Keep Using Contraceptives Until After The Menopause...

The Family Planning Association has launched a new campaign called Conceivable aimed at women aged 35 and over, which reminds women to stay vigilant about unplanned pregnancy and to keep using contraception until after the menopause if they do not wish to become pregnant.

They are doing this because experts fear older women are ditching contraception in the mistaken belief that they cannot get pregnant past a certain age. Although fertility does wane, women can still get pregnant well into their thirties, forties and even fifties.

According to the Family Planning Association, abortion rates for women aged 40 to 44 match those for the under 16s, figures for England and Wales show.
In 2008, both of these groups had an abortion rate of four per 1,000 women.

There are many reasons why some women opt for an abortion, including birth abnormalities in the baby, which are more common when the mothers are older.
But FPA says its anecdotal evidence suggests some of the abortions are because women wrongly assumed they could not get pregnant because they were too old.
So be forewarned, do not ditch that contraceptive too soon...

The risk of Gout in Women increases with age, obesity, hypertension, diuretic and alcohol use

—Gout is a common and excruciatingly painful inflammatory arthritis caused by elevated uric acid levels in the blood. When too much uric acid builds up in joint fluid, uric acid crystals form and cause joint swelling and inflammation.
Historically, gout was seen as a male disease, however growing evidence suggests the disease is also a concern for older women.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine found that women with serum uric acid levels over 5 mg/dl had a significantly lower risk of developing gout than men, even though the Rochester Epidemiology project study found the incidence of gout has doubled among women over the past 20 years.

The research team led by Dr Hyon Choi, analyzed data from the Framingham Heart Study for 2,476 women and 1,951 men who had a complete follow-up history and who were free of gout at baseline.
This study, the first to examine the relationship between uric acid levels and gout risk in women, also evaluated purported risk factors for gout and found that increasing age, obesity, hypertension, alcohol use, and diuretic use to be among leading contributors for women.

However, researchers found only a stronger age effect among women placed them at higher risk factors for gout than men. The age-adjusted relative risk (RR) of gout in post-menopausal women was 4.18 and the RR for gout in women using hormone replacement therapy was 0.24. Other risk factors did not differ significantly between women and men.

They found that higher levels of uric acid in the blood increase the risk gout risk for women in a graded manner. The risk of gout among women with serum uric acid levels ≥8 mg/dl was 46 times higher than that among women whose levels were <5 mg/dl.

However, results show that overall, magnitude of the association between gout and uric acid blood levels among women was significantly lower than for men.

View the Original article

Effect of soy isoflavones on bone loss in postmenopausal women is minimal

A new study now indicates that the effect of incorporating soya isoflavones on bone density is minimal.

Previously, in a study lasting 6 months, Iowa State University researchers had indicated that consuming modest amounts of soy protein, rich in isoflavones, lessened lumbar spine bone loss in midlife, peri and post menopausal women.

The same researchers expanded the study to 3 years and found that this was not the case.

The new study calls into question the value of postmenopausal women consuming soy isoflavone tablets to help lessen bone loss and minimize the effect of osteoporosis.

Professor D. Lee Alekel, one of the researchers feels that when it comes to minimizing the consequences of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, we should take a more holistic approach. She says, "People, in general, would like an easy fix. We would all like soy isoflavones to be that magic pill, but this study has found that they are not."

Wise words I think and to be remembered whatever condition we are trying to heal.


View the Original article

Could shrinking in post-menopausal women be due to spinal fracture?

ScienceDaily (Mar. 24, 2010) —
Apparently the loss of height in postmenopausal women may indicate a vertebral fracture according to an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Shrinking in height is common as people age and is associated with back pain. Reasons include changes in the curvature of the spine, narrowing of intervertebral discs and vertebral fractures. Two-thirds of adults have back pain at any time. It is not known if the benefits outweigh the harm of unnecessary radiographs and so diagnosing these treatable disorders is controversial.

Researchers from France conducted a study to compare postmenopausal women and analyze reasons for height loss. The study included 1779 randomly selected general practitioners who were each asked to recruit five female patients over the age of 60. A total of 8610 patients were included in the study.

"We observed a mean loss of height of 4.5 cm since early adulthood in a large population of postmenopausal women in primary care practices," writes coauthor Dr. Karine Briot of Hôpital Cochin and Université Paris Descartes in France. "We found that the risk of an existing vertebral fracture was significantly higher among patients with a height loss of at least 4 cm."

The authors conclude that measurement of height loss could be an accurate method for detecting vertebral fractures. As the actual height of women was different from what the patients reported, GPs need to measure the patients accurately themselves and not rely on estimates. This could indicate whether there may be a spinal fracture and whether further diagnostic tests are required instead of x-raying all patients

Story Source: MLA Canadian Medical Association Journal (2010, March 24). Height loss in postmenopausal