The majority of individuals are at some point during their life course exposed to trauma or severe adversities. Women are frequently, and often early on in their lives, subjected to violence; indeed, the World Health Organization estimate suggest that one in every three women are globally subjected to sexual or physical violence. Accumulating evidence suggest that such trauma may affect psychological but also physical health. Yet, large undertakings are needed to significantly advance our understanding of the complex association between trauma exposure and long-term morbidities.
With population-based health registers and genetic resources, Iceland has unique prerequisites for contributing significantly to the knowledgebase in this important area.
With this rationale and funding from the European Research Council and the Icelandic Research Fund, the University of Iceland in collaboration with deCODE Genetics, The Icelandic SAGA (Stress-And-Gene-Analysis) Cohort was established.