are at high risk of suffering violence again.

Not only that: through a collaboration with the region of Apulia, the project has just been extended to minors who have witnessed violence, an experience that also leads, according to initial results, to profound psychological consequences.

The information - explain the Iss - was collected on 76 victims of violence, while the rest of the sample was used as a control, applying an innovative electronic questionnaire (EpiWEAT), developed by the Institute in Italian and in four other languages (English, French, Spanish, German) to facilitate its dissemination among immigrant women and language mediators. The questionnaires will then be supplemented with sample analyses to search for epigenetic 'scars' on the DNA, molecular imprints that do not change the structure of genes, but modify their functionality. At the moment, EpiWE has involved the regions of Lazio, Lombardia, Campania, Puglia and Liguria, where women can still participate and help the study by donating a sample.

More than half of the victims have severe post-traumatic disorders (Ptsd): 27% of women with a diagnosis of Ptsd and 28.4% with complex Ptsd (C-Ptsd). 23% of the victims present depressive symptoms (major depressive episode, probable or possible) according to the Ces-D scale. 32% are at high risk of experiencing violence again.
More than half have an education level of high school diploma or higher and 34% have a stable occupation, while 82% are Italian citizens.
The aggressor in 97% of the cases is a man, in 71% a spouse or partner. In 90% of the cases the violence (sexual, physical, psychological and economic) is repeated over time.
"Domestic violence leaves epigenetic traces that modify the expression of genes, i.e. their activity, without altering the DNA sequence," explains Simona Gaudi, project manager for the Iss. "Studying these modifications could allow us to predict the long-term effects of violence and develop personalised preventive interventions before chronic pathologies arise.