WOMEN who have been sexually assaulted have a higher risk of developing a type of brain damage that has been linked to cognitive decline, dementia and stroke, a new study found.

“It could be either childhood sexual abuse or adult sexual assault,” said study author Rebecca Thurston, a professor and director of the Women’s Biobehavioral Health Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public Health.

“Based upon population data, most women have their sexual assaults when they are in early adolescence and early adulthood,” she added, “so these are likely early experiences that we’re seeing the marks of later in life.”

The new study, presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society, adds to a growing body of research on the long-term impact of sexual assault on the body and the mind.

“We need to keep our attention on this issue of sexual violence against women and not let it fall off the radar screen of society, because it continues to be a major women’s health issue,” Thurston said.

Prior studies have found sexual trauma to be linked to higher levels of triglycerides and blood pressure in midlife, and a three-fold greater risk of developing carotid plaque, all key risk factors for heart disease.

In addition, a 2018 study Thurston conducted found women who reported prior sexual assault were three times more likely to experience depression and twice as likely to have elevated anxiety and insomnia than women without a history of sexual trauma.

Depression, anxiety and sleep disorders are all linked to poorer health outcomes, including heart disease, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Women who have been sexually traumatized should feel empowered to speak up and tell their doctors, Thurston said.

“Absolutely share this information with your health care providers,” Thurston said. “This is not your fault. It’s important information that has implications for your physical health and your emotional well-being.”

The new study, which will soon be published in the journal Brain Imaging and Behavior, looked for signs of white matter hyperintensities in the brain scans of 145 midlife women with no prior history of cardiovascular disease, stroke or dementia. However, 68 percent of participants had experienced trauma, and for 23 percent of the women, that trauma was sexual assault.

White matter hyperintensities, which show up as small spots of white on MRIs, are markers of disruptions in blood flow that have left damage in the brain.

“Using brain imaging, we found that women with a history of sexual assault have greater white matter hyperintensities in the brain, which is an indicator of small vessel disease that has been linked to stroke, dementia, cognitive decline and mortality,” Thurston said.(SD-Agencies)