Sometimes what doesn’t kill you can make you weaker. U.S. researchers have found that higher lifetime rates of violence have an effect on the health status of older, African-American women, according to study results reported in the United Press International. The study, published in the Journal of Women’s Health, found significant differences reflecting poorer health for women who had high levels of family violence compared to those who had low levels or no history of abuse. Unemployment was also found to be strongly associated with worse health status. One of the study’s lead authors warns clinicians caring for older African-American women to be cognizant of the role both current and prior violence exposure may play in their patients’ current health status.—BB