Intimate Partner Violence-Related Brain Injury: Unmasking and Addressing the Gaps

Carrie Esopenko¹, Divya Jain¹, Shambhu Prasad Adhikari², Kristen Dams-O'Connor^{1

3}, Michael Ellis⁴, Halina Lin Haag^{5

6}, Elizabeth S Hovenden⁷, Finian Keleher⁷, Inga K Koerte^{8

9}, Hannah M Lindsey⁷, Amy D Marshall¹⁰, Karen Mason¹¹, J Scott McNally¹², Deleene S Menefee¹³, Tricia L Merkley^{7

14}, Emma N Read⁷, Philine Rojcyk^{8

9}, Sandy R Shultz^{15

16}, Mujun Sun¹⁶, Danielle Toccalino¹⁷, Eve M Valera¹⁸, Paul van Donkelaar², Cheryl Wellington^{19

20

21

22}, Elisabeth A Wilde^{7

12

23}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
² School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
³ Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
⁴ Department of Surgery, Section of Neurosurgery, University of Manitoba, Pan Am Clinic, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
⁵ Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Acquired Brain Injury Research Lab, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁷ Traumatic Brain Injury and Concussion Center, Department of Neurology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
⁸ cBRAIN, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
⁹ Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹¹ Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research (SOAR), Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
¹² Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
¹³ Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, The Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
¹⁵ Health Sciences, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, Canada.
¹⁶ Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, Alfred Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
¹⁷ Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²⁰ Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²¹ International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²² School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²³ George E. Wahlen ,VA Salt Lake City Heathcare System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

PMID: 38323539
PMCID: PMC11564844 (available on 2025-10-21)
DOI: 10.1089/neu.2023.0543

Review

Intimate Partner Violence-Related Brain Injury: Unmasking and Addressing the Gaps

Carrie Esopenko et al. J Neurotrauma. 2024 Oct.

. 2024 Oct;41(19-20):2219-2237.

doi: 10.1089/neu.2023.0543. Epub 2024 Apr 5.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
² School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
³ Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA.
⁴ Department of Surgery, Section of Neurosurgery, University of Manitoba, Pan Am Clinic, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
⁵ Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Acquired Brain Injury Research Lab, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁷ Traumatic Brain Injury and Concussion Center, Department of Neurology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
⁸ cBRAIN, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany.
⁹ Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA.
¹¹ Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research (SOAR), Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.
¹² Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
¹³ Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, The Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Psychology and Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.
¹⁵ Health Sciences, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, Canada.
¹⁶ Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, Alfred Centre, Melbourne, Australia.
¹⁷ Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²⁰ Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²¹ International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²² School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
²³ George E. Wahlen ,VA Salt Lake City Heathcare System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

PMID: 38323539
PMCID: PMC11564844 (available on 2025-10-21)
DOI: 10.1089/neu.2023.0543

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant, global public health concern. Women, individuals with historically underrepresented identities, and disabilities are at high risk for IPV and tend to experience severe injuries. There has been growing concern about the risk of exposure to IPV-related head trauma, resulting in IPV-related brain injury (IPV-BI), and its health consequences. Past work suggests that a significant proportion of women exposed to IPV experience IPV-BI, likely representing a distinct phenotype compared with BI of other etiologies. An IPV-BI often co-occurs with psychological trauma and mental health complaints, leading to unique issues related to identifying, prognosticating, and managing IPV-BI outcomes. The goal of this review is to identify important gaps in research and clinical practice in IPV-BI and suggest potential solutions to address them. We summarize IPV research in five key priority areas: (1) unique considerations for IPV-BI study design; (2) understanding non-fatal strangulation as a form of BI; (3) identifying objective biomarkers of IPV-BI; (4) consideration of the chronicity, cumulative and late effects of IPV-BI; and (5) BI as a risk factor for IPV engagement. Our review concludes with a call to action to help investigators develop ecologically valid research studies addressing the identified clinical-research knowledge gaps and strategies to improve care in individuals exposed to IPV-BI. By reducing the current gaps and answering these calls to action, we will approach IPV-BI in a trauma-informed manner, ultimately improving outcomes and quality of life for those impacted by IPV-BI.

Keywords: biomarkers; brain injury; chronicity; intimate partner violence; late effects; neuroimaging; non-fatal strangulation.

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References

1. Breiding MJ, Chen J, Black MC. Intimate Partner Violence in the United States — 2010. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Atlanta, GA; 2014. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/cdc_nisvs_ipv_report_2013_v17... [Last accessed: January, 21, 2024]
1. Sardinha L, Maheu-Giroux M, Stockl H, et al. . Global, regional, and national prevalence estimates of physical or sexual, or both, intimate partner violence against women in 2018. Lancet 2022;399(10327):803–813; doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02664-7 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
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1. World Health Organization. Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018: global, regional and national prevalence estimates for intimate partner violence against women and global and regional prevalence estimates for non-partner sexual violence against women. Geneva; 2021
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Intimate Partner Violence-Related Brain Injury: Unmasking and Addressing the Gaps

Affiliations

Intimate Partner Violence-Related Brain Injury: Unmasking and Addressing the Gaps

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

References

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MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous