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At least 1,135 records · Page 63Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Serum vascular endothelial growth factor levels before starting gonadotropin treatment in women who have developed moderate forms of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

The study aims to evaluate whether serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels, before treatment with gonadotropins, may be considered a predictive marker of moderate ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). At the University of Pisa hospital infertility unit we have retrospectively selected 10 patients who developed moderate forms of OHSS and 30 control patients who presented a normal response to ovarian stimulation among 400 women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Serum samples were collected before starting pFSH administration (150-300 IU/day). VEGF levels in serum were measured. No statistically significant difference was found between the serum VEGF levels of patients who developed moderate forms of OHSS and women without any symptoms of the syndrome. Further, serum VEGF concentrations were not significantly correlated with the age of the patients, the number of international units of FSH administered during the cycle of stimulation, the follicle and oocyte numbers counted on the day of the egg retrieval or estradiol levels detected on the same day. This study demonstrates that serum VEGF levels, before starting gonadotropin treatment, are not predictive of the subsequent development of moderate forms of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Sexual development and life of women with gonadal dysgenesis.

The sexual development and behavior of 37 women suffering from the gonadal dysgenesis syndrome were investigated. It was found that their sexual development was significantly retarded compared with a control group of 50 fertile patients of the same age. This retardation was greater in a subgroup of 19 women with the Turner syndrome than in a subgroup of 18 women with pure gonadal dysgenesis. The levels of gonadotrophins LH and FSH, estradiol, progesterone and testosterone in blood were similar in these two subgroups. In two-thirds of the gonadal dysgenesis syndrome patients, the estradiol level was mostly at the low end of normal. The assessment of their sexual life using the Sexual Activity of Women (SAW) and Sexual Function of Women (SFW) questionnaires indicated a lower sexual desire, a reduced orgastic capacity, and a weaker sexual activity in the pathological group. However, 24 patients living in a permanent and stable partner relationship at the time of the examination, did not significantly differ from the control group in their responses to the SFW questionnaire. The patients with gonadal dysgenesis syndrome were surprisingly well adapted to their shortcomings. The occurrence and intensity of most neurotic symptoms assessed by the N5 Questionnaire were scored lower by the patients with gonadal dysgenesis syndrome than by the control group.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Abortion policy and women's health in developing countries.

The World Health Organization estimates that almost half a million women in developing countries die in pregnancy and childbirth every year. Unsafe induced abortion is responsible for perhaps one-quarter of these deaths. In this article, the author reviews the legal, medical, and social contexts in which women in developing countries resort to clandestine abortion. Despite intensified international concern with reducing high rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, national policy makers and participants at international conferences on maternal health--with a few important exceptions--have not recommended that safe, legal services for terminating unwanted pregnancies be offered as an essential element of basic reproductive health care. United States international policy on funding abortion-related activities in maternal health and family planning programs is especially restrictive. A new policy approach is clearly needed if unacceptably high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality in many countries are to be reduced.

Abortion, Illegal↗
PubMed1996

Evaluation of a pilot study for breast and cervical cancer screening with Bradford's minority ethnic women; a community development approach, 1991-93.

The objectives were: to provide information about breast and cervical cancer and related screening services to minority ethnic women, to enable them to make well informed decisions and choices; to adopt a health education strategy based on a community development approach, augmented by a local publicity campaign; and to evaluate both the direct and indirect effects of this project. To this end a community development intervention study was made over 18 months from October 1991 to March 1993 in Bradford, a multicultural city with 87,000 residents from minority ethnic groups. The subjects of the study were 1,628 women from minority ethnic groups in three geographical areas of Bradford. A stratified sample of 1,000 women (670 South Asian, 163 African-Caribbean, 96 Eastern European and 71 other) was interviewed at the beginning of the project and six months after the health promotion intervention. Two specifically trained Health Promotion Facilitators from minority ethnic groups undertook community development work within three neighbourhoods in Bradford with the largest minority ethnic populations. There were group sessions in both formal and informal settings, which included health education about breast and cervical cancer and the associated screening programmes. These sessions were in the women's preferred languages and audio-visual material and a specially designed teaching pack were used. There were significant differences in the baseline levels of knowledge about cervical cancer and breast cancer across the different minority ethnic groups. The South Asian women had the lowest levels of knowledge and also showed the most significant improvements. Significant increases in attendance for cervical smear and breast cancer screening were self-reported. These were confirmed by anecdotal views of local health professionals. In addition, a local self-help group for South Asian women was established; also the contacts with other related organisations and professionals has helped to raise the issues of ethnically sensitive services within the voluntary and statutory sectors. A community development approach to health promotion is particularly valuable in communities with low levels of knowledge about a diseases or health service provision. Community development approaches often produce outcomes that had not been predicted. There is a need to conduct a definitive study in this area of health promotion for minority ethnic populations with emphasis on evaluation, cost-benefit analysis and opportunity costs.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Depression and the lower risk for breast cancer development in middle-aged women: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Depression has been hypothesized to be potentially linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. Few studies have addressed this question using population-based cohorts and prospective designs, adjusting for known biomedical risk factors. This has been done in the present investigation. METHOD: Participants were 5191 women from a cohort of women born between 1941 and 1947 and living in the city of Eindhoven, The Netherlands. All women completed questionnaires regarding the presence of depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Depression Scale) and background (demographic, medical and lifestyle) variables. The questionnaire data were linked with the records of the Eindhoven Cancer Registry. These records provided data on breast cancer diagnoses, which took place up to 5 years after the questionnaire screening. RESULTS: Fifty-eight women (1.1%) were found to have developed breast cancer at least 2 years after the questionnaire screening. After controlling for 15 potential risk factors, of which family history of breast cancer, hypothyroidism and unilateral oophorectomy were significant predictors of breast cancer development, women with depressive symptoms had a lower risk of subsequent breast cancer (OR=0.29, 95% CI=0.09-0.92, P=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Depressive complaints may be associated with a protective factor involved in the development of breast cancer. Some of the possible candidates for this factor are discussed.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2005

Overweight exceeds underweight among women in most developing countries.

BACKGROUND: It is generally believed that overweight is less prevalent than undernutrition in the developing world, particularly in rural areas, and that it is concentrated in higher socioeconomic status (SES) groups. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of adult female overweight and underweight in the developing world by using categories of urban or rural status and SES strata. DESIGN: Body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)) data collected in 36 countries from 1992 to 2000 by nationally representative cross-sectional surveys of women aged 20-49 y (n = 148579) were classified as indicating underweight (BMI < 18.5) and overweight (BMI >/= 25). Associations between the nutritional status of urban and rural women and each country's per capita gross national income (GNI) and level of urbanization were explored in the overall sample and among different SES groups. RESULTS: Overweight exceeded underweight in well over half of the countries: the median ratio of overweight to underweight was 5.8 in urban and 2.1 in rural areas. Countries with high GNIs and high levels of urbanization had not only high absolute prevalences of overweight but also small urban-rural differences in overweight and very high ratios of overweight to underweight. In the more-developed countries, overweight among low-SES women was high in both rural (38%) and urban (51%) settings. Even many poor countries, countries in which underweight persists as a significant problem, had fairly high prevalences of rural overweight. CONCLUSIONS: In most developing economies, prevalences of overweight in young women residing in both urban and rural areas are higher than those in underweight women, especially in countries at higher levels of socioeconomic development. Research is needed to assess male and child overweight to understand the dynamics facing these groups as well.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Low serum carotenoids and development of severe walking disability among older women living in the community: the women's health and aging study I.

OBJECTIVE: to determine whether low serum carotenoid levels, an indicator of low intake of fruits and vegetables, are associated with the progression of disability in older women. DESIGN: longitudinal analysis in a population-based cohort. SETTING: moderately-severely disabled women, >or=65 years, living in the community in Baltimore, Maryland (the Women's Health and Aging Study I). PARTICIPANTS: 554 women without severe walking disability (inability to walk or walking speed <0.4 m/s) at baseline. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: incidence of severe walking disability assessed every 6 months over 3 years. RESULTS: 155 women (27.9%) developed severe walking disability during follow-up. Rates of development of severe walking disability per 100 person-years among women in the lowest and in the three upper quartiles of total carotenoids were, respectively, 13.8 versus 10.9 (P=0.0017). Adjusting for confounders, women in the lowest quartile of total carotenoids were more likely to develop severe walking disability (hazards ratio 1.57, 95% confidence interval 1.24-2.00, P=0.0002) compared with women in the three upper quartiles. CONCLUSION: low serum carotenoid levels, an indicator of low intake of fruits and vegetables, are independent predictors of the progression towards severe walking disability among older women living in the community.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Predictable blood pressure variability in healthy and complicated pregnancies.

With the aim of describing the predictable pattern of blood pressure (BP) variability during gestation, we analyzed 2430 BP series systematically sampled by ambulatory monitoring for 48 consecutive hours every 4 weeks from the first obstetric visit (usually within the first trimester of pregnancy) until delivery in 235 normotensive women, 128 women who developed gestational hypertension, and 40 women who had a final diagnosis of preeclampsia. The pattern of variation along gestation of the 24-hour means of BP and heart rate was established for each group of women by polynomial regression analysis. For normotensive women, results indicate a steady decrease in BP up to 20 weeks of pregnancy, followed by an increase in BP up to the day of delivery, with an average 8% BP increase between the middle of gestation and delivery. In complicated pregnancies, BP is stable until the 22nd week of gestation and then increases linearly for the remainder of the pregnancy. Complicated pregnancies are characterized by a 9% and 13% increase in systolic and diastolic BPs, respectively, during the second half of gestation. Results also indicate that during the first half of pregnancy, systolic but not diastolic BP is slightly elevated in women who developed preeclampsia compared with those who developed gestational hypertension. During the second half of gestation, the linear trend of increasing BP for women who developed preeclampsia has a significantly higher slope than the trend for women with gestational hypertension. For both healthy and complicated pregnancies, heart rate increases until the end of the second trimester and slightly decreases thereafter. This study of women systematically sampled by 48-hour ambulatory BP monitoring throughout gestation confirms the predictable pregnancy-associated variability in BP and provides proper information for the establishment of reference limits for BP to be used in the early diagnosis of hypertensive complications in pregnancy. Those limits should be developed as a function of gestational age, taking into account the trends in BP throughout pregnancy demonstrated here.

Adult↗