Gender: Female
Estrogen therapy may increase the risk of venous thrombosis
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Estrogen therapy may increase the risk of venous thrombosis, the formation of blood clots in the veins, among postmenopausal women who have had their uterus removed, according to a study in the April 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Venous thromboembolism (VT), which includes the conditions deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot in a deep vein) and pulmonary embolism (a blood clot that travels to the lungs), affects about one adult per 1,000 years of life, according to background information in the article. Researchers suspect that hormone therapy may increase a woman’s risk of developing VT. The largest study analyzing the relationship between hormone therapy and VT is the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), which included two large clinical trials. One WHI trial examined the effects of estrogen plus progestin and found that this combination of hormones appeared to increase the risk of VT.
Removal of a woman’s ovaries raises risk of dementia
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Mayo Clinic researchers have found that ovariectomy, surgical removal of a woman’s ovaries, raises her risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment. Risk is especially increased if a woman has her ovaries removed at a young age.
The researchers studied 1,209 women who had surgical removal of both ovaries and 1,302 women who had only one removed from 1950 to 1987 in Olmsted County, Minn., home of Mayo Clinic. They compared each of the women who had undergone ovary removal with women who had no ovaries removed and followed them over time to see whether they developed dementia or cognitive impairment. Dementia or cognitive impairment was determined by interviewing a family member who reported a diagnosis of dementia, or by a low score on a telephone cognitive test given to the affected individual.
Women Now Live Longer than Men, Even in the Poorest Countries
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2006 is likely to be the first year in human history when - across almost all the world - women can expect to outlive men, say researchers in this week’s BMJ.
The trend towards this remarkable achievement will probably be confirmed this week in the 2006 world health report.
“We tend to forget that in many countries of the world women could expect, until recently, to live fewer years than men and that maternal death in particular remains a big killer,” write Danny Dorling and colleagues. In Europe, men last outlived women in the Netherlands in 1860 and in Italy in 1889. Elsewhere females’ life expectancy has long exceeded males’: in Sweden since 1751, Denmark since 1835, England and Wales since 1841.
Compare Major Complications for Surgery vs. UFE For Uterine Fibroids
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Canadian research of 377 women shows that surgical treatments for symptomatic uterine fibroids, such as hysterectomy and myomectomy, have a higher rate of major complications, infection and pulmonary embolism compared to non-surgical uterine fibroid embolization. In the surgical group, there were 20 (6.3%) cases of major complications ranging from death to bowel injury and anemia. In the UFE group, there were no complications. There were three cases of pulmonary embolism in the surgical group, with none in the UFE group. In the surgical group, there were 27 cases of infection (10.5%) compared to none with UFE. The findings were presented today at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 31st Annual Scientific Meeting.
Of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed annually in the United States and of the 50,000 performed annually in Canada, one-third of these are due to fibroids - non-cancerous tumors in the uterus that may cause heavy, prolonged menstrual periods, pelvic pain, urinary frequency, constipation, and painful intercourse.
In the study, surgical treatments were compared to uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), also known as uterine artery embolization. UFE is performed by an interventional radiologist and does not require general anesthesia. The interventional radiologist makes a tiny nick in the skin in the groin and inserts a catheter into the femoral artery. Using real-time imaging, the physician guides the catheter through the artery and then releases tiny particles, the size of grains of sand, into the uterine arteries that supply blood to the fibroid. This blocks the blood flow to the tumor causing it to shrink and die.
Uniting Africans to Save Women’s Lives from Postpartum Hemorrhage
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The maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Africa is at crisis level. African women of reproductive age have the highest death risk from maternal causes in the world, with an average of 830 deaths per 100,000 live births. As it currently stands, the United Nations Millennium Development Goal to reduce maternal mortality in Africa by 75 percent by 2015 is a far-reaching target. One proven effort to close the gap is to aggressively address one of the least-discussed but largest contributors to the high MMR. Severe bleeding after childbirth, also known as postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), is the most fatal complication, accounting for at least one-quarter of maternal deaths worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, PPH occurs in 10-15 women out of 100 giving birth in developing countries, and severe PPH that can lead to death occurs in two out of 100 women. In Africa, PPH contributes to an even higher proportion of maternal mortality. In a region where half of the women deliver without skilled providers, when PPH occurs, a great number of these women die, oftentimes leading to the death or neglect of their newborns as well.
“Maternal mortality is closely related to the accessibility of quality health care. There is an urgent need to address the overwhelming number of deaths due to PPH because most cases are preventable. We can save these women with simple PPH prevention and treatment techniques. Whether the woman gives birth in a facility with a skilled provider present or at home with a family member, we have proven methods to share in Africa that cover the range of birthing situations,” comments Dr. Koki Agarwal, Program Director, Access to Clinical and Community Maternal, Neonatal and Women’s Health Services (ACCESS).
Study finds gene variant is no strong risk factor for osteoporosis
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Variations in a number of different genes and environmental factors affect an individual’s risk for osteoporosis. Several gene variants have been linked to osteoporosis, but few have stood the test of time.
The GENOMOS study, a large European collaboration led by Andre Uitterlinden (Erasmus University Medical Center), John Ioannidis (University of Ioannina), and Stuart Ralston (University of Edinburgh), now shows that a top candidate gene plays a role in osteoporosis, but with effects that are less marked than those described in previous studies.
The so-called Sp1 polymorphism in the COL1A1 gene is a plausible candidate: the gene contains the genetic information to make type 1 collagen, a major component of bone, and preclinical studies suggested that one of the two variants (the T version) led to weaker bones. Earlier genetic studies had found an association between the T variant and low bone mineral density (BMD) and fractures, prompting some scientists to suggest that genetic testing of people for this variant could help in assessing fracture risk. The GENOMOS study was done to evaluate how good the COL1A1 genetic test was at predicting fractures and to determine if it was associated with osteoporosis.
Mother’s stress linked to early miscarriage
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Pregnant women who experience stress in the first few weeks of pregnancy appear to have an increased risk of miscarriage, according to findings from a small study of women in Guatemala.
Maternal stress is often considered a risk factor for miscarriage, yet data supporting this association are lacking, lead author Dr. Pablo A. Nepomnaschy, from the National Institutes of Health in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and colleagues note.
Previous studies looking at this topic may have failed to identify a link because they focused on women at least 6 weeks after their last menstrual period. By contrast, most miscarriages occur earlier in pregnancy, usually within three weeks of conception.
FDA: More study needed on birth control patch risk
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Early findings suggest Johnson & Johnson’s contraceptive patch may cause more blood clots than birth control pills but more research is needed, U.S. health officials said on Friday.
One study showed women who used the patch, Ortho Evra, were twice as likely to develop blood clots than others who took the pill. A second study, however, found the risk was about the same with either method.
“We should caution that these results are preliminary and further evaluation is necessary to understand what these results mean,” said Dr. Daniel Shames, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s division of reproductive and urologic drug products.
Some women need more than calcium for bone health
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Calcium and vitamin D may help maintain bone health in healthy postmenopausal women under 65, a large new study shows. But the supplements probably aren’t enough by themselves to prevent falls and fractures in women who have osteoporosis, or face a heightened risk of the bone-thinning disease, the researchers agree.
“This is the foundation for helping to ensure bone health,” Dr. Rebecca D. Jackson of Ohio State University in Columbus, the study’s lead author, told Reuters Health.
Older Women at Highest Risk for Hip Fractures, Least Likely to Get Screening
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A new study by Medical College of Wisconsin researchers has found that women who most need bone density testing to determine if they have osteoporosis are the least likely to get it. They are older women who are among the highest risk groups and who suffer most if they break a bone. The study is published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society.
“Over half of hip fracture patients never regain their prior level of functioning and 20 percent of them require nursing home care,” according to Joan M. Neuner, M.D., M.P.H., lead author and assistant professor of medicine at the Medical College. Dr. Neuner is on the staff at Froedtert Hospital. “Women are very interested in preventing bone fractures. In an earlier study, 80 percent of women said they would “rather die” than enter a nursing home with a hip fracture.”
Hormone aids conception in women with endometriosis
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For women with endometriosis who undergo assisted fertilization procedures, treatment with a hormone that decreases the body’s production of testosterone and estrogen a few months before the procedure quadruples the chance of successful pregnancy, according to a review of randomized trials—but data on side effects is lacking.
Endometriosis is a painful condition that occurs when the tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus, often in pelvic and abdominal areas were it is not supposed to grow. Endometriosis is a leading cause of infertility—up to 40 percent of women with this condition are unable to conceive.
Contraceptive pills do not lead to major weight gain
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Many women and clinicians worry that taking combination hormonal contraceptives will result in weight gain.
This anxiety deters some women from using this highly effective form of contraception. A systematic review of available data could however find no evidence of this effect. The results of this research are published in the latest update of The Cochrane Library.
Anxious dads should prepare for caesarean -study
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The reactions of fathers at a caesarean birth can affect the levels of fear, anxiety and pain their wives or partners experience, researchers said on Wednesday.
If men are more aware of what to expect before the operation, it could improve the experience for both the mother and father, the researchers suggest.
Mother loses test case on under-16 abortions
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Girls under the age of 16 can have an abortion without their parents’ consent, the High Court ruled on Monday after a test case by a mother of two teenagers.
Susan Axon, 52, from Manchester, went to court in November to contest a law that allows girls under 16 to receive advice on abortion and sexual health in confidence.
Women’s Silent Health Problem: Study Finds Fecal Incontinence Prevalent
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It’s a topic that is discussed so infrequently – for reasons that are easy to understand – that it may seem it isn’t much of a problem. But new research shows that fecal incontinence is prevalent among U.S. women, especially those in older age groups, those who have had numerous babies, women whose deliveries were assisted by forceps or vacuum devices, and those who have had a hysterectomy.
Many women in the study who had fecal incontinence also had another medical condition, such as major depression or diabetes, and often experienced urinary incontinence in addition to FI. The findings are reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
