Gender as a Risk Factor for Functional Movement Disorders: The Role of Sexual Abuse.

ABSTRACT: 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?

SUBMITTER: Kletenik I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7011626 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature