Womens Health Study

Womens Health Study 50 mg/alternate days, 2.1 yr P-Carotene Lung cancer 0 38... 

Finally a large NIH study (The Women s Health Study of 40 000 women), just completed in 2005, showed that aspirin gave no cardiac protection to women as had previously been assumed, though it did reduce the incidence of ischemic strokes in women over 65 years. This compared to the reduction of heart attacks in men. A subsequent metaanalysis of six studies, including the Women Health Study, confirmed this, and in addition,... 

Dorjgochoo T, Gao YT, Chow WH, Shu XO, Li H, Yang G, Cai Q, Rothman N, Cai H, Franke AA, Zheng W, Dai Q (2009) Plasma carotenoids, tocopherols, retinol and breast cancer risk results from the Shanghai Women Health Study (SWHS). Breast Cancer Res Treat 117 381-389... 

As researchers continue to study the health benefits of green tea, tests have shown it to be helpful in preventing or slowing the development of cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases. Yet, there is still no evidence that it plays a role in helping with weight loss, as some companies claim. Above, a woman picks green tea leaves in Hangzhou, China. 

Hypertension takes a greater toll on women than on men. The risk of repeat heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events in women increases as blood pressure rises. In a prospective study of more than five thousand female health professionals with an average age of sixty-two, for each 10-point increase in systolic blood pressure a woman s cardiovascular disease risk increased by 9 percent. High blood pressure makes the heart work harder to pump blood throughout the body that, in turn, causes the heart to enlarge and lose efficiency over time. 

The primary problem in studying human reproduction is that many aspects of the reproductive process occur without the knowledge of either the woman or her physician. Ovulation, fertilization, and implantation all occur as concealed events. Reproductive biologists and epidemiologists, however, have recently developed new and incisive tools to associate exposures to reproductive health. While it will be years... 

Studies such as this one help to establish that HIV-seropositive women who are depressed can benefit from taking medications. Attention should not be diverted, however, from the need for aggressive outreach, education, and attention to the essential issues these women will have to face as a consequence of the illness. A diagnosis of HIV or AIDS can be overwhelming, and there are many aspects of the client s life that will need to be addressed. The importance of individual assessment, counseling, and education cannot be overestimated. In addition, clients should be made aware that the two major side effects of anxiety and insomnia may further jeopardize a woman s emotional and physical health. Through counseling... 

A recent study by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health found that woman agricultural workers exposed to certain pesticides during the first three months of pregnancy had double the risk of giving birth to deformed children. Some of the chemicals used in the study—dichlorvos, aldicarb, mancozeb, captan and naled— are used in the flower industry and other agricultural activities in Columbia. More than 60% of flower workers in Colombia are women. 

For many workers the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, with its broad promises and convoluted implementation, is equally frustrating. No one can accuse this law of not setting a bold objective to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions. .. [and] assure insofar as practicable that no employee shall suffer diminished health, functional capacity or life expectancy as a result of his work experience. If simply passing a law calling for these results were equivalent to achieving them, this study would not need to be written. 

Most of the epidemiologic studies in the EPA report were cross-sectional, so it is difficult to ascertain the most sensitive period in a woman s lifetime, when lead exposure would be most detrimental to reproductive health. 

When Eileen was discharged from the hospital on December 13, 1893, her urine was devoid of albumen and her kidneys were apparently free of disease. In some sense, Eileen was lucky Between 17 and 30 percent of all expectant mothers stricken with eclampsia perished as a result. Yet Eileen s long-term prospects were not promising. According to one study, 40 percent of all eclampsia survivors in England and Wales in the year 1930 suffered from an eclampsia-related disability such as chronic invalidism, heart disease, hypertension, or severe anemia. Another study indicated that 33-40 percent of all survivors died from renal failure within a few years of recovery. In short, even when a woman survived eclampsia in the short term, her long-term health prospects were compromised. ... 

In the Americas, health literature often talks about alcohol in terms of drinks. Hsually, this refers to the amount of alcohol in a standard 12 fluid ounces (USA) or 355 mL bottle of beer. At a typical alcoholic strength of 5%, one such beer would contain 1.78 units, almost the entire maximum daily allowance recommended for a woman. Two such beers would take a man over the recommended level for his maximum daily intake. However, the size of a drink can vary in different studies, and so alcohol consumption will be described in units here. The alcohol unit contents of common beverages are shown in Table 29.1. 

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