Mayo Clinic Proceedings just published the results of a research saying that sexual abuse strongly accounts for a lifetime disorders of depression, suicide attempts, eating and sleeping disorders, even post-traumatic stress disorders and severe anxiety disorders. Results further describe that higher incidences of these multiple psychiatric problems are heightened with history of rape.

Sexual abuse survivors face multiple mental and physical complications which will require high costs in health care, but more often than not, do not find their quality of life improving as much,  according to Ali Zirakzadeh MD of the Mayo Clinic Division of General Internal Medicine who happens to head the study.

Statistics show that sexual abuse prevalence are as high as 21 percent in adults while the rates are higher in children of about 33 percent. Survivors of sexual abuse account for about 25 percent of patients in primary care. Most of these survivors do not experience psychiatric symptoms, while some profiles belong to the other side of the extreme.

Genes may portray an influential role. Some abuse survivors do not experience psychiatric symptoms at all and researchers infer that certain genetic profiles may provide a certain level of protection. This would indeed be crucial in determining who is most likely to suffer from multiple psychiatric disorders, anxiety attacks notwithstanding, and who is most likely protected. Once the proposition is confirmed and established, this is an important breakthrough to ascertain future intervention treatments that will better improve the lives of these survivors.

“There is a significant link between psychiatric illnesses and abuse so it’s doubly important to refer them to treatment. These days, it’s a good thing that physicians are already aware of this link, and with a heightened awareness, this may lead to improved lives.