Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Sep 2010
Pathways of chronic pain in survivors of intimate partner violence.
To examine the roles of lifetime abuse-related injury, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, and depressive symptom severity in mediating the effects of severity of assaultive intimate partner violence (IPV), psychological IPV, and child abuse on chronic pain severity in women survivors of IPV. ⋯ These findings can inform clinical care of women with chronic pain in all areas of healthcare delivery by reinforcing the importance of assessing for a history of child abuse and IPV. Moreover, they highlight the relevance of routinely assessing for abuse-related injury and PTSD and depressive symptom severity when working with women who report chronic pain.
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Journal of women's health · Sep 2010
Earlier stage at diagnosis and improved survival among Medicare HMO patients with breast cancer.
We sought to evaluate differences in the stage at diagnosis and the survival of breast cancer patients enrolled in two different Medicare healthcare delivery systems: fee for service (FFS) and health maintenance organizations (HMO). ⋯ Improved survival among breast cancer patients in HMOs compared with FFS is likely due to a combination of factors, including but not limited to earlier stage at the time of diagnosis.
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Journal of women's health · Sep 2010
Effects of smoking cessation on body composition in postmenopausal women.
Smoking cessation is associated with weight gain, but the effects of smoking cessation on measures of body composition (BC) have not been adequately evaluated. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of 16 months of cigarette abstinence on areas of BC measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). ⋯ Smoking cessation may be associated with increased fat and muscle mass in postmenopausal women. The novel finding of an increase in functional muscle mass suggests that smoking cessation could increase functional capacity. Further studies need to replicate these findings and examine mechanisms of these effects.