Everyday stories say so, and epigenetics confirms it: suffering from violence causes post-traumatic stress disorder in women that persists years later. A vulnerability that can also bring with it depression and the risk of becoming a “victim” again.
This was revealed by the EpiWE research project, Epigenetics for women, which was coordinated by the Higher Institute of Health (ISS) and funded by the Ministry of Health to investigate whether, how much and for how long violence affects gene activity and harms women’s psycho-physical health. So, from the data collected thanks to the first hundred women who were willing to donate blood samples for this research, it was revealed that more than half of the women who were victims of violence after years experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, a quarter experienced symptoms of depression, and a third were at high risk of experiencing violence again.
Not only that: thanks to collaboration with the region of Puglia, the project has just been extended to minors who have witnessed violence, an experience that in this case also, according to the first results, had profound psychological consequences.
An open project
The information – they explained from the ISS – was collected from 76 victims of violence, while the rest of the sample was used as a control, by applying an innovative electronic questionnaire (EpiWEAT), developed by the Institute in Italian and in four other languages (English, French, Spanish, German) to encourage its dissemination among immigrant women and linguistic mediators. The questionnaire will then be integrated with sample analysis to look for epigenetic “scars” in DNA, molecular traces that do not change the structure of a gene, but modify its function. Currently EpiWE has involved the regions of Lazio, Lombardy, Campania, Puglia and Liguria, where women can still participate and help research by donating samples.
Main data
More than half of the victims suffered from severe posttraumatic disorder (PTSD): 27% of women were diagnosed with PTSD and 28.4% suffered from complex PTSD (C-PTSD). 23% of victims showed depressive symptoms (major depressive episode, possible or probable) according to the Ces-D scale. 32% are at high risk of experiencing violence again.
More than half have an educational level equivalent to or higher than a high school diploma and 34% have permanent employment, while 82% are Italian citizens.
In 97% of cases, the attacker was a man, and in 71% of cases it was the partner. In 90% of cases, violence (sexual, physical, psychological and economic) recurs over time.
«Domestic violence leaves epigenetic traces that change the expression of genes, that is, their activity, without changing the DNA sequence – explains Simona Gaudi, ISS project manager -. Studying these changes allows us to predict the long-term impact of violence and develop personalized preventive interventions before chronic pathology emerges.”
