Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Jul 2022
Association of Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansions with Births Among Low-Income Women of Reproductive Age.
Background: This study examined the association between Medicaid expansions under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and births among low-income women of reproductive age in the United States. Materials and Methods: We used data from the 2008 to 2019 American Community Survey to estimate the association between state adoption of Medicaid expansion under the ACA and the percent of low-income women of reproductive age with a birth in the past year using a difference-in-difference research design. Subgroup analysis was explored by race and ethnicity, age group, educational attainment, marital status, and number of children. ⋯ Conclusions: Reductions in births associated with Medicaid expansion could suggest that expanding Medicaid addressed previously unmet reproductive health care needs among low-income women of reproductive age. The reductions in births among low-income women that we observe were occurring among some groups with higher unintended pregnancy rates, including Hispanic women, American Indian or Alaska Native women, young women, and unmarried women. These findings underscore the importance of reproductive health care access through insurance coverage on empowering women to have control over their reproductive decision-making and timing.
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Journal of women's health · Jul 2022
Physical Activity, Adiposity, and Serum Vitamin D Levels in Healthy Women: The Cooper Center Longitudinal Study.
Background: Although physical inactivity, obesity, and low serum vitamin D [25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D] are common among women, joint associations among these biomarkers are not well-described. Materials and Methods: A total of 7553 healthy women received a comprehensive examination (2006-2018), including self-reported physical activity (PA), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist:height ratio (W:HT), percent body fat (%Fat), and 25(OH)D. Participants were divided into four categories of PA based on current guidelines: <500 (not meeting guidelines), 500-1000 (meeting guidelines), 1001-2500 (>1-2.5 times guidelines), and >2500 (>2.5 times guidelines) metabolic equivalent-minutes/week (MET-Min/wk), and were also classified by clinical cut points for adiposity measures and 25(OH)D. ⋯ When examining PA and BMI as continuous variables, OR for vitamin D deficiency were 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.93-0.96) per 250 MET-minutes/week increment in PA, and 1.20 (95% CI: 1.17-1.23) per 2 kg/m2 increment in BMI. Conclusions: 25(OH)D levels are positively associated with PA and negatively associated with different measures of adiposity. Higher levels of PA attenuate the association between adiposity and 25(OH)D.
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Journal of women's health · Jul 2022
Utilization of Mammography During the Last Year of Life Among Older Breast Cancer Survivors.
Background: Mammography is generally recommended for breast cancer survivors. However, discussion is ongoing about stopping surveillance mammography when life expectancy is <5-10 years as the benefit of screening might be diminished toward the end of life. The utilization pattern of mammography in the last year of life among this population has not been well studied. ⋯ Multivariable logistic regression showed that older age (OR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.29-0.34, p < 0.001 for 95 vs. 85 years old), more advanced cancer stage (OR = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.20-0.24 p < 0.001 for distant vs. localized disease), and higher comorbidity score (OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.91-0.93, p < 0.001 for every 1-point increase) were associated with less mammography use. Age was nonlinearly associated with mammography use, with a steady proportion of patients receiving a mammography until approximately age 80 and then a sharp decrease thereafter. Conclusion: This population-based study found that a sizable proportion of older breast cancer survivors received mammography during the last year of life.
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Journal of women's health · Jul 2022
Surgical and Pharmacological Treatment Patterns in Women with Endometriosis: A Descriptive Analysis of Insurance Claims.
Background: Many women with endometriosis experience chronic abdominal pain. Clinical guidelines recommend treatment with analgesics, contraceptive hormones, gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs, and surgery. Treatment patterns in women with endometriosis are not well characterized. ⋯ However, in the follow-up period, 27.9% of women underwent laparoscopy and 29.7% had a hysterectomy, with a total of 68.1% of the study population undergoing surgical treatment. Conclusions: A diagnosis of endometriosis is accompanied by an increase in the use of analgesics and surgical procedures. The diversity of treatments suggests a lack of clarity in management guidelines.
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Journal of women's health · Jul 2022
Michigan Plan for Appropriate Tailored Healthcare in Pregnancy Prenatal Care Recommendations: A Practical Guide for Maternity Care Clinicians.
Prenatal care is an important preventive service designed to improve the health of pregnant patients and their infants. Prenatal care delivery recommendations have remained unchanged since 1930, when the 12-14 in-person visit schedule was first established to detect preeclampsia. In 2020, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, in collaboration with the University of Michigan, convened a panel of maternity care experts to determine new prenatal care delivery recommendations. ⋯ The resulting Michigan Plan for Appropriate Tailored Healthcare in pregnancy (MiPATH) includes recommendations for key aspects of prenatal care delivery: (1) the recommended number of prenatal visits, (2) the frequency of prenatal visits, (3) the role of monitoring routine pregnancy parameters (blood pressure, fetal heart tones, weight, and fundal height), (4) integration of telemedicine into routine care, and (5) inclusion of (SSDoH). Resulting recommendations demonstrate a new approach to prenatal care delivery that incorporates medical, SSDoH, and patient preferences, to develop individualized prenatal care delivery plans. The purpose of this document is to outline the new MiPATH recommendations and to provide practical guidance on implementing them in routine practice.