Lifetime exposure to violence and early cardiometabolic risk factors in a healthy Swedish cohort

IntroductionViolence exposure has been associated with cardiovascular disease. Less is known about underlying mechanisms, including early cardiometabolic risk factors, and possible sex differences of such associations. MethodsWe used data from the Swedish LifeGene study on 23,215 males and females, aged 18-50 years. At baseline (2009-1016) participants answered the Life Stressor Checklist-Revised alongside questions on medical diagnoses of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and smoking history. At a clinical visit, blood pressure, BMI, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol, ApoB/ApoA1 ratio, and high-sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) were measured. Modified Poisson and linear regression were used to test the association between violence and cardiometabolic risk factors. ResultsAt mean age 33{+/-}8 years, lifetime exposure to violence was reported by 23% of females and 15% of males. Those exposed to violence were more likely to smoke (PR 1.86, CI: 1.66-2.07) and report a diagnosis of hypertension (PR 1.39, CI: 1.18-1.64). While no differences were observed in measured systolic blood pressure (B -0.34, CI: -0.70, 0.02), HbA1c (B 0.06, CI: - 0.08, 0.20) or total cholesterol (B -0.01, CI: -0.04, 0.02), both males and females exposed to violence had higher BMI (B 0.51, CI: 0.39-0.63) and hs-CRP (B 0.11, CI: 0.06-0.16), after adjustment. Violence in childhood, as opposed to adulthood, and exposure to both sexual and physical violence, as opposed to either type, was more strongly associated with hs-CRP and BMI. DiscussionIn a young healthy Swedish sample, lifetime exposure to violence was associated with some but not all early cardiometabolic risk factors among both males and females.