Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · May 2024
Adjusting Current Hemoglobin Thresholds: A Way to Improve Outcome in Women Undergoing Major Surgery.
Background/Objective: In the perioperative setting, a suboptimal total hemoglobin (Hb) mass puts women and men at an unreasonable disadvantage. Anemia is an independent risk factor for transfusion, postoperative complications, and mortality. The Hb cut-off value for women was set at <12.0 g/dL by the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been rigorously debated for decades. ⋯ Conclusion: Taken together, our data show that Hb values below 12.9 g/dL are associated with increased probability of RBC transfusions and increased risk of postoperative complications. In addition, our results indicate that postoperative outcomes for women might be optimized by increasing cut-off values for anemia. The call to revise the anemia threshold for women by the WHO can no longer be disregarded.
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Journal of women's health · May 2024
Relationship Between Ultra-Processed and Minimally Processed Food Intake and Cardiovascular Health Among US Women of Reproductive Age.
Objectives: Ultra-processed food (UPF) intake is associated with worse cardiovascular health (CVH), but associations between unprocessed/minimally processed foods (MPFs) and CVH are limited, especially among women of reproductive age (WRA). Materials and Methods: For 5,773 WRA (20-44 years) in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2018, we identified UPFs and MPFs using the Nova classification and based on 24-hour dietary recalls. We calculated usual percentages of calories from UPFs and MPFs using the National Cancer Institute's usual intake method. ⋯ Patterns of association remained consistent across subgroups and in sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: Higher UPF intake was associated with worse CVH, while higher MPF intake was associated with better CVH among WRA in the United States. Our analyses highlight an opportunity for WRA to improve nutrition and their CVH.
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Journal of women's health · May 2024
The Intersection of Cardiovascular Health and Maternal Health: Portfolio Analysis of Federal Grant Funding 2016-2021.
Background: The United States has high and increasing rates of maternal morbidity and mortality, large proportions of which are related to cardiovascular health (CVH). Methods: We searched for National Institutes of Health (NIH) supported research as well as that of two other Agencies in the U. S. ⋯ National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) MCVH grants studied participants in the pre-partum period (78.5%), followed by the post-partum period (50.5%), with relatively few in pre-pregnancy and peri-partum periods (10.8% and 9.7%, respectively); at the NIH level, the peri-partum period had better representation at 20.3%, whereas the pre-pregnancy period remained low at 9.9%. Conclusions: Federal grant funding for maternal health including MCVH increased at the same rate as its funding for overall research, and represented only 1.4% of overall total funding. The pre-pregnancy period was understudied in overall NIH funding and represents a gap area whereby funding agencies could further foster research advances.
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Journal of women's health · May 2024
U.S. Women with Invasive Cervical Cancer: Characteristics and Potential Barriers to Prevention.
Objectives: Although invasive cervical cancer (ICC) rates have declined since the advent of screening, the annual age-adjusted ICC rate in the United States remains 7.5 per 100,000 women. Failure of recommended screening and management often precedes ICC diagnoses. The study aimed to evaluate characteristics of women with incident ICC, including potential barriers to accessing preventive care. ⋯ Presence of any potential barrier was more frequent among non-White women and women with than without symptoms (p < 0.05). Conclusions: In this population-based descriptive study of women with ICC, we identified adverse circumstances that might have prevented women from seeking screening and treatment to prevent cancer. Interventions to increase appropriate cervical cancer screening and management are critical for reducing cervical cancer rates.