Children aged 3 to 5 years whose mothers used methamphetamine during pregnancy have a higher risk of suffering from behavioral problems, researchers from Brown University in Providence reported in the journal Pediatrics. The authors wrote that the risk of developing depression or suffering from heightened anxiety was found to be greater among kids whose mothers used methamphetami... (read more)
In a finding that strengthens the link between environmental pollutants and rising rates of breast cancer, new research finds that women whose diets contain higher levels of cadmium are at greater risk of developing breast cancer than those who ingest less of the industrial chemical in their food. Cadmium, a heavy metal long identified as a carcinogen, leaches into crops from fertilizers and when rai... (read more)
There’s good news for women with hysterectomies who are considering taking the hormone estrogen to ease hot flashes and other menopausal complaints. New results from a long-running government study of the effect of hormones on women’s health show that estrogen-only appears to cut a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer by about 20% and significantly reduces her risk of dying from the disease. Those benefits ... (read more)
Treatment with vitamin D reduced the size of uterine fibroids in laboratory rats predisposed to developing the benign tumors, reported researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. Uterine fibroids are the most common noncancerous tumors in women of childbearing age. Fibroids grow within and around the wall of the uterus. Thirty percent of women 25 to 44 years of age report fibroid-related symptoms, suc... (read more)
A small study suggests women plagued by menstrual cramps may find relief with vitamin D3, raising hopes that the dietary supplement could one day be an alternative to the painkillers and birth control pills that doctors now recommend. But the treatment involves a mega-dose of vitamin D -- 300,000 IUs -- which made one expert add a don't-try-this-at-home warning. "This study does suggest (vitamin D... (read more)
A compound found in oranges, grapefruit, and other citrus fruit may modestly reduce stroke risk among women, an observational study determined. Women with the highest levels of flavanone in their diet were 19% less likely to have an ischemic stroke during 14 years of follow-up than those with the least flavanone intake (P=0.04), Aedín Cassidy, PhD, of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England, and colleagues foun... (read more)
As if having migraine headaches weren’t enough of a burden, a new study finds that women with migraines are also more likely to develop depression — about 40% more likely than women who have no history of the headaches. The study found that even women whose migraines had ceased in the previous year had a higher risk of becoming depressed than migraine-free women. For the study, researchers led ... (read more)
Fewer women than men suffering from a heart attack appear to experience chest pain symptoms, according to a study of more than one million people in the US. Overall men have significantly more heart attacks, but under the age of 55 women are more likely to die from one. Without displaying the classic chest pain symptoms of a heart attack, researchers say some women may not be getting the right kind of treatment. ... (read more)
Cesarean sections are often performed when a baby is going to be born early. Likewise, sometimes labor is induced when a woman's water breaks too early in the pregnancy. However, two new studies suggest that these common practices may, in fact, not benefit babies. Both papers, presented Thursday at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, challenge conventional wisdom... (read more)
In the U.S., there are nearly three million youth soccer players, and half of them are female. New research presented February 7 at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) found that despite reporting appropriate body perception and attitudes toward eating, elite youth soccer athletes (club level or higher) face an increased risk for del... (read more)
For more than a decade, Renu Kohli, 53, of Denver teetered on the edge of high cholesterol. Kohli worried about her risk for a heart attack, since she had a family history of heart disease. "I felt uncomfortable because I live by myself and I always wondered what I would do if anything happened to me," she said. Her daughter, a cardiologist, suggested taking a statin, a class of drugs us... (read more)
Caffeine changes women's estrogen levels and has different effects in Asian and white women, a new study says. More than 250 women, ages 18 to 44, took part in the study between 2005 and 2007. On average, they consumed 90 milligrams of caffeine a day, about the equivalent of one cup of caffeinated coffee. Estrogen is the reproductive hormone produced by the ovaries. Asian women who consumed an a... (read more)
An international team of researchers has discovered 13 new regions of the genome associated with the timing of menopause. These genes shed light on the biological pathways involved in reproductive lifespan and will provide insights into conditions connected to menopause, such as breast cancer and heart disease. Menopause is a major hormonal change that affects most women when they are in their early ... (read more)
Tiiu Leek's pain began suddenly nearly a decade ago, upending her successful career as a television newscaster for KCLA in Los Angeles. "I got this intense burning pain in the right groin and it did not go away," said the now 61-year-old. "It was as if someone had taken a hot iron and simply put it in my body on a nerve." "It was a two-and-a-half year nightmare," she said. &... (read more)
One in five adults in the U.S. had a mental illness in 2010, with people ages 18 to 25 having the highest rates, according to a national survey. The report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, released Thursday, includes information from 68,487 completed surveys about mental illness (as defined by the American Psychiatric As... (read more)
Many church-affiliated institutions will have to cover free birth control for employees, the Obama administration announced Friday in an election-year move that outraged religious groups, fueling a national debate about the reach of government. In a concession, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said nonprofit institutions such as church-affiliated hospitals, colleges and s... (read more)
Estimates suggest more than half of women have suffered from the condition, called dysmenorrhoea, at some point. The Scandinavian study, reported in the journal Human Reproduction, found women on the pill reported slightly less severe period pains. Oral contraceptives are not currently officially licensed for this purpose. The researchers, from Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University, followed groups of hundreds ... (read more)
Bone loss and osteoporosis develop so slowly in most women whose bones test normal at age 65 that many can safely wait as long as 15 years before having a second bone density test, researchers report in a new study. The study, published in today’s issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, is part of a broad rethinking of how to diagnose and treat the potentially debilitating bone disease that can lead to broken h... (read more)
Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins may be linked to an increased risk of diabetes in middle-aged and older women, according to a U.S. study -- but researchers said the benefits of the drugs still make them valuable for people at risk. The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that among the thousands of women looked at, those who reported using any kind of statin at the sta... (read more)
In a study suggesting that red wine might be the next big thing in breast cancer prevention, a study has found that women who drank just under two servings of red wine daily experienced hormonal changes that mimic the effects of a drug used to prevent malignant breast tumors from coming back. The study, published Friday in the Journal of Women's Health, found that consuming the same amount of white wine ... (read more)
Queensland University of Technology (QUT) world-first research has found a link between increases in temperature and the incidence of stillbirth and shorter pregnancies. Associate Professor Adrian Barnett of QUT's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI) led a study that looked at the incidence of still and premature births in Brisbane over a four-year period from 2005. P... (read more)
If you're a woman who smokes and you are looking for another reason to quit, consider this: A new study has found a link between tobacco use and skin cancer. The study found that women who had squamous cell skin cancer were more likely to have smoked than those who were free from the disease. And those who smoked at least 20 years were twice as likely to develop squamous cell skin cancer, a less aggressive form of s... (read more)
A new, thorough review of previous research highlights that women with an unwanted pregnancy are at risk of unwanted, negative effects on their mental health. However, the decision to have an abortion or continue the pregnancy itself makes little difference to the risk of developing new mental health issues. The review was carried out by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, part of th... (read more)
Women who worked a rotating night shift had an increased risk of type 2 diabetes that was not completely explained by an increase in body mass index (BMI), results of a prospective study showed. Compared with women who did not rotate at least three nights a month, those who had less than 10 years of shift work under their belts saw a 5% excess risk for type 2 diabetes. That risk climbed to 40% after a decade of sh... (read more)
With growing evidence that the American dad has stepped up his game when it comes to housework and child care, U.S. households would seem to have been swept clean of gender inequity. But a new study finds that women outpace men in doing more than one task at a time — and they are paying an emotional cost for doing so. The findings, published Thursday in the American Sociological Review, come from... (read more)
Medical Condition, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Ovarian torsion, Menopause, Pregnancy Complications
© 2012 Healthnoise — All rights reserved.