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Intimate Partner Violence, Mental Health, and Aging-Related Health Among Men and Women Veterans Across the Lifespan

  • Original Research
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Abstract

Background

A growing body of evidence suggests adverse health outcomes related to intimate partner violence (IPV), including traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, most research in this area has focused on reproductive-aged women.

Objective

To examine relationships between IPV (with and without TBI), mental health, and aging-related health outcomes among men and women Veterans across the lifespan.

Design

Cross-sectional analysis of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data from fiscal years 2000–2019. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were used to compare key comorbidities in matched samples of Veterans with and without IPV (gender-stratified and matched 1:3 based on demographics and index date). Comparisons between those with IPV and TBI relative to IPV alone were also examined.

Subjects

Veterans aged 18 + with and without documented IPV in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) electronic health records (n = 4108 men, 2824 women).

Main Measures

ICD codes were used to identify IPV, TBI, and aging-related medical (sleep disorder, hypertension, diabetes, dementia) and common psychiatric (depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, alcohol use disorder, and substance use disorder) diagnoses.

Key Results

Demographic characteristics were reflective of VA-enrolled Veterans (men: mean age 66, SD 16; 72% non-Hispanic White; women: mean age 47, SD 13; 64% non-Hispanic White). Relative to Veterans without IPV, both men and women with IPV had higher rates of all examined medical (e.g., sleep disorders, men: 33% vs. 52%; women: 45% vs. 63%) and psychiatric diagnoses (e.g., depression, men 32% vs. 74%; women 59% vs. 91%; all ps < .001), with evidence of an additive effect of TBI on some psychiatric outcomes.

Conclusions

IPV is broadly associated with aging-related and mental health, and TBI is a common correlate that may further contribute to psychiatric outcomes. Findings highlight the importance of trauma-informed care and recognizing the potential role of these exposures on men and women Veterans’ health across the lifespan.

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Data Availability:

No additional data are available owing to a data use agreement with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Funding

This research was supported by Department of Defense through the Psychological Health/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium (LIMBIC) Award/W81XWH-18-PH/TBIRP-LIMBIC (PI: Yaffe) and in part by the VA HSR&D Career Development Award (CDA IK2 HX002402; CJG). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Department of Defense or the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. San Francisco VA Health Care System, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Carolyn J. Gibson PhD, MPH & Kristine Yaffe MD, MPH

  2. Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Carolyn J. Gibson PhD, MPH, Amber Bahorik PhD & Kristine Yaffe MD, MPH

  3. NCIRE-The Veterans’ Health Research Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Feng Xia MPH & Carrie Peltz PhD

  4. San Francisco Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Kristine Yaffe MD, MPH

  5. Department of Epidemiology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Kristine Yaffe MD, MPH

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  1. Carolyn J. Gibson PhD, MPH
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  5. Kristine Yaffe MD, MPH
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Contributions

CJG, AB, CP, and KY were responsible for the study concept and design. KY obtained funding and supervised the study. FX conducted the statistical analysis. All the authors were involved in the interpretation of data. CJG drafted the manuscript, and all authors critically revised it for important intellectual content and approved the final version. The corresponding author attests that all the listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no others meeting the criteria have been omitted.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carolyn J. Gibson PhD, MPH.

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Conflict of Interest:

Dr. Yaffe serves on DSMBs for Takeda Inc. and a National Institute on Aging-sponsored study and is also member of the Beeson Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Gibson has served as an unpaid consultant to Astellas Pharmaceuticals for projects unrelated to this research. There are no other potential conflicts of interest to declare for any authors.

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Gibson, C.J., Bahorik, A., Xia, F. et al. Intimate Partner Violence, Mental Health, and Aging-Related Health Among Men and Women Veterans Across the Lifespan. J GEN INTERN MED 39, 931–939 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08466-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08466-z

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