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Highly obese women are 12 times more likely to have diabetes

Highly obese women are 12 times more likely to have diabetes or knee replacement surgery, and five times more likely to have high blood pressure than women who are at a normal weight, says a new study.

23 Nov 2004

Risk of a blocked vessel stroke increases nearly twofold in young women with a history of stroke

Young women with a family history of stroke in their parents or siblings may be at increased risk for stroke themselves, according to a new report.

23 Nov 2004

Urinary incontinence and abdominal pain are key symptoms of ovarian cancer

Results from an Olmsted Medical Center and Mayo Clinic study analyzing symptoms recorded in the medical records of ovarian cancer patients suggest ovarian cancer, long considered asymptomatic until late-stage cancer develops, does in fact have early symptoms, including urinary incontinence and abdominal pain.

18 Nov 2004

Postpartum depression: Beyond the 'Baby Blues'

In a culture where giving birth is often believed to be the most joyful moment in life, many women instead feel tired, sad, anxious, distracted and depressed after the baby is born.

18 Nov 2004

70% of cases of spina bifida are preventable by folic-acid supplementation

A seminar in this week’s issue of THE LANCET discusses the causes, symptoms, and treatments relating to spina bifida, and reinforces an important public-health message for women about to become pregnant

18 Nov 2004

Not only are breast enhancement pills unproven, they could be dangerous

Flip through any women's magazine and you are sure to find advertisements hawking pills to enlarge women's breasts. But do these pills actually work? Probably not, says the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS).

18 Nov 2004

High levels of stress double the risk of painful periods

Primary dysmenorrhoea, otherwise known as painful periods without any organic cause, is one of the most common gynaecological problems among women of childbearing age.

17 Nov 2004

Oral contraception can prevent knee injuries as well as unwanted pregnancies

In 1960 the first oral contraception, Enovid-10, was launched in the US market, known as the “pill”. Women were finally enthused about a form of contraception marketed as “safe and effective” and readily used the pill. Within two years oral contraception was used by over 1.2 million women and the numbers continued to rise.

16 Nov 2004

Vaccine against human papillomavirus infection could reduce the global incidence of cervical cancer

A randomised trial in this week’s issue of THE LANCET shows how a vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV) infection could potentially reduce the global incidence of cervical cancer.

14 Nov 2004

Treating period pain with Chinese medicine

It's news that could have women everywhere throwing away their hot water bottles, painkillers and Tim Tams. A University of Western Sydney study is set to discover if ancient Chinese medicine can provide relief from the monthly cramping, back pain and bloating associated with menstruation.

11 Nov 2004

Researcher highlights hidden problem of smoking after pregnancy

Most women know to drop cigarettes and alcohol while they are pregnant. In fact, about half of women smokers now quit smoking when they become pregnant.

9 Nov 2004

Women who have diets rich in oils containing alpha-linolenic appear to have a lower risk of dying from heart disease

Women who reported eating diets rich in oils containing alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) seemed to have a lower risk of dying from heart disease and sudden cardiac death than women whose diets are low in the plant-derived fatty acid, researchers reported at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2004.

9 Nov 2004

Obesity could more than double an older woman's risk of acute myelogenous leukemia

A study from the University of Minnesota Cancer Center indicates that overweight and obesity could more than double an older woman's risk of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), an often fatal cancer of the bone marrow and blood.

8 Nov 2004

Regular smear tests rather than colposcopy is the best way of monitoring low-grade cervical lesions

Results of a US study in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that regular smear tests rather than colposcopy is the best way of monitoring low-grade cervical lesions among adolescents and young women.

5 Nov 2004

Prolonged breastfeeding helps prevent rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an inflammatory disease of the immune system, is between two and four times more likely to strike women than men.

4 Nov 2004

Urinary incontinence is passed down from mother to daughter

New research from the University of Bergen (UiB), Norway, shows that a woman who’s mother has urinary incontinence has a 30 percent greater chance for incontinence herself.

4 Nov 2004

Labor lasts longer for overweight or obese women

Pregnant women who are overweight or obese progress through labor more slowly than do normal weight women, according to a study by researchers at the University of North Carolina and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

2 Nov 2004

Study results suggest that metronidazole and clindamycin differ in their effects on microbes in women with bacterial vaginosis

In the first study to directly compare the emergence of antibiotic resistance following topical treatment between two antibiotics routinely prescribed for a common vaginal infection, researchers from the Magee-Womens Research Institute have found antibiotic-resistant bacteria more likely to develop with the drug clindamycin than metronidazole.

1 Nov 2004

Work stressed women more vulnerable than men to post 9/11 trauma

Women who faced everyday work stress were particularly vulnerable to symptoms of anxiety and increased alcohol consumption following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, according to a new study published by psychiatric researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

1 Nov 2004

Sport program reduced eating disordered behavior and body-shaping drug use in female high school athletes

A peer-led, sport team-centered program reduces eating disordered behavior and body-shaping drug use in female high school athletes, according to an article in the November issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

1 Nov 2004