Dr. Ramneek Dosanjh got young. But for a long time, she says that her marriage dissolved in a cycle of control and domestic violence.
“In a week following the meeting and the meetings, tells you that they love you and that they will marry you, you know, everything seems dreamer,” Dosanjh told CBS News.
It got worse, she said, when she tried to leave.
“You just don’t know if you can support life in this way,” said Dosanjh, who then chose to get a protective order against her husband from the time.
The results of his health started to show.
“I did abnormal stress tests,” said Dosanjh. “I had to have cardiac catheterization.”
And it is not alone according to a study published last month by the Harvard Th Chan School of Public Health.
“We saw this association, which also blown me away,” said Dr. Karestan Koenen, who led a team of Harvard researchers who analyzed data for around 66,270 American nurses, aged 36 to 56, who were questioned about their own health for 20 years between 2001 and 2021.
Among those in the survey, 11.7% pointed out harassment experience and 5.6% reported experience in obtaining a prohibition order.
The study, published in The Scientific Journal Traffic, revealed that the risk of cardiovascular disease was 41% higher in women who had experienced harassment – and 70% higher for women who had obtained a ban – compared to those who had not done so.
“We have all the information on their diet and exercise,” said Koenen. “And we find that it is really harassment that increases the risk, not all these other factors, because we can adjust ourselves for them.”
“The experiences of harassment and obtaining a prohibition order are both associated with an increased risk of developing an MCV (cardiovascular disease) in women,” concluded the study. “Current experiences of violence in women can affect cardiovascular health and justify consideration alongside more traditional risk factors.”
Many women who spoke were afraid of disclosing their identity. One of them says that she and her children were mistreated by their father.
“I had three recurring episodes of deep venous thrombosis, which means three other blood clots in a short time,” the woman told CBS News.
According to a 2016-2017 survey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, almost one in three women experienced a hunt at some point in their lives.
Researchers claim that the results of the study could encourage doctors to add questions about harassment and restraint prescriptions when screening for cardiac risk factors in the future.
Said Koenen, “the ultimate goal is to improve women’s health”.
For anonymous and confidential aid, people can call the national hotline of domestic violence to 1-800-799-7233 Or 1-800-787-3224. People can start with SMS at 88788 or chat on Thehotline.org.
