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Gender as a Risk Factor for Functional Movement Disorders: The Role of Sexual Abuse
Author(s) -
Kletenik Isaiah,
Sillau Stefan H.,
Isfahani Sanaz Attaripour,
LaFaver Kathrin,
Hallett Mark,
Berman Brian D.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
movement disorders clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.754
H-Index - 18
ISSN - 2330-1619
DOI - 10.1002/mdc3.12863
Subject(s) - sexual abuse , odds ratio , medicine , psychiatry , population , clinical psychology , movement disorders , psychology , poison control , injury prevention , disease , medical emergency , environmental health
Background The prevalence of functional movement disorders is 2 to 3 times higher in women than in men. Trauma and adverse life events are important risk factors for developing functional movement disorders. On a population level, rates of sexual abuse against women are higher when compared with the rates against men. Objectives To determine gender differences in rates of sexual abuse in functional movement disorders compared with other neurologic disorders and evaluate if the gender prevalence is influenced by higher rates of sexual abuse against women. Methods We performed a case‐control series including 199 patients with functional movement disorders (149 women) and 95 controls (60 women). We employed chi‐squared test to assess gender and sexual abuse associations and Bayes formula to condition on sexual abuse. Results Our analysis showed an association between sexual abuse and functional movement disorders in women (odds ratio, 4.821; 95% confidence interval, 2.089–12.070; P < 0.0001), but not men. Bayesian analysis found the functional movement disorder prevalence ratio between women and men conditional on sexual abuse to be 4.87 times the unconditioned ratio. Conclusions There is a statistically significant association between sexual abuse and functional movement disorders in women and a greater likelihood that women who are sexually abused will develop functional movement disorders than men who are sexually abused. Our findings suggest that the increased prevalence of functional movement disorders in women is associated, at least in part, with sexual abuse and its sequelae; however, further research is needed to explore the role of other traumatic and nontraumatic factors.