Medical researchers have reported their findings about the health outcomes, both short term and long term, of sexual abuse in many well-respected medical journals. These articles thoroughly document the connection between those who have been sexually abused and physical disease, psychological disease, and social problems. However these consequences do not occur in all persons who have been abused: genetics, personality, and other factors play a role in susceptibility.

Medical research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology has shown evidence of mechanisms of how the power of the mind can cause disease. These findings offer promise in prevention of disease by behavioral methods.

The information in these pages is a start on your journey of healing. There are two major things to consider: knowledge and taking charge. Knowledge of how your body works and how it can resist disease is essential in fighting the effects of sexual abuse. Taking charge means that you assume the leadership role in your health. Forget the helplessness, the victimization, the feeling-sorry-for-myself attitude. As the famous line in the movie, The Shawshank Redemption, goes: “Red, it’s a simple choice: get busy living, or get busy dying.” Indeed that is how our body and mind works. Read as much as you can; learn from others in your support group; visit doctors as needed – but remember you, and you alone, are responsible for your health. Knowing what the future can bring and learning about prevention hopefully will help you to lead a long and happy life.

A significant study on medical issues associated with childhood abuse came about by accident. Dr. Vincent Felitti and associates at Kaiser Permanente, a large HMO in San Diego, were conducting a weight loss program for their members when they found that those who were losing weight didn’t seem interested. Upon probing and evaluating various factors, they observed that obesity may be a protective mechanism in many people in response to prior trauma. They launched a massive project that involved mailing a questionnaire about adverse childhood experiences (ACE) to over 26,000 adults who had completed a standardized medical exam in their clinic. Over 17,400 responded, giving researchers voluminous data to analyze. Because of the important nature of this data, Dr. Felitti collaborated with government researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The ACE study provided researchers with interesting findings about the relationship between childhood trauma (physical, sexual, and emotional) and physical disease. Analysis of this data was presented in over 40 articles in various medical journals. The landmark study was first published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 1998 (Felitti VJ, Anda RF, Nordenberg D, Williamson DF, Spitz AM, Edwards V, Koss MP, et al. "Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults"). For those interested in learning more about these studies, it is possible to read abstracts by entering the free National Library of Medicine web site, Pub Med, and entering Felitti or Anda under 'author name'. Additional information of interest may be found at the ACE web site and at the CDC web site. New studies on these subjects are listed at the CDC web site. Any abstract of these medical studies, listed in this section, may be accessed through Pub Med. For a complete copy of any article, you may contact the author or access it through a hospital or medical school library.

One meaningful finding in the ACE questionnaires is that the questions on childhood sexual abuse were ignored by more participants than any other section, hinting that sexual abuse may be the most traumatic experience of them all. Researchers did not include incomplete questionnaires; so these were not considered in the study.

For the purposes of ease of navigation, we will list the three major health concerns, physical, psychological, and social, with a list of medical studies pertinent to each category. For more details on any health problem, enter the item in an Internet search. Each problem has the potential to cause bodily harm. For example, obesity adds a risk to any surgical procedure done under general anesthesia and can lead to diabetes and heart disease.