Women's Health News

RSS

U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in case over Wisconsin antiabortion group's appeal of campaign finance law

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard oral arguments in a challenge of a lower court ruling in favor of a Wisconsin anti-abortion group's constitutional challenge to the McCain-Feingold federal campaign finance law, the New York Times reports (Greenhouse, New York Times, 4/26).

30 Apr 2007

Democratic Presidential candidates discuss abortion rights

Eight candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday in a debate at South Carolina State University "uniformly criticized" the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last week to uphold a federal law (S 3) banning so-called "partial-birth" abortion, the Washington Post reports (Balz, Washington Post , 4/27).

30 Apr 2007

Ratio of women stricken with MS rockets by 50% each decade

According to a study in the United States although women have always had a greater susceptibility for developing Multiple Sclerosis (MS) than men, the numbers have rocketed in the last six decades.

29 Apr 2007

Taking low dose aspirin does not protect older women against cognitive decline

Identifying ways to prevent dementia is a public health priority. Evidence suggests that aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs may protect against dementia, but data from randomised studies to date have been inconclusive.

27 Apr 2007

Study looks at reproductive health of girls who developed HIV at birth

A generation of children born with HIV are now coming of age and reaching sexual maturity. Girls in this group who are sexually active are experiencing a higher number than expected of cervical abnormalities, a new study finds.

27 Apr 2007

Frequent self-weighing is not associated with depression in women

A study being published in a recent issue of Preventive Medicine found no strong evidence linking frequent scale stepping and depression in women. In addition, self-weighing daily, rather than once every week or month, was associated with lower Body Mass Index (BMI) levels in women 40 years or older.

26 Apr 2007

Pregnant U.S. women commonly smoke

While pregnancy may be considered an effective motivator for smoking cessation, results of a new study by researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health indicate that pregnant U.S. women commonly smoke, placing themselves and their unborn children at risk for health and developmental complications.

25 Apr 2007

Underlying causes of hot flashes

Many women in the menopausal transition experience hot flashes: unpredictable, sometimes disruptive, periods of intense heat in the upper torso, neck and face.

25 Apr 2007

Age when a woman's periods start may affect her children's growth rate

Researchers from the Medical Research Council and University of Cambridge, led by Dr Ken Ong, studied the association between mother's age at first menstruation, mother's adult body size and obesity risk, and children's growth and obesity risk in 6,009 children from the UK Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) in Bristol.

25 Apr 2007

Why yearly checkups are important for women

Even women who are healthy need regular preventive services like breast exams, Pap tests, immunizations, and (starting at age 50) fecal occult blood testing, along with periodic measurements of weight, height, and blood pressure.

25 Apr 2007

Women might be slipping through the cracks with early drinking problem diagnosis

Men are more likely than women to experience many of the problems commonly associated with nondependent drinking, according to a new study.

24 Apr 2007

Neither induced abortion nor miscarriage associated with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women

Neither induced abortion nor spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) appears to be associated with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women, according to a report in the April 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Apr 2007

Migraines may help women protect their memory

Women with a lifetime history of migraine showed less of a performance decline over time on cognitive tests than women who didn't have migraines.

24 Apr 2007

Abortions do not increase risk for breast cancer

A new study by researchers at Harvard supports earlier findings by a panel of experts that abortions and miscarriages do not increase a woman's risk of getting breast cancer.

23 Apr 2007

Women who take hormone replacement therapy are more likely to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer

Results from the Million Women Study, which is the biggest study of its kind in the world, show that over five years there is one extra case of ovarian cancer in every 2,500 women who take HRT. And for every 3,300 women who take HRT, there will be one additional death from ovarian cancer.

20 Apr 2007

Lawmakers urged to provide much needed oversight of bioidentical hormones

Testifying before the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging, Dr. Leonard Wartofsky, president of The Endocrine Society strongly urged lawmakers to increase regulatory oversight of so-called "bioidentical hormones," which have been inaccurately promoted as a safer and more effective alternative to traditional hormone therapies for women.

20 Apr 2007

Response to paper on ovarian cancer in the Million Women study

The Million Women Study (MWS) has reported new data on the risk of ovarian cancer in postmenopausal hormone users(1).

20 Apr 2007

Women more likely to go without needed health care insurance

As Cover the Uninsured Week approaches, a new Commonwealth Fund report by researchers at the National Women's Law Center finds that even women with health insurance coverage are more likely than insured men to go without needed health care because of costs.

20 Apr 2007

International Menopause Society reaction to report on breast cancer

A special report in the April 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine [1] brings initial analysis of data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Result (SEER) registries, showing that the incidence of breast cancer in women in the US fell by 6.7% in 2003, and stayed at the same level in 2004.

20 Apr 2007

Understanding personal genetic risk for familial breast cancer eases anxieties

Services that help women understand the way that their inherited genetic make-up influences their risk of getting breast cancer ease distress and decrease their levels of cancer worry.

19 Apr 2007