Question for Women...

Wasn't sure where this question belonged, so I apologize if this is misplaced. I started my new healthy lifestyle in February when my husband deployed. I have totally cut white flour from my diet as well as MOST processed sugar, and began a moderate jogging regimen. Anyway, I started losing slowly, 1-2 lbs per month (I was 5 ft 1 and 134 lbs) and was thrilled that it was working. Well, in June, I started to lose lots of weight and am now down to 122. I am not starving myself and ALWAYS eat healthy snacks when I am hungry (except very late at night).

Now for the reason I directed this at women- I was a regular 26 cycle day kind of girl before all this, with my cycles getting somewhat longer as I lost more weight. This cycle I have had cramps but no period and I am on cycle day 31. This has never happened to me before. No, there is no way I am pregnant- my husband has been deployed since February. Yes, I am taking prenatal vitamins so I am not lacking in any essential nutrients. Should I be concerned? Is it possible to "skip" a cycle? At what point do I contact an OBGYN? I would appreciate anyone's personal experiences regarding this issue... Thanks!

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Sharp Rise in Drug Overdoses Among U.S. Women: CDC

More now die from prescription medications than from car crashes, study finds

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- The rate of fatal overdoses of prescription painkillers and other drugs among U.S. women quadrupled between 1999 and 2010, federal officials reported Tuesday.

Long thought of as primarily a male problem, drug addiction is increasingly affecting women, and the new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 42 women in the United States die each day from prescription drug overdoses.

"Prescription drug overdose deaths have skyrocketed in women," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said during a noon press conference. "Mothers, wives, sisters and daughters are dying from overdoses at rates we have never seen before."

The CDC said that nearly 48,000 women died of overdoses from any form of prescribed drug between 1999 and 2010. The annual death rate for women from drug overdoses now surpasses that of car crash deaths, the agency said.

Emergency room visits for abuse or overdose have also increased dramatically, Frieden added.

Much of this increase is due to the widespread abuse of prescription opioid painkillers such as Oxycontin or Vicodin, which have been more frequently prescribed in the past decade.

"The increase in opioid overdoses and opioid overdose deaths is directly proportional to the increase in prescribing," Frieden said.

These drugs should be reserved for treating severe pain, as occurs with debilitating illnesses such as cancer. "But in many other situations, the risks [to patients] far outweigh the benefits," he said. "Prescribing an opioid may be condemning a patient to lifelong addiction and life-threatening complications."

Although men are still more likely to die from painkiller overdoses, since 1999 the percentage increase in deaths was greater among women -- 400 percent in women compared with 265 percent in men, the CDC said.

Other statistics, based on 2010 data:

Suicides from these drugs accounted for 34 percent of all suicides among women, compared with 8 percent among men.More than 940,000 women were seen in emergency departments for drug misuse or abuse.More than 6,600 women, or 18 women every day, died from a prescription painkiller overdose.Narcotic painkillers accounted for four times more deaths among women than deaths linked to cocaine and heroin combined. More than 200,000 emergency department visits were for misuse or abuse of these drugs among women -- about one every three minutes.

"This is a major public health concern and it's getting worse every year," said Dr. Yves Duroseau, chairman of emergency services at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "People are losing their lives unnecessarily.

"There needs to be more public awareness of the detrimental effects of these medications," he added. "And there needs to be more support to get people off narcotic painkillers and help them with their dependence."

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losing weight with large ribcage for women...

I read a lot of posts in the past about women being sad about their huge ribcage when I was looking for a solution for my large ribcage. It made me sad how many women were so bothered by it and how they admitted to becoming bitter towards other women for their small ribcage. I first want to say, it's worse in your own eyes, I've seen big rib cages...BIG, and these women pull it off just fine, we are our own worst critics. But anyways! I wanted to ask if anyone tried the breathing techniques and abdominal strengthening exercises? It's made a huge difference for me. I too was told I lookedmalnourished and that I was too skinny for my own body. I didn't start to see improvements, though, until I had lost the desired amount of fat and started toning. Very padded bras help keep the proportion, and you don't need a small ribcage to still look good. I got my big rib cage from my mom. But really try the ab and breathing techniques, my sister and fianc? have both asked me how I made my ribs smaller andI haven't gained a pound!

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Procedure for Incontinence in Women May Lose Effectiveness With Time

In 7-year study, failure rate for pelvic organ prolapse surgery gradually increased

By Serena Gordon

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, May 14 (HealthDay News) -- The success of a common surgery for pelvic organ prolapse -- a painful and distressing condition affecting many women -- lessens over time, according to a new study.

Abdominal sacrocolpopexy is a procedure used to relieve the problem. It involves stitching a piece of mesh on the top of the vagina and attaching it to a strong ligament from the back of the pelvic bone. This surgery helps to support the pelvic organs.

But the new study found that with each passing year, the rate of pelvic organ prolapse surgery failure increased. The rate of mesh erosion (the primary material used to provide support) reached 10.5 percent by seven years after surgery.

The study also found that the risk of urinary incontinence rose with each year after the surgery.

"This is the longest follow-up of a common operation for women with pelvic organ prolapse. We found that pelvic organ prolapse and urinary incontinence rates increased gradually over follow-up," said study author Dr. Linda Brubaker, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and urology at Loyola University Medical Center.

Even though surgeons might define a procedure as a failure, many of the patients did not. Only about 17 percent of women had additional pelvic floor surgeries, according to the study.

Pelvic organ prolapse leads to surgery in 7 percent to 19 percent of women, according to study background information. Normally, muscles, ligaments and connective tissue keep all of the pelvic organs where they're supposed to be. But, weakness or tears in these supportive tissues can allow pelvic organs, such as the uterus and vagina, to protrude through the vaginal opening.

This can lead to problems with pelvic organs, according to the American Urogynecologic Society. For example, if the bowel is protruding, constipation or fecal incontinence can result. If the bladder is affected, urinary incontinence may occur.

As to why these surgeries might fail, Brubaker said, "surgeries don't stop time. Women continue to age and the underlying biology continues. Patients may gain weight, too," added Brubaker, who is also dean of the Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Results of the study are published in the May 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Each year, as many as 225,000 American women have surgery for pelvic organ prolapse, the study authors noted. However, very little long-term follow-up data is available on the success of these procedures, Brubaker said. Most studies only follow women for two years.

The current study included seven years of follow-up. Abdominal sacrocolpopexy isn't the only procedure available for pelvic organ prolapse, but it is commonly used. And, in more recent years, the surgery is being done laparoscopically, so it's less invasive.

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U.S. Women Delay Motherhood, Teen Births Historically Low: CDC

Preterm births, low birth weight babies declined in 2011, report says

By Steven Reinberg

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, June 28 (HealthDay News) -- As American women continue to delay parenthood, rates of teenage births and births for women in their early 20s are at all-time lows, federal health officials reported Friday.

U.S. women have their first baby at age 25.6 on average, according to 2011 figures released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is up slightly from 2010 and significantly older than the 1970 average of 21.4 years.

Births to girls 15 to 19 declined 8 percent between 2010 and 2011, and births to women 20 to 24 years old dropped 3 percent to a record low, the CDC report stated.

"If this [trend] results in more births being planned and intended it is difficult to object to it," said Dr. Jeffrey Ecker, director of Obstetrical Clinical Research and Quality Assurance at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

"If we are talking about a shift from early 20s to late 20s or early 30s, the expectation is that outcomes would be safe and healthy. The message isn't that it's fine to wait until a woman is in her late 30s or 40s to think about becoming pregnant," added Ecker, who is also chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Committee on Obstetric Practice.

As women get older it is more difficult to become pregnant, Ecker said, adding that the likelihood of miscarriage and other complications also increases.

Overall, 3.9 million U.S. births were reported in 2011, representing the lowest general birth rate since 1998 -- 63.2 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44 -- and 1 percent less than in 2010, the CDC reported.

Birth rates were unchanged for women aged 30 to 34 but rose for women 35 to 44.

Births to unmarried women declined in 2011 for the third year in a row -- down another 2 percent from 2010.

Experts found good news in the report.

In terms of health, highlights are a leveling off of cesarean births and the continued decline in the preterm birth rate, said lead author Joyce Martin, an epidemiologist at CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics, Reproductive Statistics.

In 2011 the rate of cesarean delivery remained about the same as the year before -- nearly 33 percent of all births. Previously, the number of women undergoing C-sections had increased steadily, jumping 60 percent from 1996 to 2009.

Meanwhile, the rate of preterm deliveries (before 37 weeks) dropped in 2011 for the fifth straight year to 11.7 percent of all births, down 2 percent from 2010 and 8 percent from its high in 2006.

The rate of babies born at a low birth weight in 2011 was 8.10 percent -- down somewhat from 8.15 percent in 2010 and 2 percent lower than the 2006 peak of 8.26 percent.

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Young Men Less Likely to Survive Melanoma Than Women: Study

White males made up about 40 percent of deadly skin cancer patients, but more than 63 percent of deaths

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- White male teens and young adults are more likely to die of melanoma skin cancer than their female counterparts, a new study finds.

Researchers looked at data from more than 26,000 white patients, aged 15 to 39, in the United States who were diagnosed with melanoma between 1989 and 2009 and followed for an average of seven and a half years.

During the follow-up, there were nearly 1,600 melanoma-related deaths. Although males made up about 40 percent of the melanoma patients, they accounted for more than 63 percent of the deaths, according to the study, which was published June 26 in the journal JAMA Dermatology.

After adjusting for various factors, the investigators concluded that males were 55 percent more likely to die of melanoma than females.

Continued public health efforts are needed to raise young men's awareness of the dangers of melanoma, said Dr. Christina Gamba, of the Stanford University Medical Center, and colleagues.

"This alarming difference in the outcome highlights the urgent need for both behavioral interventions to promote early detection strategies in young men and further investigation of the biological basis for the sex disparity in melanoma survival," the study authors concluded.

Melanoma is the third most common type of cancer in American teens and young adults.

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Women on HRT Helped by Extra Calcium, Vitamin D?

Study found hip fracture rate was 57 percent lower in those also taking supplements

By Serena Gordon

HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- Although there has been significant debate about whether calcium and vitamin D supplements are beneficial for older women, new research suggests that the answer may be yes for those who are taking hormone replacement therapy.

Women using HRT who also took daily supplements of calcium and vitamin D saw a 40 percent reduction in their rate of hip fractures compared to women who took placebo supplements, according to the study.

"We found that women who were on hormones had less hip fractures, and women who were on hormones and calcium and vitamin D supplements had even fewer hip fractures," said study author Dr. John Robbins, a professor of medicine at the University of California at Davis.

Results of the study were published online June 26 in the journal Menopause.

As many as half of all women over 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in their lifetime, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Osteoporosis is a condition caused by a loss of bone mass and density, which leaves bones fragile and more susceptible to fractures. Calcium is an important component in bone growth, and vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium.

What's not clear is if supplements of these nutrients are as helpful in keeping bones strong as they are from natural sources, such as diet. The USPSTF recently looked at the effect of 1,000 milligrams of daily calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D. In February, they concluded that women shouldn't take calcium and vitamin D supplements because the available evidence wasn't strong enough to show a significant benefit. They added that the benefits of higher doses are unknown.

The new study included data from the Women's Health Study on about 30,000 postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 79. Many of the women were taking hormone replacement therapy -- either estrogen alone or a combination of estrogen and progesterone.

Just over 16,000 women participated in the calcium and vitamin D portion of the study. They were randomly selected to receive either a placebo or 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 400 international units of vitamin D each day. The average follow-up time was about seven years.

The hormone therapy and the supplements together were the most effective treatment for reducing hip fracture risk. The researchers found that the combination reduced the risk of hip fracture by 57 percent.

Overall, the rate of hip fracture was 11 per 10,000 women per year for those who took both hormones and supplements. Women who took only hormones had a hip fracture rate of 18 per 10,000, while those who took only supplements had a hip fracture rate of 25 per 10,000. Women who received neither therapy had 22 hip fractures per 10,000 women.

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FDA Warns Pregnant Women About Migraine Drugs

Medicines containing valproate linked to lower IQs in children, agency says

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, May 6 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women who struggle with migraine headaches should never use medicines containing the ingredient valproate because they can lower the IQ scores of their children, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Monday.

The new warning will be included on the labels of medicines that contain valproate. These medicines already carry a boxed warning about fetal risk, including birth defects. Valproate products include valproate sodium (Depacon); divalproex sodium (Depakote, Depakote CP, and Depakote ER); valproic acid (Depakene and Stavzor); and their generic versions.

"Valproate medications should never be used in pregnant women for the prevention of migraine headaches because we have even more data now that show the risks to the children outweigh any treatment benefits for this use," Dr. Russell Katz, director of the division of neurology products in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an agency news release.

Valproate medicines have several FDA-approved uses including: prevention of migraines, treatment of epileptic seizures and treatment of bipolar disorder.

This new warning was issued after a study found that children whose mothers took valproate drugs to protect against epilepsy during pregnancy scored eight to 11 points lower on IQ tests at age 6 than children who were exposed to other antiepileptic drugs in the womb.

It's not known if there's a specific time during pregnancy when valproate can result in decreased IQ in children. The women in the study took the antiepileptic valproate drugs throughout their pregnancies, the FDA said.

Valproate may have some value in treating bipolar disorder and epileptic seizures in pregnant women, but should only be taken if other medications have failed to control the symptoms or are otherwise unacceptable, according to the agency.

The FDA also said that:

Women who can become pregnant should not use valproate unless it is essential to managing their medical condition.Women of childbearing age taking valproate products should use effective birth control.Women who are pregnant or who become pregnant while taking valproate medications should talk to their health-care professional immediately. Women should not stop taking their medication without talking to their health-care professional because stopping treatment suddenly can cause serious and life-threatening medical problems for the woman or the fetus.

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Bike Helmets Save Lives, Here are 5 Helmets for Women We Love

Guys, not-so-newsy newsflash: Bike helmets save lives. (More specifically: Bike helmet laws save lives.) This really should be obvious, but given the number of people I see on a daily basis who clearly haven't gotten the memo, it's something we need to talk about. According to brand-new research out of Boston Children's Hospital, states with bicycle helmet requirements have significantly lower rates of deaths and "incapacitating injuries" after bicycle-motor vehicle collisions.

The study, presented today at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, has led its authors to recommend that all cyclists -- regardless of age -- wear helmets; they also support more laws to make them mandatory for all. Currently only 21 states and the District of Columbia require bike helmets, and even then, only for children. So while the study could only examine the impact of these youth helmet laws, it's safe to assume that helmets protect adult cyclists, as well.

About 900 people die each year in bicycle crashes, three-quarters of them from head injuries. And yes, it's important to ride cautiously and to know the rules of the road; but there are some things -- like, um, cars -- that you simply can't control. So be safe and wear a helmet, every time you get on your bike. Need a new one? Here are five of our faves.

Liv/giant Women's Orion Helmet: Not sure if you're a S, M or L? This model is one size fits most, with a removable visor to shade your eyes from the sun. $55, giant-bicycles.com

Specialized Andorra Mountain Biking Helmet: Most of Specialized's 2013 women's helmets have a "hairport" -- that's a larger-than-normal space in the back designed for your ponytail to fit through. Brilliant! This one offers extended coverage that's great for mountain bikers. $75, specialized.com

Bern Lenox Helmet: We wrote about this one back during snowboarding season, but the smart all-weather design deserves another mention. Just swap out the liners for summer or winter activities! $64.99 bernunlimited.com

Giro Air Attack Shield: At a higher price point, this new model is for ladies who are striving for a new PR, whether in a time trial race or a triathlon. Its aerodynamic design slices through the air (without looking totally ridiculous like those super pointy helmets) and has a magnetic attachment to protect your eyes. $240, giro.com

Lazer Kiss Helmet: This women's design, from the world's oldest helmet manufacturer still in business, uses a dial on top of the helmet to adjust the fit -- that means no band across the back of the head to cut off your ponytail. $60, lazersport.com

What helmet will you rock this summer? Tweet us at @amandaemac and @SELFmagazine.

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Did Men's Yen for Younger Women Cause Menopause?

Study found bias may have sidelined older women sexually, prompted changes that led to infertility

By Barbara Bronson Gray

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Can women blame men for menopause?

They may have a case, according to new research that suggests it was men's interest in mating with younger females that gave evolutionary rise to menopause by sidelining older women from reproduction.

Menopause -- when a woman stops getting menstrual periods and can't become pregnant -- is unique to humans and its cause is still unknown, explained study author and evolutionary biologist Rama Singh. "We accept as a given the idea that older women tend to be unable to reproduce," but Singh said this is actually an "evolutionary puzzle."

It has long been thought that menopause is what causes women, primarily in their early 50s, to stop being able to get pregnant, but the researchers found evidence that things could actually have occurred the other way around. In other words, infertility may have been the cause, not the effect, of menopause in early humans.

There are at least 10 theories of why menopause occurs, according to the researchers, including ideas based on the fact that women are living longer and depleting the number of eggs in their ovaries, to what is called the "grandmother hypothesis." That idea holds that menopause allows older women to provide childcare that contributes to the survival of their grandchildren, making them more fit or valuable to the human tribe.

But Singh's research, published online June 13 in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, suggests something altogether new.

"This paper is saying that men have played the major or dominant part in choosing mates," said Singh, who is a professor of population genetics and evolution at McMaster University, in Canada. "Somewhere along the line in our evolutionary history, males did not mate randomly but preferred young women because they are more attractive."

Going way back in human history, people reproduced all their lives, explained Singh. While it's possible that some women may have experienced menopause 30,000 years ago, now 100 percent of women experience it. "Menopause is an evolutionary phenomenon," he said.

The scientists found that the development of menopause seems to have done nothing to improve the chances of human survival over time, but rather occurred because women of a certain age weren't finding mates, and thus reproductive ability was unnecessary for them.

Yet Singh pointed out that if women long ago had been the ones choosing younger mates, older men would have been the ones losing their fertility, not women.

The process of natural selection favors the most fit, so women who are most likely to reproduce are protected, explained Singh. Natural selection is the gradual, non-random process through which biological traits become either more or less common, due to the way reproduction occurs, Singh explained.

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Heavier Pregnant Women Tend to Deliver Prematurely

In large Swedish study, risk rose along with the mother's weight

By Dennis Thompson

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight or obese women who are pregnant are more likely to give birth prematurely, and the risk of preterm delivery increases with their amount of excess weight, according to a study of more than 1.5 million deliveries in Sweden.

Researchers speculate that the health problems associated with overweight and obesity -- high blood pressure, insulin resistance, high cholesterol, increased chance of infection -- have a direct impact on a woman's ability to carry their child to term, according to the study, which was published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Birth of an infant prior to 37 weeks of gestation is the leading cause of infant mortality, neonatal illness and long-term disability in children, said researchers led by Dr. Sven Cnattingius of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

A U.S. expert not involved with the study said he wasn't surprised by the findings.

"This just reinforces the fact that the complications of obesity and additional weight gain are deleterious to both mother and fetus," said Dr. Raul Artal, a professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Artal said this study, along with previous research, makes the case that overweight and obese women who are pregnant can protect the health of their unborn child by maintaining their current weight or even shedding some pounds.

"The concept that we propagated for years that pregnancy is not a good time for weight loss and physical activity is wrong," he said.

For the study, researchers analyzed the records of 1.59 million births between 1992 and 2010, reviewing the body-mass index (BMI) of the women at their first prenatal doctor's visit as well as information recorded following birth about health risks, maternal diseases and pregnancy complications.

BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

The statistics came from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, which maintains detailed data on all births in that nation and serves as a valuable resource for researchers, a U.S. expert said.

"There's a lot of good obstetric data that comes out of Sweden because of that register," said Dr. Russ Fothergill, vice chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Scott and White Healthcare in Temple, Texas.

The researchers found that the risk of extremely premature (22 to 27 weeks), very premature (28 to 31 weeks) and moderately premature (32 to 36 weeks) deliveries increased with a woman's BMI.

The authors said that even though the study is Swedish, the results can be generalized to other populations with similar or higher rates of maternal obesity or preterm delivery.

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Angelina Jolie at the Women in the World Summit

Angelina Jolie wears in an olive coloured dress by Saint Laurent at the Women in the World Summit - vote on celebrity fashion, style and red carpet looks in GLAMOUR.COM’s Dos and Don’ts

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The Morning Scoop: Dress Like the Women of Mad Men, Women Loses Over 100 Lbs with Zumba and More!

Who's excited for the Season 6 premiere of Mad Men? Throw a viewing party and dress up like Betty or Peggy with this chic style guide. [Fashionista]

The Zumba craze hasn't slowed down , and one brave woman lost 123 pounds by dancing her way to her goal. See her story here. [CNN]

This morning a United States judge overturned a ruling requiring girls under 17 to obtain a prescription for the "morning-after" pill. [Washington Post]

We are obsessed with coffee. (Who isn't?!?!) Find the best cup of joe in your neck of the woods. [Daily Meal]

Rogert Ebert, we already miss you. Check out his best television moments. [BuzzFeed]

Image Credit: Courtesy of Fashionista.com

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Pregnant Women Under Stress May Be at Higher Risk for Stillbirth

Title: Pregnant Women Under Stress May Be at Higher Risk for Stillbirth
Category: Health News
Created: 3/29/2013 2:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 4/1/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Poor Sleep May Worsen Heart Woes in Women, Study Finds

But lack of shuteye doesn't seem to have same effect on inflammation levels in men

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- Poor sleep appears to contribute to the progression of heart disease in women by raising their inflammation levels, but this effect was not seen in men, researchers say.

"Inflammation is a well-known predictor of cardiovascular health," lead author Aric Prather, a clinical health psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a university news release.

"Now we have evidence that poor sleep appears to play a bigger role than we had previously thought in driving long-term increases in inflammation levels and may contribute to the negative consequences often associated with poor sleep," Prather added.

Previous research has shown that sleeping fewer than six hours per night may raise the risk of chronic health problems, including heart disease, and is associated with higher levels of inflammation.

This new study included nearly 700 men (average age 66) and women (average age 64) with coronary heart disease. Among the women, poor sleep quality was significantly associated with increases in markers of inflammation over five years. However, this was not the case among men.

Most of the women in the study were postmenopausal and their lower levels of estrogen could help explain the link between poor sleep and higher levels of inflammation, the study authors suggested.

"It is possible that testosterone, which is at higher levels in men, served to buffer the effects of poor subjective sleep quality," Prather's team wrote in the study published online June 5 in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

The researchers said their findings reveal potentially important gender differences and provide evidence that increased inflammation may be a major way that poor sleep contributes to the progression of heart disease in women.

Although the study found an association between self-reported poor sleep quality and increased signs of inflammation among older women with heart disease, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

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Pent-Up Stress Could Harm Health of Middle-Aged Women

Swedish study followed women since late 1960s

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- Many middle-aged women develop aches and pains and other physical symptoms as a result of chronic stress, according to a decades-long study.

Researchers in Sweden examined long-term data collected from about 1,500 women and found that about 20 percent of middle-aged women experienced constant or frequent stress during the previous five years. The highest rates of stress occurred among women aged 40 to 60 and those who were single or smokers (or both).

Among those who reported long-term stress, 40 percent said they suffered aches and pains in their muscles and joints, 28 percent experienced headaches or migraines and 28 percent reported gastrointestinal problems, according to the researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy of the University of Gothenburg.

The study appeared recently in the International Journal of Internal Medicine.

Even after adjusting for smoking, body weight and physical activity levels, there was a clear link between stress and an increased risk of physical symptoms, the researchers said.

The women in the study were followed since the late 1960s. Among those who experienced long-term stress but did not report any stress-related physical symptoms at the start of the study, 27 percent had new muscular and joint pain symptoms 12 years later, and about 15 percent reported new complaints in the form of headaches or gastrointestinal problems.

"Since 1968, women's lifestyles have changed in many ways," researcher Dominique Hange said in a university news release. "For example, many more women now work outside the home. Naturally, these changes can affect the experience of stress."

"Although we've used exactly the same question since 1968, we can't take it for granted that the term 'stress' has exactly the same meaning today," Hange added. "It might also be more socially accepted today to acknowledge one's experience of stress."

Hange said the "most important conclusion [from this study] is that single women, women who do not work outside the home and women who smoke are particularly vulnerable to stress. Here, we see a greater need for preventive measures from society."

The next step is to identify methods that doctors can use to help patients deal with stress-related physical complaints and illnesses, and to pinpoint ways to reduce stress at work, the researchers said.

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Study Pinpoints Women at Risk for Blood Clots From Pregnancy

Factors include age, disease history and weight

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- Several factors that increase the risk of blood clots in women during or after pregnancy are outlined in a large new study.

Women who were older than 35, who were overweight or obese, or who smoked were at somewhat higher risk of developing blood clots during pregnancy. Medical complications such as pre-existing diabetes, varicose veins and inflammatory bowel disease were also associated with increased risk.

The findings could help doctors identify at-risk women and take measures to prevent them from developing blood clots, which can be dangerous and potentially deadly if they break free and travel to areas such as the heart, brain or lungs.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 400,000 pregnancies that occurred between 1995 and 2009.

Among new mothers, being obese was associated with a fourfold increased risk of developing a blood clot. The risk was two times higher than normal among those who had a cesarean delivery, a premature birth, bleeding in pregnancy or had given birth three or more times, according to the study, which appeared April 2 in the journal Blood.

Women who had a stillbirth were six times more likely to develop a blood clot, formally known as venous thromboembolism (VTE).

"We believe the strong association between stillbirths and premature births and [blood clots] in particular is a finding of real importance that has received only limited attention to date," study leader Dr. Matthew Grainge, of the School of Community Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham, in England, said in a university news release. "[Stillbirths and premature births] are not currently incorporated in the guidelines for risk assessment for [blood clots] and, if they were, then many cases associated with those risk factors could potentially be prevented."

Blood clots affect about one or two pregnancies per 1,000, according to the news release. Despite being rare, blood clots are a leading cause of death in expectant and new mothers in developing countries.

"Preventative measures for [blood clots], such as a daily dose of the blood thinner heparin, may not be cost effective or safe and are therefore only recommended for women who are considered high risk," Grainge said. "However, there is currently inconsistency and disagreement over the factors that put women in that high-risk category, and we hope this research will provide clinicians with valuable new information."

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Tofu-Rich Diet May Help Women With Lung Cancer Live Longer

Title: Tofu-Rich Diet May Help Women With Lung Cancer Live Longer
Category: Health News
Created: 3/26/2013 10:35:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 3/26/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Women May Have Natural Defense Against Common STD

'Trich' causes discomfort for some, but is symptomless in others

By Mary Elizabeth Dallas

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- Women appear to have a natural defense against the world's most common sexually transmitted infection, a new study says.

This natural protective barrier consists mainly of lactic acid bacteria -- called lactobacilli.

The finding appears online May 29 in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.

The discovery could lead to new treatments for "trich," which affects an estimated 174 million women and men around the world each year, according to a journal news release.

Trich is caused by the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis or T. vaginalis. Symptoms of the infection include pain, irritation and discharge. About 50 percent of all people who have this condition, however, don't develop symptoms and are unaware that they are infected.

Researchers Augusto Simoes-Barbosa, of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and colleagues examined how easily three different strains of T. vaginalis bound to vaginal cells. They repeated the process when nine different types of lactobacilli were also present.

In the vast majority of instances, lactobacilli prevented the parasite from binding to the cells. Some types of lactobacilli were better at preventing the parasite from binding to the cells than others, the study authors pointed out.

"This study reinforces the important role that our microbiomes play in health, infection and disease," they wrote. "Understanding the role that Lactobacillus plays in T. vaginalis infection/disease might reveal new therapeutic approaches, which include taking advantage of the natural probiotic activity of lactobacilli."

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Tofu-Rich Diet May Help Women With Lung Cancer Live Longer

Chinese study found eating high amounts before diagnosis boosted survival rates

By Mary Brophy Marcus

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- Eating tofu and other soy foods may help women who develop lung cancer increase their odds of living longer.

A study of women from Shanghai, China, published in the March 25 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, links high soy consumption before a lung cancer diagnosis with longer survival.

"This is the first study to suggest an association between soy food consumption and lung cancer survival," said study author Dr. Gong Yang, a research associate professor of medicine in the division of epidemiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville.

Eating soy products in small amounts in the years preceding a lung cancer diagnosis didn't seem to pose a benefit, though.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among women in the world. It forms in the tissues of the lungs, usually in the cells that line the air passageways. The five-year survival rate is poor compared to breast cancer; it is estimated that by 2012, lung cancer will cause twice as many deaths as breast cancer, Yang said.

Cigarette smoking is the top cause of the disease in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but in the study, most of the women from China were nonsmokers.

One expert noted another difference between the two populations of women that does not bode well for Chinese women.

"Far more never-smoking women in Asia get lung cancer than in the United States," said Dr. Jyoti Patel, an associate professor of medicine at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. "We're not sure why this is, but they may have a predilection for developing mutations ... that cause lung cancer to grow."

The study participants were part of a larger observational study called the Shanghai Women's Health Study, which tracked the incidence of cancer in about 75,000 women. Diet information was collected, including how much soy food -- such as soy milk, tofu, fresh and dry soybeans, and soy sprouts -- women ate.

The authors reported that about 450 women were diagnosed with lung cancer during the study. They were divided into three groups according to the amount of soy food they had eaten before their lung cancer diagnosis. The highest intake levels of tofu were equal to about 4 ounces a day, while the lowest soy consumers ate less than 2 ounces daily.

During the study, more than 300 of the lung cancer patients died, Yang said. Sixty percent of the women in the highest soy-eating group and 50 percent in the low soy consumer group were alive twelve months after diagnosis. A patient's risk of death decreased with increasing soy intake, but leveled off at 4 ounces of daily tofu consumption.

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