Disparities in potential years of life lost due to intimate partner violence: Data from 16 states for 2006–2015

Abstract

Background Intimate partner violence can lead to deaths of one or both partners and others (i.e., corollary victims). Prior studies do not enumerate the societal cost of intimate partner violence-related fatalities, exclude corollary victims from most analyses, and do not describe groups who bear the highest societal costs from intimate partner violence. Objective We examine racial/ethnic and gender-based disparities in potential years of life lost (PYLL) among intimate partners and corollary victims of intimate partner violence-related mortality. Methods We used 16 US states’ 2006–2015 National Violent Death Reporting System data to estimate PYLL among intimate partners (n = 6,282) and corollary victims (n = 1,634) by victims’ race/ethnicity and sex. We describe fatalities by sex, race/ethnicity, age, and victim-suspect relationships and used hierarchical linear models to examine PYLL per death differences by victims’ sex and race/ethnicity. Results Nearly 290,000 years of potential life were lost by partner and corollary victims as a result of IPV in 16 states during the decade of study. Most partner victims were female (59%); most corollary victims were male (76%). Female intimate partners died 5.1 years earlier (95% CI: 4.4., 5.9) than males, and female corollary victims died 3.6 years (1.9, 5.5) earlier than males. Racial/ethnic minorities died nine or more years earlier than their White counterparts. White males had the lowest PYLL per death of all sex/race groups. Implications Intimate partner violence-related fatalities exact a high societal cost, and the burden of that cost is disproportionately high among racial/ethnic minorities. Future interventions targeting specific sex and race/ethnic groups might help reduce disparities in intimate partner violence burden.