Background: Functional/dissociative seizures (FDS), also known as psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), are sudden, transient, and involuntary events that include motor, sensory, cognitive or autonomic function alterations. In this work we analyzed the psychopathological characteristics of a subgroup of women who suffer from FDS with the aim to analyze the role of psychological trauma, with special emphasis on trauma due to sexual abuse (SA).
Methods: Forty-five women diagnosed with FDS were included in the study (age range 18 to 64 years, mean = 34.7, standard deviation (SD) = 13.1). Clinical and psychopathological characteristics were reviewed. All patients have completed the clinical interviews, the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I), the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID II) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) according to a special protocol for mental health assessment. Also, the history of sexual abuse trauma, the history of other non-sexual traumas and absence of history of trauma were reviewed.
Results: Eighty percent of the cases reported a history of trauma, and 40% reported a history of SA. Patients with a history of SA presented a significantly lower average age of seizure onset than patients with a history of other non-sexual traumas (p = 0.021). Significant associations were found between SA and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (p = 0.031), and SA and history of suicide attempts (p = 0.037).
Conclusions: SA carries serious implications for the mental health of women suffering from FDS. Mental health professionals must consider the history of this type of trauma to provide the necessary care for this patient population.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.62641/aep.v52i5.1707 | DOI Listing |
BMC Womens Health
December 2024
IRCCS, Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, MI, Italy.
Background: Severely abused nonpatient women report a high number of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and GI syndromes. Little is known about whether the abuse‒symptom relationship varies across different life, social, and community conditions.
Objective: To comparatively assess the timing, type and severity of physical and/or sexual abuse and GI symptoms of nonpatient women who contacted a lawyer for legal support with those who sought shelter in antiviolence centers.
Womens Health (Lond)
December 2024
Centre of Islamic Finance, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore, Pakistan.
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is widespread and is influenced by individual-specific factors. However, the impact of spousal sociodemographic disparities (age, earnings, education) remains understudied.
Objectives: This study investigates the relationship between spousal sociodemographic disparities and women's IPV experiences in 29 developing countries in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa.
Womens Health (Lond)
December 2024
School of Nursing, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Background: Gender-based violence (GBV) is a global public health problem. While research exists on GBV and associated help-seeking behaviors among university students, few studies have assessed the prevalence of GBV, including experiences and barriers to help-seeking, within sub-Saharan African university settings.
Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of GBV victimization among university students in six sub-Saharan African countries and describe experiences of formal and informal help-seeking among students who self-identified as victims of GBV since attending university.
Sex Abuse
December 2024
Institute for Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
There is some evidence that testosterone-lowering medications (TLM) may be an effective treatment for men convicted of sexual offenses by attenuating paraphilic sexual fantasies and behaviors and reducing the recidivism risk. To date, however, only little is known about the effects of TLM stopping on risk-relevant aspects. Therefore, the current study aimed at examining the recidivism risk as measured by Stable-2007 as well as official records of reoffenses in 29 men having stopped TLM treatment as compared to 37 men with ongoing TLM treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Public Health
December 2024
Emergency Department, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is a significant global concern, profoundly affecting physical, psychological, sexual, and financial well-being. Its prevalence is notably high in conservative societies including Saudi Arabia (SA). Given the limited research on the role of social support in IPV within SA.
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