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ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to: (1) document violent and controlling behaviours within intimate partnerships during the perinatal period; and (2) determine individual, interpersonal and household-level factors influencing the risk of perinatal intimate partner violence (IPV).DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingThe Ottawa Hospital, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ParticipantsPatients who gave birth at The Ottawa Hospital and were >20 days post partum between 17 March and 16 June 2020.Main outcomes and measuresPerinatal IPV was defined as regular controlling behaviours or act-based forms of emotional/physical/sexual abuse in the 12 months before pregnancy, during pregnancy and/or post partum. Log-binomial multivariable regression models were used to compute adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) and 95% CIs to identify potential risk factors for IPV: maternal age, postpartum depression, parity, increase in partner substance use and household income.ResultsAmong 216 participants, the median maternal age was 33 years (IQR: 30–36). In total, 52 (24.07%) reported some form of perinatal IPV, 37 (17.13%) reported regular controlling behaviour and 9 (4.17%) reported both. Household income below the municipal median was the strongest risk factor for perinatal IPV (aRR: 3.24, 95% CI: 1.87 to 5.59). There was no apparent association between maternal age (aRR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.94 to 1.04), postpartum depression (aRR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.07), nulliparity (aRR: 1.18, 95% CI: 0.71 to 1.97) or increases in partner substance use (aRR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.42 to 1.25) with IPV.ConclusionOne in four individuals in this study experienced perinatal IPV. Household income was the strongest risk factor, and surprisingly, many hypothesised risk factors (eg, mental health, partner substance use, etc) were not significantly associated with perinatal IPV in this sample. This highlights the challenges in both measuring IPV and identifying individuals exposed to perinatal IPV during the high stress of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While numerous transgenic mouse strains have been produced to model the formation of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques in the brain, efficient methods for whole-brain 3D analysis of Aβ deposits are lacking. Moreover, standard immunohistochemistry performed on brain slices precludes any shape analysis of Aβ plaques. The present study shows how in-line (propagation-based) X-ray phase-contrast tomography (XPCT) combined with ethanol-induced brain sample dehydration enables hippocampus-wide detection and morphometric analysis of Aβ plaques. Performed in three distinct Alzheimer mouse strains, the proposed workflow identified differences in signal intensity and 3D shape parameters: 3xTg displayed a different type of Aβ plaques, with a larger volume and area, greater elongation, flatness and mean breadth, and more intense average signal than J20 and APP/PS1. As a label-free non-destructive technique, XPCT can be combined with standard immunohistochemistry. XPCT virtual histology could thus become instrumental in quantifying the 3D spreading and the morphological impact of seeding when studying prion-like properties of Aβ aggregates in animal models of Alzheimer's disease. This is Part II of a series of two articles reporting the value of in-line XPCT for virtual histology of the brain; Part I shows how in-line XPCT enables 3D myelin mapping in the whole rodent brain and in human autopsy brain tissue.