Tag: Women’s Health

How do women really feel about contraception in 2021?

Written by Lauren Geall As Stylist’s digital writer, Lauren Geall writes on topics including mental health, wellbeing and work. She’s also a big fan of houseplants and likes to dabble in film and TV from time-to-time. Contraception is a massive part of many people’s lives – but what relationship do women and people with uteruses really

Preventive and essential health checks for women

We present to you some pivotal health checks of women across all age groups so that your health risks are minimised “70 percent of the serious health issues that a woman gets in her later ages is actually preventable provided she goes for regular health check-ups,” said Dr Manisha Ranjan, consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, Motherhood

Early onset of menstruation associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes: Large-scale study confirms association may be partially mediated by body mass index

Diabetes is a global health concern expected to affect 693 million people worldwide by 2045. It’s been well documented how diet and exercise influence risk of type 2 diabetes; however, a new study suggests that early menarche also is associated with a higher risk, but body mass index (BMI) may mediate this association. Study results

Motherhood can deliver body image boost: Study links perfectionism and breast size dissatisfaction — but only in childless women

New research indicates that perfectionism is related to breast size dissatisfaction, but only in non-mothers — suggesting that mothers are more comfortable with their bodies. The study, carried out by Professor Viren Swami of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) and academics from Sapienza University of Rome, has been published in the journal Body Image. Of the

Breakthrough in knowledge of how some sarcomas arise

The origin of certain cancers in the sarcoma group is associated with a hitherto unknown interaction among different proteins. Findings now being presented create the opportunity to test new treatments of these forms of sarcoma. “We now know which mechanisms to shine the spotlight on,” says Pierre Åman, Professor of Tumor Biology at Sahlgrenska Academy,

Preeclampsia treatment for mothers also benefits offspring: Findings could lead to therapies that lower health risks for children born to women with preeclampsia

An estimated six to 15 million people in the U.S. are children born of a pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia. New research performed in rats reveals that treating preeclampsia with sildenafil citrate (Viagra) may help protect the cardiovascular health of the offspring. Preeclampsia occurs when women with otherwise normal blood pressure experience elevated blood pressure during

Minimally invasive uterine fibroid treatment safer and as effective as surgical treatment: Research shows uterine fibroid embolization is a durable treatment that results in fewer complications

Uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) effectively treats uterine fibroids with fewer post-procedure complications compared to myomectomy, according to new research presented today at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting. Women who received this minimally-invasive treatment also had a slightly lower need for additional treatment than those who underwent surgery. UFE is a minimally-invasive

Life-threatening birth complication rate increasing across US racial, ethnic groups: Analysis suggests need for more research to identify causes

Racial and ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity — life-threatening maternal complications associated with childbirth — have persisted and increased at high rates among U.S. women, according to an analysis of nearly 20 years of California hospital records funded by the National Institutes of Health. Known risk factors for these complications — such as blood

New form of hereditary osteoporosis

A research group headed by Professor Outi Mäkitie, University of Helsinki, Finland, identified in families with childhood-onset osteoporosis disease-causing mutations in a gene that had previously not been connected with the skeletal system or osteoporosis. “Through extensive genetic research, we identified a gene defect underlying osteoporosis in two Finnish families with several affected family members.

Oral contraceptives could impair women’s recognition of complex emotions: Healthy women who use birth control pills are poorer judges of subtle facial expressions than non-users, according to new research

The pill could be blurring your social judgement — but perhaps not enough so you’d notice. By challenging women to identify complex emotional expressions like pride or contempt, rather than basic ones like happiness or fear, scientists have revealed subtle changes in emotion recognition associated with oral contraceptive pill (OCP) use. Published in Frontiers in

Breastmilk sugars differ in pregnant women on probiotics

The complex sugars found in human breastmilk, long believed to be fixed in their composition, may change in women who are taking probiotics, according to new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). The finding, published in a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics, upends what scientists thought of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) —

Mindfulness may ease menopausal symptoms

Mindfulness may be associated with fewer menopausal symptoms for women, according to a Mayo Clinic study recently published in Climacteric: The Journal of the International Menopause Society. Researchers discovered that being mindful may be especially helpful for menopausal women struggling with irritability, anxiety and depression. “In this study, we found that midlife women with higher

Anxious and forgetful after menopause? Low estrogen may be to blame: Rat study finds anxiety and memory problems increase as estrogen levels drop

Lack of estrogen may play a role in the development of anxiety and memory problems, according to a new rodent study. The findings will be presented today at the American Physiological Society’s (APS) Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-Specific Implications for Physiology conference in Knoxville, Tenn. Estrogen, the primary female sex hormone, regulates the female

Male and female tennis players decline at same rate

The physical abilities of male and female tennis stars decline at the same rate as they age, new research shows. Men and women are known to have different patterns of ageing — so University of Exeter scientists were surprised to find “similar patterns of decline” among tennis professionals. Using data on first-serve speed and accuracy

Novel bioengineering technique for personalized bone grafts: Scientists optimize a procedure toward regenerative medicine for bone defects

Scientists from the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute have developed a new bone engineering technique called Segmental Additive Tissue Engineering (SATE). The technique, described in a paper published online today in Scientific Reports, allows researchers to combine segments of bone engineered from stem cells to create large scale, personalized grafts that will

Partnership problems and not career planning mainly explain why women are freezing their eggs: Fertility clinics urged to make patient-centred care for single women ‘a high priority’

Contrary to common suggestion, women are opting to freeze their eggs not to pursue education or careers but for reasons “mostly revolving around women’s lack of stable partnerships with men committed to marriage and parenting.” This is the conclusion of the largest qualitative study so far in elective egg freezing; 150 subjects from four IVF

New study confirms higher cancer rate in women with dense breast tissue

Researchers using automated breast density measurements have found that women with mammographically dense breast tissue have higher recall and biopsy rates and increased odds of screen-detected and interval breast cancer, according to a large new study from Norway published online in the journal Radiology. The study supports automated measurements as a future standard to ensure

Writing away the body image blues: Study suggests different mental frameworks women can use to get out of body image rut

Body dissatisfaction among women is widespread and can lead to a number of worrisome outcomes, including eating disorders, depression and anxiety. While researchers know a lot about what makes women’s body image worse, they are still short on empirically supported interventions for improving women’s body image. Renee Engeln, a professor of instruction in psychology in