Violence against Women and Stress-Related Disorders: Seeking for Associated Epigenetic Signatures, a Pilot Study

doi:10.3390/healthcare11020173

. 2023 Jan 6;11(2):173.

doi: 10.3390/healthcare11020173.

Violence against Women and Stress-Related Disorders: Seeking for Associated Epigenetic Signatures, a Pilot Study

Andrea Piccinini^{1

2}, Paolo Bailo³, Giussy Barbara^{2

4

5}, Monica Miozzo⁶, Silvia Tabano^{7

8}, Patrizia Colapietro⁷, Claudia Farè⁸, Silvia Maria Sirchia⁶, Elena Battaglioli⁹, Paola Bertuccio¹⁰, Giulia Manenti¹¹, Laila Micci², Carlo La Vecchia⁵, Alessandra Kustermann², Simona Gaudi¹²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
² Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence( SVSeD), Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20100 Milan, Italy.
³ Section of Legal Medicine, School of Law, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy.
⁴ Gynecology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁵ Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁶ Medical Genetics, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁷ Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁸ Medical Genetics Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁹ Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
¹⁰ Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
¹¹ Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20100 Milan, Italy.
¹² Department of Environment and Health, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy.

PMID: 36673541
PMCID: PMC9858929
DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11020173

Violence against Women and Stress-Related Disorders: Seeking for Associated Epigenetic Signatures, a Pilot Study

Andrea Piccinini et al. Healthcare (Basel). 2023.

. 2023 Jan 6;11(2):173.

doi: 10.3390/healthcare11020173.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
² Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence( SVSeD), Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20100 Milan, Italy.
³ Section of Legal Medicine, School of Law, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy.
⁴ Gynecology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁵ Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁶ Medical Genetics, Department of Health Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁷ Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁸ Medical Genetics Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20100 Milan, Italy.
⁹ Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20100 Milan, Italy.
¹⁰ Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
¹¹ Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, 20100 Milan, Italy.
¹² Department of Environment and Health, Italian National Institute of Health, 00161 Rome, Italy.

PMID: 36673541
PMCID: PMC9858929
DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11020173

Abstract

Background: Violence against women is a relevant health and social problem with negative consequences on women's health. The interaction between genome and environmental factors, such as violence, represents one of the major challenges in molecular medicine. The Epigenetics for WomEn (EpiWE) project is a multidisciplinary pilot study that intends to investigate the epigenetic signatures associated with intimate partner and sexual violence-induced stress-related disorders.

Materials and methods: In 2020, 62 women exposed to violence (13 women suffering from sexual violence and 49 from Intimate Partner Violence, IPV) and 50 women with no history of violence were recruited at the Service for Sexual and Domestic Violence. All women aged 18-65 were monitored for their physical and psychological conditions. Blood samples were collected, and DNAs were extracted and underwent the epigenetic analysis of 10 stress-related genes.

Results: PTSD prevalence in victims was assessed at 8.1%. Quantitative methylation evaluation of the ten selected trauma/stress-related genes revealed the differential iper-methylation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, dopamine receptor D2 and insulin-like growth factor 2 genes. These genes are among those related to brain plasticity, learning, and memory pathways.

Conclusions: The association of early detection of posttraumatic distress and epigenetic marker identification could represent a new avenue for addressing women survivors toward resilience. This innovative approach in gender-based violence studies could identify new molecular pathways associated with the long-term effects of violence and implement innovative protocols of precision medicine.

Keywords: PTSD; clinical forensic medicine; epigenetics; intimate partner violence; sexual violence; stress related disorders.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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References

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1. Reingle Gonzalez J.M., Jetelina K.K., Olague S., Wondrack J.G. Violence against women increases cancer diagnoses: Results from a meta-analytic review. Prev. Med. 2018;114:168–179. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.07.008. - DOI - PubMed

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[1] United Nations . Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. UN; New York, NY, USA: 1993.

[2] United Nations . Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. UN; New York, NY, USA: 1993.

[3] Barbier A., Chariot P., Lefèvre T. Intimate partner violence against ever-partnered women in Europe: Prevalence and associated factors—Results from the violence against women EU-wide survey. Front. Public Health. 2022;10:1033465. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1033465. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Barbier A., Chariot P., Lefèvre T. Intimate partner violence against ever-partnered women in Europe: Prevalence and associated factors—Results from the violence against women EU-wide survey. Front. Public Health. 2022;10:1033465. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1033465. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Chandan J.S., Thomas T., Bradbury-Jones C., Taylor J., Bandyopadhyay S., Nirantharakumar K. Risk of Cardiometabolic Disease and All-Cause Mortality in Female Survivors of Domestic Abuse. J. Am. Heart Assoc. 2020;9:e014580. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.014580. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Chandan J.S., Thomas T., Bradbury-Jones C., Taylor J., Bandyopadhyay S., Nirantharakumar K. Risk of Cardiometabolic Disease and All-Cause Mortality in Female Survivors of Domestic Abuse. J. Am. Heart Assoc. 2020;9:e014580. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.014580. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Stubbs A., Szoeke C. The Effect of Intimate Partner Violence on the Physical Health and Health-Related Behaviors of Women: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Trauma Violence Abus. 2021;23:1157–1172. doi: 10.1177/1524838020985541. - DOI - PubMed

[8] Stubbs A., Szoeke C. The Effect of Intimate Partner Violence on the Physical Health and Health-Related Behaviors of Women: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Trauma Violence Abus. 2021;23:1157–1172. doi: 10.1177/1524838020985541. - DOI - PubMed

[9] Reingle Gonzalez J.M., Jetelina K.K., Olague S., Wondrack J.G. Violence against women increases cancer diagnoses: Results from a meta-analytic review. Prev. Med. 2018;114:168–179. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.07.008. - DOI - PubMed

[10] Reingle Gonzalez J.M., Jetelina K.K., Olague S., Wondrack J.G. Violence against women increases cancer diagnoses: Results from a meta-analytic review. Prev. Med. 2018;114:168–179. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.07.008. - DOI - PubMed

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Violence against Women and Stress-Related Disorders: Seeking for Associated Epigenetic Signatures, a Pilot Study

Affiliations

Violence against Women and Stress-Related Disorders: Seeking for Associated Epigenetic Signatures, a Pilot Study

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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Abstract

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