Journal Articles about Women's Health
A Select list of recent articles on women’s health prepred by the staff of The North Coast Area Health Service Libraries.
(Contact your local library to obtain the full articles).
1.
Authors Smith GC. Wood AM. Pell JP. Dobbie R.
Title: Sudden infant death syndrome and complications in other pregnancies.
Source Lancet. 366(9503):2107-11, 2005 Dec 17.
Summary BACKGROUND: The likelihood of recurrence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is an issue of biological, clinical, and legal interest. Obstetric complications are associated with an increased risk of SIDS and are likely to recur in subsequent pregnancies. We postulated that women whose infants died from SIDS would be more likely to have had obstetric complications in their other pregnancies. METHODS: We linked national UK databases of maternity-hospital discharges, perinatal deaths, and death certifications. We studied 258 096 women who had consecutive births in Scotland between 1985 and 2001. FINDINGS: Women who had an infant who died from SIDS were at increased risk in their next pregnancy of delivering an infant small for gestational age (odds ratio 2.27, 95% CI 1.54-3.34, p<0.0001) and of preterm birth (2.53, 1.82-3.53, p<0.0001). The risk of SIDS was higher for the children of women whose previous infant had been small for gestational age (1.87, 1.19-2.94, p=0.007) or preterm (1.93, 1.24-3.00, p=0.004). Multivariate analysis showed that all associations were explained by common maternal risk factors for SIDS and obstetric complications and by the likelihood of recurrence of fetal growth restriction and preterm birth. INTERPRETATION: Women whose infants die from SIDS are more likely to have complications in their other pregnancies. Recurrence of pregnancy complications predisposing to SIDS could partly explain why some women have recurrent SIDS.
2.
Authors Barlow DH.
Title Menopause and HRT--the state of the art in Europe. [Review]
Source Maturitas. 51(1):40-7, 2005 May 16.
Summary The HRT field has been dramatically affected by the publication on major randomised controlled trials of the long-term effects of HRT. The publicity surrounding the publication of these data has affected public and regulatory perceptions of HRT and its role in healthcare, including the relatively short-term use of HRT for the relief of menopausal symptoms. An evidence-based appraisal of the role of HRT today is best achieved by considering the different components of the effects of HRT individually, based on the best trial evidence, and then considering these together in the context of the age of woman concerned and the specific components relevant to that woman's health profile. This paper summarises the effects of HRT using this approach in the context of European practice today and describes the events surrounding the regulatory and scientific society position statements.
ISSN 0378-5122
3.
Authors Bodnar LM. Wisner KL.
Title Nutrition and depression: implications for improving mental health among childbearing-aged women. [Review] [99 refs]
Source Biological Psychiatry. 58(9):679-85, 2005 Nov 1.
Summary Adequate nutrition is needed for countless aspects of brain functioning. Poor diet quality, ubiquitous in the United States, may be a modifiable risk factor for depression. The objective was to review and synthesize the current knowledge of the role of nutrition in depression, and address implications for childbearing-aged women. Poor omega-3 fatty acid status increases the risk of depression. Fish oil and folic acid supplements each have been used to treat depression successfully. Folate deficiency reduces the response to antidepressants. Deficiencies of folate, vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and selenium tend to be more common among depressed than nondepressed persons. Dietary antioxidants have not been studied rigorously in relation to depression. Childbearing-aged women are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of poor nutrition on mood because pregnancy and lactation are major nutritional stressors to the body. The depletion of nutrient reserves throughout pregnancy and a lack of recovery postpartum may increase a woman's risk of depression. Prospective research studies are needed to clarify the role of nutrition in the pathophysiology of depression among childbearing-aged women. Greater attention to nutritional factors in mental health is warranted given that nutrition interventions can be inexpensive, safe, easy to administer, and generally acceptable to patients.
ISSN 0006-3223
4.
Author Barton MB.
Title Breast cancer screening. Benefits, risks, and current controversies. [Review] [18 refs]
Source Postgraduate Medicine. 118(2):27-8, 33-6, 46, 2005 Aug.
Summary Mammography is the best tool available for screening for breast cancer. Although the data supporting clinical breast examination are not as strong, this procedure continues to be widely used in the United States. To maximize accuracy of results, women who undergo screening during their premenopausal years should attempt to schedule mammography during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. All women should be educated about the benefits and the harms of screening, including the risk of being called back for further testing.
ISSN 0032-5481
5.
Authors Farquhar CM.
Title Ectopic pregnancy. [Review]
Source Lancet. 366(9485):583-91, 2005 Aug 13-19.
Summary Ectopic pregnancy is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Use of transvaginal ultrasonography and quantitative measurement of the beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG) has led to a reduction in the need for diagnostic laparoscopy. Furthermore, with earlier diagnosis, medical therapy with methotrexate can be offered and surgery avoided in some women, though the best regimen remains unclear. In the surgical management of ectopic pregnancy, the benefits of salpingectomy over salpingostomy are uncertain. Although there have been advances in the management of ectopic pregnancy there are still questions to be answered.
6.
Author Thomas SP.
Title Women's anger, aggression, and violence. [Review]
Source Health Care for Women International. 26(6):504-22, 2005
Summary Themes of powerlessness, power, and paradox predominate in this reflection on more than 15 years of research on women's anger. Studies conducted in the United States, France, and Turkey are highlighted. These studies have negated several myths while illuminating the general rationality of women's anger: It is squarely grounded in interpersonal interactions in which people deny women power or resources, treat them unjustly, or behave irresponsibly toward them. The offenders are not strangers; rather they are their closest intimates. But few women learned healthy anger expression while growing up. Anger is a confusing and distressing emotion for women, intermingled with hurt and pain. Its complexity requires greater attention by researchers, with regard to health-promoting interventions and to cultural differences, because anger in non-Western cultures has seldom been explored.
ISSN 0739-9332
7.
Authors Johnson KC. Daviss BA.
Title Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large prospective study in North America.
Source BMJ. 330(7505):1416, 2005 Jun 18.
Summary OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety of home births in North America involving direct entry midwives, in jurisdictions where the practice is not well integrated into the healthcare system. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: All home births involving certified professional midwives across the United States (98% of cohort) and Canada, 2000. PARTICIPANTS: All 5418 women expecting to deliver in 2000 supported by midwives with a common certification and who planned to deliver at home when labour began. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intrapartum and neonatal mortality, perinatal transfer to hospital care, medical intervention during labour, breast feeding, and maternal satisfaction. RESULTS: 655 (12.1%) women who intended to deliver at home when labour began were transferred to hospital. Medical intervention rates included epidural (4.7%), episiotomy (2.1%), forceps (1.0%), vacuum extraction (0.6%), and caesarean section (3.7%); these rates were substantially lower than for low risk US women having hospital births. The intrapartum and neonatal mortality among women considered at low risk at start of labour, excluding deaths concerning life threatening congenital anomalies, was 1.7 deaths per 1000 planned home births, similar to risks in other studies of low risk home and hospital births in North America. No mothers died. No discrepancies were found for perinatal outcomes independently validated. CONCLUSIONS: Planned home birth for low risk women in North America using certified professional midwives was associated with lower rates of medical intervention but similar intrapartum and neonatal mortality to that of low risk hospital births in the United States.
8.
Authors Lowe MR. Levine AS.
Title Eating motives and the controversy over dieting: eating less than needed versus less than wanted. [Review]
Source Obesity Research. 13(5):797-806, 2005 May.
Summary Anti-dieting sentiment has grown in recent years. Critics of restrained eating suggest that it evokes counter-regulatory responses that render it ineffective or even iatrogenic. However, restrained eaters are not in negative energy balance and overweight individuals show reduced eating problems when losing weight by dieting. A distinction is often drawn between physiological and psychological hunger, and neuroscience research has shown that there is a neurophysiological reality underlying this distinction. The brain has a homeostatic system (activated by energy deficits) and a hedonic system (activated by the presence of palatable food). The omnipresence of highly palatable food in the environment may chronically activate the hedonic appetite system, producing a need to actively restrain eating not just to lose weight but to avoid gaining it. Just as restricting energy intake below homeostatic needs produces physiological deprivation, restricting intake of palatable foods may produce "perceived deprivation" despite a state of energy balance. In summary, the motivation to eat more than one needs appears to be every bit as real, and perhaps every bit as powerful, as the motivation to eat when energy deprived.
ISSN 1071-7323
9.
Author Patel JD.
Title Lung cancer in women. [Review]
Source Journal of Clinical Oncology. 23(14):3212-8, 2005 May 10.
Summary Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and is responsible for 20,000 more deaths yearly in US women than breast cancer. Cigarette smoking is the major cause of lung cancer, and unfortunately, approximately 22 million US women smoke. Mounting evidence suggests that there are significant differences in lung cancer between the sexes. There is a difference in the histologic distribution of lung cancer, with glandular differentiation being more common in women. Genetic variation may account for differences in susceptibility, and hormonal and biologic factors may play a role in carcinogenesis. Lung cancer patients have few therapeutic options. A more thorough understanding of the heterogeneity of lung cancer across populations may lead to innovations in treatment and prevention strategies.
ISSN 0732-183X
10.
Authors Noble RE.
Title Depression in women. [Review]
Source Metabolism: Clinical & Experimental. 54(5 Suppl 1):49-52, 2005 May.
Summary Depression is the leading cause of disease-related disability in women. Epidemiological studies have shown that the lifetime prevalence of a major depressive disorder in women (21.3%) is almost twice that in men (12.7%). This ratio has been documented in different countries and ethnic groups. Sex differences relating to depression vary with age, with male and female children showing similar incidence rates. National comorbidity data reveal that sex differences in prevalence first appear around the age of 10 years and persist until midlife, after which they disappear. Therefore, women have the greatest risk for developing depressive disorders during their child-bearing years. Several biological processes are thought to be involved in the predisposition of women to depression, including genetically determined vulnerability, hormonal fluctuations related to various aspects of reproductive function, and an undue sensitivity to such hormonal fluctuations in brain systems that mediate depressive states. Psychosocial events such as role-stress, victimization, sex-specific socialization, internalization coping style, and disadvantaged social status have all been considered to be contributors to the increased vulnerability of women to depression. Women are more susceptible than men to stress-induced depression and to changes in photoperiod (more than 80% of individuals with seasonal affective disorder are women). Depression in women may develop during different phases of the reproductive cycle (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, depression during pregnancy, postpartum depressive conditions, and menopausal depression). Other reproductive events such as infertility, miscarriage, oral contraceptives, and hormone replacement treatment have been reported to cause depression in women.
ISSN 0026-0495
11.
Authors Bulik CM. Reba L. Siega-Riz AM. Reichborn-Kjennerud T.
Title Anorexia nervosa: definition, epidemiology, and cycle of risk. [Review]
Source International Journal of Eating Disorders. 37 Suppl:S2-9; discussion S20-1, 2005.
Summary Anorexia nervosa is a debilitating psychiatric disorder with profound biological, psychological, and social consequences. After an initial evaluation of the most widely used diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa, this paper reviews genetic and environmental risk factors for the development of anorexia with special emphasis on gene environment interplay and the impact of adverse perinatal events. 2005 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN 0276-3478
12.
Authors Wolfe BE.
Title Reproductive health in women with eating disorders. [Review]
Source JOGNN - Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing. 34(2):255-63, 2005 Mar-Apr.
Abstract Medical complications are often the precipitants that lead women with eating disorders to seek health care. Complications can be wide ranging but frequently include symptoms associated with reproductive health. Unfortunately, because of the denial, embarrassment, shame, and secrecy associated with these psychiatric illnesses, the underlying cause of these complications can often go unacknowledged, delaying assessment and intervention. This article provides an overview of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, identifies the reproductive health issues that may occur in women with these disorders, and discusses the associated clinical implications for nursing practice. [References: 62]
ISSN 0884-2175
13.
Authors Sibai B. Dekker G. Kupferminc M.
Title Pre-eclampsia. [Review] [143 refs]
Source Lancet. 365(9461):785-99, 2005 Feb 26-Mar 4.
Summary Pre-eclampsia is a major cause of maternal mortality (15-20% in developed countries) and morbidities (acute and long-term), perinatal deaths, preterm birth, and intrauterine growth restriction. Key findings support a causal or pathogenetic model of superficial placentation driven by immune maladaptation, with subsequently reduced concentrations of angiogenic growth factors and increased placental debris in the maternal circulation resulting in a (mainly hypertensive) maternal inflammatory response. The final phenotype, maternal pre-eclamptic syndrome, is further modulated by pre-existing maternal cardiovascular or metabolic fitness. Currently, women at risk are identified on the basis of epidemiological and clinical risk factors, but the diagnostic criteria of pre-eclampsia remain unclear, with no known biomarkers. Treatment is still prenatal care, timely diagnosis, proper management, and timely delivery. Many interventions to lengthen pregnancy (eg, treatment for mild hypertension, plasma-volume expansion, and corticosteroid use) have a poor evidence base. We review findings on the diagnosis, risk factors, and pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia and the present status of its prediction, prevention, and management.
14.
Author Shepard M.
Title Twenty years of progress in addressing domestic violence: an agenda for the next 10. [Review] [19 refs]
Source Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 20(4):436-41, 2005 Apr.
Summary The past 20 years have seen great strides in addressing violence against women by their male partners. Although the author cannot point to one single intervention or set of interventions as being the most effective, institutional reforms that have included coordinated community responses have had a positive impact. During the next 10 years, researchers must learn how to address the obstacles that prevent institutional responses from being more effective in addressing the needs of victims.
ISSN 0886-2605
15.
Authors Dzaja A. et al
Title Women's sleep in health and disease. [Review]
Source Journal of Psychiatric Research. 39(1):55-76, 2005 Jan.
Summary A huge amount of knowledge about sleep has accumulated during the last 5 decades following the discovery of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Nevertheless, there are numerous areas of considerable ignorance. One of these concerns the particularities of sleep in women. Most basic and clinical studies have been performed in male subjects, and only very recently research groups around the world have addressed women's sleep in health and disease. In this review, we summarize the present knowledge on the influence of oestrogens on the brain and on the distinctive changes of sleep across the menstrual cycle, during pregnancy and menopause. In addition, studies in female rodents are reviewed as well as the knowledge on female peculiarities regarding the interactions between sleep regulation and age-related changes in circadian rhythms. We also address specific aspects of sleep loss and sleep disorders in women. Finally, very recent studies on the sociology of sleep are summarized and future directions in the field are discussed.
ISSN 0022-3956
16.
Authors Wehrmacher WH. Messmore H. Bellows RT.
Title A woman's body and her vascular system are unique. How should we care for them? [Review]
Source Comprehensive Therapy. 30(3):155-9, 2004 Fall-Winter.
Summary Women must now gain the phenomenal care justified by new biologic evidence and a comprehensive understanding of fundamental differences from men-that go well beyond secondary sexual characteristics.
ISSN 0098-8243
17.
Authors Reddish S.
Title Assessment of women in midlife. [Review] [0 refs]
Source Australian Family Physician. 33(11):883-7, 2004 Nov.
Summary BACKGROUND: Midlife is much more than menopause. At the time of their life when women may be experiencing symptoms relating to decreased ovarian function, they are also confronted with a range of physical and psychosocial issues that may affect their wellbeing. OBJECTIVE: This article outlines the range of clinical presentations of women in midlife and discusses assessment of these presentations in the context of the individual woman's life. DISCUSSION: Women in midlife present to doctors for a variety of reasons including information and preventive health, vasomotor or other symptoms of oestrogen deficiency, menstrual disorders, breast disorders, sexual difficulty, relationship and family issues, or mood disorders. Forming an effective doctor-patient partnership to address these issues requires time, empathy, good interpersonal skills, comprehensive and sensitive history taking and examination skills, and a good knowledge of relevant research.
ISSN 0300-8495
18.
Authors Morin KH. Stark MA. Searing K.
Title Obesity and nutrition in women throughout adulthood. [Review]
Source JOGNN - Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing. 33(6):823-32, 2004 Nov-Dec.
Summary Nutritional challenges are particularly relevant to women. Almost 62% of women are overweight; of these women, 33% are obese. The incidence of obesity is even greater in non-Hispanic Black and Mexican American women. Women who are overweight or obese experience a greater number of adverse health outcomes, including an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and breast and colon cancer. Dietary patterns influence health outcomes, with a heart-healthy pattern having the most positive health outcomes. Health care providers should encourage women to consume a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in total and saturated fats.
ISSN 0884-2175
19.
Authors McCool WF. Packman J. Zwerling A.
Title Obstetric anesthesia: changes and choices. [Review] [51 refs]
Source Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health. 49(6):505-13, 2004 Nov-Dec.
Summary This article is a review of analgesics and anesthetics offered to laboring women, including intravenous drugs, epidural and spinal agents, and inhalational anesthetics. An overview of the uses, risks, and benefits is provided for each anesthetic alternative. To provide the most effective care to women in labor, clinicians have a responsibility to have current knowledge of the best evidence for safety and efficacy of these pharmacologic agents and techniques and be able to effectively communicate this information to clients.
ISSN 1526-9523
20.
Authors Basson R.
Title Recent advances in women's sexual function and dysfunction.
Source Menopause. 11(6 Pt 2):714-25, 2004 Nov-Dec.
Summary Current reconceptualization of women's sexual response acknowledges that women have many reasons or incentives for engaging in sex over and beyond sexual desire. Normative changes in their sexuality across the life span, with reproductive events, and with duration of relationship are recognized. Psychophysiological and preliminary functional magnetic resonance imaging data clarify that women's subjective experience of arousal may correlate poorly with signals reflective of genital congestion and also correlate poorly with activation of areas of the brain involved in organizing the reflexive genital vasocongestion. These aspects have been incorporated into new models of sexual response. Definitions of women's sexual dysfunction have recently been revised and expanded in keeping with these concepts. Mental well-being and other psychological and biological factors modulating desire, arousability, and response are areas of active research. Current understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic pain can be applied to the chronic intermittent pain and allodynia of chronic dyspareunia.
ISSN 1072-3714