Feature Channels: Women's Health

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Post-menopausal women whose doctors prescribe hormone replacement therapy for severe hot flashes and other menopause symptoms may want to consider taking low doses of Food and Drug Administration-approved bioidentical forms of estrogen or getting their hormones via a transdermal patch. A new observational study shows bioidentical hormones in transdermal patches may be associated with a lower risk of heart attack and FDA-approved products -- not compounded hormones -- may be associated with a slightly lower risk of stroke compared to synthetic hormones in pill form.

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Medicaid paid for 45 percent of the 4 million births in the United States in 2010, an amount that has been rising over time, according to a report out today. The study, published in the September 2013 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Women’s Health Issues, offers the most comprehensive information to date on Medicaid financing of births in each of the 50 states and nationally.

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While irregular periods are common among teenage girls, an underlying hormonal disorder may be to blame if this problem persists. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder that is characterized by an excess of androgens or male hormones in the body. The imbalance of hormones interferes with the growth and release of eggs from the ovaries, which can prevent ovulation and menstruation.

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New research shows that pregnant women who smoke as well as having asthma are greatly increasing the risk of complications for themselves and their unborn children.

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Asthma is a disease that mostly affects young boys and adult women. And according to a new study, women in their 40s and 50s with asthma are hospitalized more than twice as often as men in the same age group. The 10-year study is published in the September issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

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A study by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) reveals that women over age 60 may need to exercise only one day a week to significantly improve strength and endurance.

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Interval training is a well-known way to get the maximum benefits of exercise in the shortest amount of time. New research shows that when it comes to running, women may get more out of high intensity interval training (HIIT) than their male counterparts.

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The risk of women developing kidney stones is rising, as is the number of cases being seen in U.S. emergency departments, while the rate of hospitalization for the disorder has remained stable. Those are among the findings of a new study led by Henry Ford Hospital researchers that set out to look at trends in visits, hospitalization and charges during a four-year period for patients who went to U.S. hospital emergency departments for treatment of kidney stones.

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It may not be enough for women to spend just 30 minutes a day on a treadmill or elliptical if they want to manage their weight during pregnancy. A new Iowa State University study found staying active throughout the day is more beneficial.

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Despite taking a tailored risk assessment tool that factors in family history and personal habits, nearly 20 percent of women did not believe their breast cancer risk, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

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Women with a history of childhood physical abuse are more likely to become obese adults, according to a new study by University of Toronto researchers. Results indicate that women who were physically abused in childhood were more likely to be obese than women from non-abusive homes

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Morning sickness, shiny hair, and bizarre and intense cravings for pickles and ice cream — what expectations do pregnant women impose on their bodies, and how are those expectations influenced by cultural perspectives on pregnancy?

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An influential group of women U.S. senators are urging the National Institutes of Health to continue current funding levels for the pioneering Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the largest study of middle-aged and older women in the nation.

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Pregnant women regularly consume food and beverages containing toxins believed to pose potential risks to developing fetuses, according to researchers at the University of California in Riverside and San Diego, suggesting that health care providers must do more to counsel their patients about the dangers of hidden toxins in the food supply.

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Health care providers are missing opportunities to improve teens’ vaccination coverage, reports a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

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Johns Hopkins Nursing researchers focus on the discrimination-depression link, herpes tests for teens, the baby-mom bond, violence against women across the globe, and more in the July-August 2013 research news briefs.

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A new study published in the July/August 2013 issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior evaluated the motivational effects of Project WebHealth, a web-based health promotion intervention developed to prevent excessive weight gain in college students. Researchers found that specific procedures and components of Project WebHealth successfully motivated students to improve their weight-related health behaviors and that the level of motivation differed by gender.

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In women who use donor eggs to become pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF), those who are obese are just as likely to become pregnant as normal weight women, according to a new report.

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Breast reduction surgery produces measurable improvements in several important areas of health and quality of life, reports a study in the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

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Mayo Clinic’s free app, Mayo Clinic on Pregnancy, is now available on the App Store for iPhone and iPod touch users. Developed by Mayo Clinic, the app leverages the medical and lifestyle expertise of a team of Mayo's pregnancy experts in obstetrics and gynecology, genetics, nutrition, midwifery and lactation.

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Homeless young women may be at greater risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than homeless young men because of the structure of their social groups and friendships, according to new research from UC San Francisco. The findings underscore how the social networks of homeless youth can be highly influential, affecting their participation in risky and protective behaviors.

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Women who were victims of childhood physical abuse are more likely to develop thyroid conditions than women who were not maltreated during childhood, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of Hawaii. The study appears online in this week’s Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma.

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Why women tend to accumulate fat in the stereotypical “pear” shape, with more fat in the buttocks and thighs (a shape that’s thought to be healthier than men’s stereotypical “apple” shape, with more fat around the belly), is still unclear. A new study gathers clues to help understand the role of estrogen’s effects on fat.

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A new study from neuroscientists at the Wayne State University School of Medicine provides the first novel insights into the neural origins of hot flashes in menopausal women in years. The study may inform and eventually lead to new treatments for those who experience the sudden but temporary episodes of body warmth, flushing and sweating.

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The rates of regional brain loss and cognitive decline caused by aging and the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are higher for women and for people with a key genetic risk factor for AD, say researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in a study published online July 4 in the American Journal of Neuroradiology.

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Data detail birth outcomes in difficult-to-treat population.

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In women who have type 2 diabetes and show signs of depression, vitamin D supplements significantly lowered blood pressure and improved their moods. Vitamin D even helped the women lose a few pounds.

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Postmenopausal hormone therapy with conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs) was not associated with overall sustained benefit or risk to cognitive function when given to women ages 50 to 55 years, according to a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

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Postmenopausal women had better improvement in verbal learning and memory after receiving treatment with testosterone gel, compared with women who received sham treatment with a placebo, a new study found. Results were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Consuming 10 milligrams (mg) daily of S-equol delivered via a new fermented soy-based nutritional supplement alleviated menopausal symptoms, particularly the frequency of hot flashes and severity of neck or shoulder muscle stiffness, without impacting thyroid and certain sex hormone levels, according to clinical data presented at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society, (ENDO) 2013.

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High doses of testosterone significantly improve sexual function among women who have had their uterus and ovaries surgically removed, a clinical study demonstrates. The results were presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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SAN FRANCISCO—Overweight women who skip breakfast experience acute, or rapid-onset, insulin resistance, a condition that, when chronic, is a risk factor for diabetes, a new study finds. The results, which were presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, suggest that regularly skipping breakfast over time may lead to chronic insulin resistance and thus could increase an individual's risk for type 2 diabetes.

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Memory improves in older, overweight women after they lose weight by dieting, and their brain activity actually changes in the regions of the brain that are important for memory tasks, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Research from the University of Adelaide shows middle-aged women are more likely to suffer depression from a common medical problem that they find too embarrassing to talk about: urinary incontinence.

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After laboring under other theories that never seemed to add up, McMaster University researchers have concluded that menopause is an unintended outcome of natural selection, generated by men's historical preference for younger mates.

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Women with a severe form of morning sickness who take antihistamines to help them sleep through their debilitating nausea are significantly more likely to experience adverse pregnancy outcomes, including low birth weight babies and premature births, a UCLA study has found.

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A new study from Columbia University School of Nursing supports a growing body of evidence that women are less likely to contract bloodstream or surgical site infections than their male counterparts.

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Less-educated white women were increasingly more likely to die than their better-educated peers from the mid-1990s through the mid-2000s, according to a new study, which found that growing disparities in economic circumstances and health behaviors—particularly employment status and smoking habits—across education levels accounted for an important part of the widening mortality gap.

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Levels of a biomarker in a pregnant woman’s blood can help physicians gauge her risk of developing gestational diabetes during the first trimester, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

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Pregnant women who have thyroid disorders face greater risk of preterm birth and other complications that have short- and long-term consequences for the health of mother and child, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

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Cervical cancer kills an estimated 275,000 women each year, and most of these deaths could be prevented with prophylactic HPV vaccination, routine cervical cancer screening and continuity to treatment. At the Women Deliver Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, delegates and experts from around the world announced a global call to action to combat this preventable disease through collaboration with and information sharing by the world’s governments and health agencies on May 27, 2013.

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Calcium-rich diet and supplements provide similar benefits.

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Taking a calcium supplement of up to 1,000 mg per day can help women live longer, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

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Nearly three out of four pregnant women experience constipation, diarrhea or other bowel disorders during their pregnancies, a Loyola University Medical Center study has found.

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According to findings from an early preclinical study led by Brett Mitchell, PhD, an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) at Texas A&M University College of Medicine, there is evidence that administrating placenta-derived cells may help reverse the symptoms associated with preeclampsia in a matter of days after dosing with no harmful effects to mother or baby.

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Like the general public, health care professionals may hold certain stereotypes regarding sexual activity and childbearing among women with disabilities. But a new study finds that women with chronic physical disabilities are about as likely as nondisabled women to say they are currently pregnant, after age and other sociodemographic factors are taken into account. The findings are reported in the June issue of Medical Care, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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