Suicide Risk 8-Fold Higher After Common Reproductive Disorder Diagnosis
Suicidality was substantially higher among women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), according to a Taiwanese population-based cohort study. PCOS-diagnosed patients had an 8.47-fold (95% CI 7.54-9.51) higher risk of attempted suicide compared with women without PCOS, Mu-Hong Chen, MD, PhD, of Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, and colleagues found. Incidence of suicide attempts […]
Multiple Societal Factors Contribute to High HIV Risk in Transgender Women
Homelessness, violence, incarceration, and socioeconomic discrimination are linked to a high risk of HIV in transgender women, according to the CDC’s National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among Transgender Women (NHBS-Trans) survey. Despite engaging in high-risk behaviors, only one-third of transgender women in the survey used pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV. Employment discrimination also negatively impacted transgender […]
When Women’s Fertility Begins and Ends Seems Important for RA Development
British women whose capability of bearing children either started late or ended early — naturally or otherwise — were at increased risk for developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), compared with women with earlier menarche or later menopause, researchers found. In an analysis of more than 220,000 female participants in the U.K. Biobank project, those with menarche […]
Less-Frequent Surveillance Mammo Feasible in Older Breast Cancer Survivors
SAN ANTONIO — Women ages >50 who de-escalated to less-frequent mammography 3 years after curative surgery for early-stage breast cancer had similar outcomes to women who received annual mammography, according to a phase III study. In the Mammo-50 trial, after a median follow-up of 5.7 years for alive patients, breast cancer-specific survival was 98.1% and […]
Bilateral Mastectomy Not Tied to Better Survival in BRCA1-Positive Breast Cancer
SAN ANTONIO — Bilateral mastectomy as initial treatment for women with breast cancer and a pathogenic BRCA1 variant was not linked to better survival, according to an international analysis. Compared with breast-conserving treatment (BCT), bilateral mastectomy was not significantly associated with a reduction in mortality in this population of patients (HR 0.83, P=0.52), reported Kelly […]
Is Omitting Radiation Therapy in Low-Risk Breast Cancer a Good IDEA?
SAN ANTONIO — Postmenopausal women with genomically low-risk early hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer had a low risk of recurrence with endocrine therapy alone after lumpectomy, a randomized trial showed. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) rates were 100% without adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) in 186 women ages 50-69 followed for at […]
Pregnant women are missing vital nutrients needed for them and their babies
Pregnant women are not getting the essential nutrients they and their babies need from modern diets say scientists, who have warned that the situation will likely worsen as more people turn to plant-based foods. A study looking at the health of expecting mothers from high-income countries, including the UK, New Zealand and Singapore, found that […]
Reliable research and evidence-based recommendations scarce for women who exercise according to menstrual cycle
There is no shortage of advice for women on what to eat, how to train, or what supplements to take during their menstrual cycles, but a new review by an international team of scientists has found little evidence to support such recommendations. In fact, they found sparse research on women and exercise at all, and […]
Suicide Rates Among Black Women Rose Over 2 Decades
Suicide rates among Black women increased from 1999 to 2020, especially among teens and young adults, according to an analysis of national data. Among Black women ages 15 to 84, suicide rates rose from 2.1 per 100,000 in 1999 to 3.4 per 100,000 in 2020, according to Victoria Joseph, MPH, of the Columbia University Mailman […]
Infertility Definition Expanded to Be More Inclusive
Infertility is no longer restricted to just women in heterosexual partnerships. Now, circumstances common among LGBTQ people and single women trying to get pregnant can meet the official definition for infertility. The new clinical definition, put together by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), establishes infertility as a disease, condition, or status that meets […]