[Health status and intimate partner violence]

To describe the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Spain in the last year and at some point during the lifetime, to determine health status in women according to whether they had experienced IPV or not, and to analyze the individual variables associated with IPV in Spain.

A cross-sectional study was performed of the database, Macrosurvey on Gender Violence in Spain 2011. This database includes data on 7,898 women older than 18 years old. The dependent variables were IPV-last year, IPV-ever in life. Covariates consisted of sociodemographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, maternal experience of IPV, social support, and self-care. The measure of association used was the OR with its 95% confidence interval (95% CI).

A total of 3.6% of women had experienced IPV-last year and 12.2% ever in life. Female victims of IPV had poorer health than women who had not experienced IPV. Immigrant women living in Spain for 6 years or more were more likely to experience IPV-ever in life than Spanish women [OR (95% CI): 1.95 (1.50, 2.53)]. An interaction was found between nationality and the existence of children under 18 years old. Among women with children under 18 years old, immigrant women were more likely to experience IPV-last year than Spanish women [OR (95% CI): 1.99 (1.25, 3.17)]. Other variables associated with IPV were age, low socioeconomic status, low social support and having a mother who had experienced IPV.

In Spain, some women have a higher probability of experiencing IPV. The variables associated with greater vulnerability to IPV should be taken into account when implementing measures to prevent or alleviate IPV.