[Medical and legal aspects of rape. Referrals to a team for care of rape victims at the regional hospital in Trondheim during the period 1989-1992]. / Medisinske og rettslige aspekter av voldtekt. Henvendelser til voldtektsteamet ved Regionsykehuset i Trondheim i perioden 1989-92.

Since 1989 a special team of nurses and gynaecologist have taken care of rape victims at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital of Trondheim. Information on cases during the period 1989-92 was recorded retrospectively in a preformulated system. During this period, 141 persons were examined. In 23% of the cases the victim did not want to press charges. Most of the victims were young, 38% were below 20 years of age. A considerable proportion (40%) reported alcohol intake. 78% of the sexual assaults involved penile-vaginal contact. Severe physical violence, more severe assaults than physical restraint, were reported by 24%. Signs of non-genital injuries were documented in 35% of all the victims. 13% showed genital injury. Presence of sperm was documented in 16% of all the examinations. In 67 of the cases there was an identified assailant and a victim who had pressed charges. The conviction rate was 48%. Characteristics of the assault and findings at the examination were related to judicial outcome. Reporting of severe violence (OR (odds ratio) = 5.3), documented genital injuries (OR = 6.5) and the presence of sperms (OR = 5.6) were associated with conviction. These associations were statistically significant. Reported alcohol intake by the victim was negatively associated with conviction (OR = 0.3). Adjusted for lapse of time between the event and the examination and the victim's age, the only factor that still showed a statistically significant association with conviction was the report of severe violence.

The impact of child sexual abuse--a study of a random sample of Norwegian students.

The long-term impact of child sexual abuse (CSA) has most typically been concentrated on the psychological outcomes. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between CSA and self-reported complaints including both psychological and psychosomatic problems as well as absenteeism. A random sample of 510 female and 486 male students completed a questionnaire that included questions about CSA. The overall response rate was 75.3%. A symptom scale was constructed by asking the respondents to rate themselves on a three-category scale for 13 items concerning both psychological and somatic health problems. They were also asked to indicate how many days the problem had caused them to be absent from class or work during the year prior to the study. CSA was reported by 116 of the students (11.7%). CSA was associated with a broad range of health problems; including genital pain/infections and headache/abdominal/muscular pain as well as psychological disorders such as anxiety and suicidal ideations. A linear relationship was demonstrated between the severity of CSA and the symptom score, as well as between the severity of CSA and days absent from work. Postpubertal onset of abuse and close relationship with the offender were positively associated with the number of sick-leave days.

[Occurrence of sexual abuse among students in Trondheim]. / Forekomst av seksuelle overgrep blant studenter i Trondheim.

Few studies of the prevalence and incidence of sexual abuse have been conducted in the Nordic countries. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of accounts of sexual abuse and to calculate the incidence of rape and attempted rape among students. A questionnaire was handed out to a random sample of 1,322 students in Trondheim. The response rate was 77%. Among the 510 women, a total of 99 (19%) had experienced some kind of sexual abuse before 18 years of age. 23 (5%) had experienced at least one episode of very severe sexual abuse (attempted or completed coitus). The equivalent numbers among the 486 males were 17 (4%) and 3 (1%). Based on information on reported events during the year prior to the study, the yearly incidence of rape/attempted rape among women was 12 per 1,000. Only attempted rape was reported in the same time interval among men, giving a yearly incidence of two per 1,000. Applied to the total population of students in Trondheim, 87 female and 16 male students are exposed to rape/attempted rape every year.

Endometriosis in pregnant and non-pregnant women at tubal sterilization.

The prevalence of endometriosis was investigated in 208 women at the time of laparoscopic tubal sterilization. In 101 women who were in the first trimester of pregnancy, 16% endometriosis was found. In 107 non-pregnant women, 22% endometriosis was detected. Endometriosis in the pregnant women showed more superficial, non-pigmented, gland-like lesions than in the non-pregnant group. In 23% of the endometriotic lesions from pregnant women, no decidualization was found. No special risk factors for developing endometriosis were found.

PIP: Between 1986-1989, physicians compared endometriosis in 101 pregnant patients (12 weeks) and 107 nonpregnant patients at the University Hospital in Trondheim, Norway both of whom had undergone laparoscopic tubal sterilizations (bipolar coagulation) to determine prevalence of endometriosis in women undergoing sterilization. They also wanted to assess possible predisposing risk factors to endometriosis. The pregnant women underwent dilation and curettage concurrently with sterilization. Even though a higher percentage of the nonpregnant women (22%) had endometriosis than the pregnant women (16%), the difference was not significant. 1 pregnant case even had severe endometriosis. Significant histological differences between pregnant and nonpregnant women existed, however. Clear or red gland like peritoneal nonfibrotic, nonpigmented endometriotic lesions and no pockets characterized the endometriosis in 44% of the pregnant women indicating an early stage of endometriosis while such features occurred in just 4% of nonpregnant women (p.01). Further no decidual reaction was evident in 23% of the endometriotic lesions of pregnant women. 75% of nonpregnant women had brown, blue, or black pigmented lesions indicating an advanced stage of endometriosis while only 31% of pregnant women did (p.02). Nonpregnant women also were more likely to have fibrosis, yet the difference was not statistically significant. Even though women with endometriosis tended to have a retroverted uterus (31% vs. 14%) and the intervals of uninterrupted menstrual cycles were longer than those without endometriosis (106 vs. 87.8 months), the differences were insignificant. In conclusion, endometriosis is relatively common in women undergoing sterilization and in women in early pregnancy. The doctors did not find risk factors for endometriosis.