Pilot Study of Pharyngoesophageal Dysmotility Mechanisms in Dysphagic Infants of Diabetic Mothers.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women in the United States (US) and worldwide (,). Past research has shown that women’s experiences of violence are associated with an increased risk of CVD and other cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension (). However, prior work has predominantly examined experiences of physical or sexual intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual assault, or childhood abuse (–). In contrast, some of the most common forms of violence women experience, including stalking, have received little attention in the cardiovascular literature (). Stalking can be defined as someone’s repeated use of unwanted harassment or threatening tactics that also cause fear or safety concerns and is reported by nearly 1 in 3 women in the US (). The most common perpetrators of stalking reported in the US are current or former intimate partners, and the second most common are acquaintances (). Given the high prevalence of stalking in women’s experiences and prior work linking violence exposure to adverse health outcomes, examining its relation to CVD risk in women is paramount. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have investigated the relationship between stalking and the risk of incident CVD, although a limited number of studies have examined other physical health outcomes. For example, using cross-sectional data from a national US survey (the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS)), it was found that women with a history of stalking were more likely to report poor physical health as well as report developing a chronic disease (which included hypertension and heart disease) since being stalked (). Another study using the NVAWS data did not find an association between women’s history of stalking by an intimate partner and poor perceived health (). The most recent National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) report on stalking (a large epidemiological survey of women in the US) found that women who reported experiencing stalking were more likely to report conditions such as chronic pain and sleep difficulties but were less likely to report diabetes and hypertension (). However, inferences from the NISVS analysis are limited by the study’s cross-sectional nature, the lack of adjustment for relevant demographic and health risk factors, and the reliance on self-reported outcomes only (). Restraining orders are a legal means of protection from violence that aim to limit the contact between a victim and perpetrator () and can be issued to prevent women from severe stalking, harassment, and IPV (). Restraining orders may, therefore, provide an alternative assessment of women’s experience of severe violence history. Some evidence suggests restraining orders protect women from experiencing repeated violence (–). However, there have been reported associations between obtaining restraining orders and poorer health (), likely suggesting that the violence that led to taking out a restraining order, or additionally, any potential violation or worsening of violence following a restraining order (,,), had negative health consequences.