Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Nov 7:7:34.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-7-34.

Intimate partner violence and infant morbidity: evidence of an association from a population-based study in eastern Uganda in 2003

Charles A S Karamagi  1 , James K Tumwine, Thorkild Tylleskar, Kristian Heggenhougen
Affiliations

Intimate partner violence and infant morbidity: evidence of an association from a population-based study in eastern Uganda in 2003

Charles A S Karamagi et al. BMC Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Although recent studies suggest that there is an association between intimate partner violence and child mortality, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. It is against this background that as a secondary objective, we set out to explore whether an association exists between intimate partner violence and illness in infants.

Methods: We conducted a population based household survey in Mbale, eastern Uganda in 2003. Participants were 457 women (with 457 infants) who consented to participate in the study. We measured socio-demographics of women and occurrence of intimate partner violence. We measured socio-demographics, immunization, nutritional status, and illness in the previous two weeks of the children.

Results: The mean age of the women was 25 years (SD 5.7) while the mean age of the infants was 6 months (SD 3.5). The prevalence of lifetime intimate partner violence was 54% (95% CI 48%-60%). During the previous two weeks, 50% (95% CI 50%-54%) of the children had illness (fever, diarrhoea, cough and fast breathing). Lifetime intimate partner violence was associated with infant illness (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2-2.8) and diarrhoea (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.4).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that infant illnesses (fever, diarrhoea, cough and fast breathing) are associated with intimate partner violence, and provide insights into previous reports that have shown an association between intimate partner violence and child mortality, suggesting possible underlying mechanisms. Our findings also highlight the importance of intimate partner violence on the health of children, and the need for further research in this area.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. WHO/WHD . World Report on Violence. Geneva, World Health Organization; 1997. p. ..
    1. Bacchus L. Mezey G. Bewley S Domestic violence: prevalence in pregnant women and associations with physical and pyschological health. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2004;113:6–11. doi: 10.1016/S0301-2115(03)00326-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cokkinides VE. Coker AL. Sanderson M. Addy C. Bethea L Physical violence during pregnancy: maternal complications and birth outcomes. Obstet Gynecol. 1999;93:661–666. doi: 10.1016/S0029-7844(98)00486-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Martin SL. Kilgallen B. Tsui AO. Maitra K. Singh KK. Kupper LL Sexual behaviors and reproductive health outcomes:associations with wife abuse in India. JAMA. 1999;282:1967–1972. doi: 10.1001/jama.282.20.1967. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Fikree FF. Bhatti LI Domestic violence and health of Pakistani women. International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 1999;65:195–201. doi: 10.1016/S0020-7292(99)00035-1. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types