Abstinence News and Research

RSS

Abstinence is a voluntary restraint from indulging a desire or appetite for certain bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to abstention from sexual intercourse, alcohol or food. The practice can arise from religious prohibitions or practical considerations.

New television program to raise awareness about cardiovascular diseases in women

Research shows that 80 percent of cardiac events in women could be prevented if women make the right choices for their hearts, involving diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking.

9 Sep 2009

ORT remains underutilized in U.S. prison systems

Almost a quarter of a million individuals addicted to heroin are incarcerated in the United States each year. However, many prison systems across the country still do not offer medical treatment for heroin and opiate addiction, despite the demonstrated social, medical and economic benefits of opiate replacement therapy (ORT).

9 Sep 2009

Media examine debate over UNESCO international sex education guidelines

The New York Times examines how "[a] set of proposed international sex education guidelines aimed at reducing H.I.V. infections among young people" and unplanned pregnancies, based on "more than 80 studies of sex education," has received some criticism. The release of the final guidelines, originally scheduled for next week by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has been delayed.

4 Sep 2009

New study reveals that alcohol "abstainers" are at the highest risk of depression

Abstaining from alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of depression according to a new study published in Addiction journal.

29 Aug 2009

Study reveals that heavy drinkers and teetotalers have higher levels of depression than moderate drinkers

When it comes to alcohol consumption and depression, a new study by a team of Norwegian and British researchers shows that heavy drinkers - but also teetotalers -- have higher levels of depression and anxiety than those who drink moderately.

28 Aug 2009

1 in 4 children between 11-16 report having sex

As a new mother herself, Brenda Lohman admits to being shocked by the results of a new study she co-authored. It found that among nearly 1,000 low-income families in three major cities, one in four children between the ages of 11 and 16 reported having sex, with their first sexual intercourse experience occurring at the average age of 12.77.

18 Aug 2009

Distinctive gene expression in brains of relapsing heroin-addicted rats

A group of genes whose expression is significantly altered following exposure to drug paraphernalia after an enforced 'cold-turkey' period have been identified. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Neuroscience studied gene expression in the brains of heroin-addicted rats, identifying those genes that may be involved in precipitating a relapse.

6 Aug 2009

Frequent sex improves sperm quality

Daily sex (or ejaculating daily) for seven days improves men's sperm quality by reducing the amount of DNA damage, according to an Australian study presented today (Tuesday) to the 25th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam.

30 Jun 2009

Intense cycling training damages sperm

The high-intensity training undertaken by triathletes has a significant impact on the quality of their sperm, the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard today (Monday 29 June). Professor Diana Vaamonde, from the University of Cordoba Medical School, Cordoba, Spain, said that the triathletes who did the most cycling training had the worst sperm morphology.

29 Jun 2009

Cocaine and heroin increase permeability of the placenta

Cocaine and heroin increase permeability of the placenta. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology have shown that exposure to the drugs causes an increase in the passage of some chemicals into the fetus.

10 Jun 2009

Sex education in Singapore's schools should provide teens with objective, reliable information, Education Ministry says

The number of teenagers contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections has increased over the past several years, Singapore's Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Thursday, the Straits Times reports.

26 May 2009

Evidence supports use of online-based programs for smoking cessation

Available evidence supports the use of online or other computer-based smoking cessation programs for helping adults quit smoking, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies appearing in the May 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

25 May 2009

Disabled youth in Botswana call for greater involvement in country's HIV/AIDS efforts

The Botswana Federation of the Disabled recently held a seminar to commemorate the country's "Youth Against HIV/AIDS" month, focusing on the role of disabled young people in efforts to curb the spread of HIV, Botswana's Sunday Standard reports.

12 May 2009

Smoking makes it harder for brain blood flow to recover from long-term heavy drinking

Alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) can damage the brain, particularly the frontal and parietal cortices, although this damage is at least partially reversible with sustained abstinence from alcohol. Chronic smoking is extremely common among individuals with AUDs.

12 May 2009

Alcohol, cirrhosis and mortality

Where there is life there is hope and it is never too late to stop drinking, even with the most severe case of alcohol-related liver disease, according to new research from the University of Southampton.

15 Apr 2009

Stanford study shows PEPFAR program saved a million lives

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the ambitious U.S. government program begun in 2003, has cut the death toll from HIV/AIDS through 2007 by more than 10 percent in targeted countries in Africa, though it has had no appreciable effect on prevalence of the disease in those nations, according to a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine that is the first to evaluate these outcomes.

6 Apr 2009

Inter Press service examines research into PrEP

Inter Press Service last week examined how researchers are investigating the use of antiretroviral drugs as a possible method of pre-exposure prophylaxis. AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition's Executive Director Mitchell Warren recently said that such efforts are "a pivotal moment in HIV/AIDS research."