Polskie Archiwum Medycyny Wewnętrznej
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Apr 2019
ReviewRole of gestational weight gain, gestational diabetes, breastfeeding, and hypertension in mother-to-child obesity transmission.
Given the reported 30% prevalence of early-life obesity in the Western world, the nongenetic, maternally derived risk factors for excess body mass in offspring have been widely investigated recently. This review article aimed to analyze the results of 67 articles published from 2014 onwards that investigated causative non-genetic-based associations between maternal and infantile excess body mass. Excessive gestational weight gain was found to increase the incidence of excess body mass in offspring, reaching nearly 20% at 2 years of age. ⋯ Their occurrence should be monitored and prevention of these factors should become the principal aim of obesity prevention programs for children. Occurrence of these factors may justify intense screening to diagnose early stages of metabolic disorders in offspring, even in adulthood. Further large-scale studies are warranted to draw a firm conclusion.
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Pol. Arch. Med. Wewn. · Apr 2019
ReviewA review of menopausal hormone therapy: recalibrating the balance of benefit and risk.
While menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) was initially marketed to women of menopausal age to prolong youth, it has endured a tumultuous history evaluating the risk-to-benefit ratio. In response to evidence that MHT may confer cardioprotective effects, 2 landmark randomized controlled trials tested this hypothesis, and both were stopped prematurely due to increased incident cancers and cardiovascular events, creating much controversy and confusion. As women and physicians grew reticent to use MHT, most symptomatic menopausal women remained untreated. ⋯ Most recently, the 18-year follow-up data of postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Institute trial did not show any change in long-term survival associated with the use of MHT at any age. More recent studies have evaluated alternative treatments for high-risk women, including lower doses and newer formulations of MHT, along with combined new therapies such as selective estrogen receptor modulators, antidepressants, and exercise therapies, which are effective in reducing vasomotor symptoms and improving menopause-specific quality of life. These alternatives provide new options to symptomatic women who are unable or unwilling to take conventional MHT and allow for more person-centered decision making strategies to support women through the menopause.