ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2022
Sexual violence history predicts changes in vaginal immune parameters during sexual arousal.
Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sexual Violence, Genital Cytokines, and Colposcopy Findings: A Cross-Sectional Study of Women Engaged in Sex Work in Mombasa, Kenya.Sexually transmitted diseases · 2025Article
- Inflammation as a Potential Mechanism Contributing to Sexual Functioning Following Initiation of Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy.Current sexual health reports · 2024Article
- Prevalence and correlates of intimate partner sexual violence among pregnant women in Napak district, Northeastern Uganda.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Sexual arousal after abuse: (Mal)adaptations of the local immune response.Brain, behavior, and immunity · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine the influence of sexual arousal on vaginal mucosal inflammatory cytokine and antibody production in healthy women with and without histories of childhood and/or adult sexual violence.
methodsNinety-one premenopausal healthy women (ages 18-42) attended a single laboratory session in which they provided vaginal fluid samples before and after viewing one neutral and one erotic film. While viewing the films, participants' vaginal sexual arousal was recorded using vaginal photoplethysmography.
resultsOf the 91 participants, 41 (45%) reported no history of sexual violence, 17 (19%) reported a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) only, 19 (21%) reported a history of adult sexual assault (ASA) only, and 10 (11%) reported a history of both CSA and ASA, with 4 participants choosing not to provide information on their sexual violence history. For women with a history of ASA but not CSA, there was a significant increase in vaginal IL-1β following arousal, while for women with a history of CSA (with or without ASA), there was a significant decrease. Women without CSA histories had a significant increase in vaginal IgA following sexual arousal, while women with CSA histories had a decrease.
conclusionSexual arousal possibly plays a role in modifying vaginal immune responses in young, healthy women. Moreover, these effects may vary depending upon sexual assault histories, such that relative to women without assault histories, women with a history of early life sexual trauma showed significantly altered vaginal immune responses following sexual arousal. If replicated, these findings may help explain the increased risk for sexually transmitted infections observed among women with sexual assault histories.
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