BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Partner abuse affects as many as 44 percent of women during the course of their adult life.

In a recent study conducted at Ohio State University, researchers looked at health problems in abused women. They found that these women suffer from more than the immediate physical injuries of abuse. They are more likely to be diagnosed with a variety of health problems, from acid reflux, back pain, headaches and menstrual disorders.

Researchers compared the medical records of abused women and non-abused women within the same health care program.

They found that more than half of the health problems they looked at were more common among abused women. Abused women were six times as likely to be diagnosed with substance abuse, more than three times as likely to be clinically depressed, and three times as likely to have a sexually transmitted disease.

As women are not likely to bring up partner abuse with their doctors, researchers recommended the use of "targeted screening" for female patients who come in with complaints of depression, substance abuse, or cuts and bruises.