ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1515828
Persistent burden and health inequalities of disease in women of childbearing age attributable to Intimate partner violence, 1990-2021
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Taiyuan, China
- 2Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, China
- 3Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi, Shanxi Province, China
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Aims: Intimate partner violence (IPV) poses a significant public health threat to women of childbearing age (WBCA), with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbating its global impact. This study aimed to assess the global burden and health inequalities attributable to IPV among WBCA from 1990 to 2021. Methods: We used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to analyze IPV-attributable mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR), and age-standardized DALY rate (ASDR) by age group, region, and country. Joinpoint regression was applied to assess temporal trends. Health inequalities were quantified using the Slope Index of Inequality (SII) and Concentration Index (CI). Results: In 2021, IPV caused 44,661 deaths and 5.35 million DALYs globally among WBCA. From 1990 to 2021, ASDR declined from 292.88 to 272.08 per 100,000 (AAPC: -0.19), while ASMR decreased from 2.61 to 2.26 per 100,000 (AAPC: -0.46). However, a rise in ASDR was observed after 2019, mainly driven by depressive disorders. Regional disparities were evident, with the highest burden in the 30–34 age group, low and low-middle SDI regions, and Eastern Sub-Saharan Africa. The greatest increases occurred in the 40–44 age group, Oceania, and low-middle SDI regions. From 1990 to 2021, the SII for ASMR increased (2.04 to 4.59), while that for ASDR declined (321 to 190). The CI for ASMR and ASDR fell from -0.33 and -0.20 to -0.46 and -0.26, respectively, indicating worsening relative inequalities, particularly in LMICs and in IPV-related HIV/AIDS burden. Conclusion: Although the global burden of IPV among WBCA has generally declined since 1990, the COVID-19 pandemic reversed this trend, especially in mental health outcomes. Health inequalities have worsened, underscoring the urgent need for targeted interventions and enhanced global efforts to reduce IPV burden, particularly in LMICs.
Keywords: intimate partner violence, Epidemiology, Women of childbearing age, COVID-19, global burden of disease 2021
Received: 23 Oct 2024; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 MA, Song, wang, Wang and Ren. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jun MA, Department of Thoracic Surgery, Shanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Taiyuan, China
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