Under pressure: Why being stalked increases women's risk of heart disease

Sydney Morning Herald

6 days ago

Stalking raises the risk of heart disease for women and should be added to risk factors alongside smoking and bad diet, scientists have warned.
Harvard University discovered that women who were stalked were 41 per cent more likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease, which can cause heart attacks and strokes.
For those forced to obtain a restraining order, the risk rose to 70 per cent.
Although stalking is known to cause fear and trigger mental health problems, the new study is the first to show it has an impact on heart health.
'To many people, stalking doesn't seem to be such a serious experience, as it often does not involve physical contact. But stalking has profound psychological consequences that can have physical implications,' says senior author Dr Karestan Koenen, professor of psychiatric epidemiology at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.
'Our study highlights that these preventable, common, non-contact forms of violence against women are health hazards and need to be considered as such, just like we consider smoking or poor diet.'
Stalking is defined as linked incidents causing distress, fear or alarm, which can involve obscene, threatening unwanted letters, text messages or phone calls, being watched or followed or having people loiter near to the home or workplace.
For the new study researchers looked at the cardiovascular outcomes for 66,270 women aged between 36 and 56 who were enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II between 2001 and 2021.
Around 12 per cent reported that they had been stalked, while just over five per cent said they had obtained a restraining order.