Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2023
Population-Based Linked Longitudinal Surveillance of Pregnant People and Their Infants: A Critical Resource for Emerging, Re-Emerging, and Persistent Threats.
Public health emergencies, from Zika to COVID-19, have underscored the importance of addressing the needs of pregnant people and their infants. Recent events have underlined the critical role of mother-infant-linked longitudinal surveillance to characterize and assess the impacts of emerging, re-emerging, and persistent threats, including infectious diseases, on these populations. In partnership with state, local, and territorial health departments, CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities activated the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET) to capture information about pregnant people with laboratory-confirmed infection with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and their infants. ⋯ This commentary describes the activation of SET-NET to monitor COVID-19 in pregnancy and highlights the experiences of health departments. We provide examples of how SET-NET findings informed COVID-19 prevention efforts and public health policy. Lastly, we identify opportunities to improve and advance surveillance efforts to protect the health of pregnant people and their infants in the United States from current and future threats.
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2023
Observational StudyBoosting Dose of Pfizer-BioNtech mRNA Vaccine Against SARS-CoV-2 Does Not Affect Reproductive Outcomes in In-Vitro Fertilization Patients: A Cohort Study.
Background: Since the introduction of anti-COVID-19 mRNA vaccination, few studies have shown that reproductive outcomes in artificial reproductive technology (ART) treatments are not impaired, after receiving the two-dose regimen. Our aim was to investigate whether a boosting dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech mRNA vaccine affects reproductive outcomes in ART patients. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective observational study, including 157 consecutive in-vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles between October 1, 2021, and November 24, 2021, in a single university affiliated IVF unit. ⋯ We stratified the male cohort according to boosting vaccine dose status. Sperm concentration and motility did not differ significantly after boosting (p = 0.49 and 0.49, respectively). Conclusions: Our results provide further reassurance that IVF outcomes are not affected by the anti-SARS-CoV-2 Pfizer-BioNtech mRNA vaccine, in particular the three-dose regimen.
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2023
Clinical TrialSex Differences in the Burden of Hip Fractures on Functional Status in Older Age.
Background: Hip fractures can dramatically impact the health and self-sufficiency of older people. We investigated the influence of pre-fracture functional status on functional decline and mortality after hip fracture, and possible sex differences in this regard. Materials and Methods: The sample comprised 288 older patients hospitalized with hip fracture in an Orthogeriatric Unit. ⋯ Conclusions: Older men may have a worse functional prognosis than women after a hip fracture. This difference seemed to be exacerbated in cases of high pre-fracture functional performance, suggesting that females have a greater functional reserve, namely better adaptation and recovery strategies to deal with the fracture. Clinical Trial Registration: Registration code: NCT02687698.
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2023
Long-Term Prognostic Impact of Sex in Patients with Chronic Coronary Syndrome: A 17-Year Prospective Cohort Study.
Background: Women and men with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) have different clinical features and management, and studies on mid-term prognosis have reported conflicting results. Our objective was to investigate the impact of the female sex in the prognosis of the disease in the very long term. Methods and Results: We investigated differential features and very long-term prognosis in 1268 consecutive outpatients with CCS (337 [27%] women and 931 [73%] men). ⋯ After up to 17 years of follow-up (median = 11 years, interquartile range = 4-15 years), cumulative incidences of acute myocardial infarction (10.2% vs. 11.8%) or stroke (11% vs. 10%) at median follow-up were similar, but the risks of major cardiovascular events (acute myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death, 41.2% vs. 33.6%), hospital admission for heart failure (20.9% vs. 11.9%), or cardiovascular death (32.3% vs. 22.1%) were significantly higher for women (p < 0.0005), with a nonsignificant trend to higher overall mortality (45.2% vs. 39.1%, p = 0.07). However, after multivariate adjustment, all these differences disappeared. Conclusion: Although women and men with CCS presented a different clinical profile, and crude rates of major cardiovascular events, heart failure and cardiovascular death were higher in women, female sex was not an independent prognostic factor in this study with up to 17 years of follow-up.
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2023
Gender Differences of Endowed Professorship in Obstetrics and Gynecology Departments at Top Academic Institutions.
Background: Gender equity is a critical issue in academic medicine. Whether there is equitable access to the prestige and resources of endowed professorships merits evaluation. We investigated this question in obstetrics and gynecology, a field that focuses on the health of women and in which women are much better represented than other specialties of medicine. ⋯ Our findings suggest a significant gender difference in the allocation of endowed chairs. That difference is driven by gender differences in academic rank, graduation year, publications, and funding. To promote the intraprofessional equity necessary to optimally advance women's health, further research and intervention are necessary.