Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2014
Maternal depression mediates the association between intimate partner violence and food insecurity.
Examination of maternal experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and depression as risk factors for food insecurity can provide a more nuanced understanding of the role that the family environment and women's health plays in the lives of families with young children that experience food insecurity. We investigated the longitudinal association between mothers' experiences of IPV and household food insecurity, and whether maternal depression mediated the relationship. ⋯ Food insecure mothers may benefit from widespread assistance. Targeting issues central to women's health must become a priority in combating food insecurity. Having IPV and mental health screenings coincide with food assistance applications may help identify women who would benefit from resources designed to increase physical safety, psychological well-being, and food security.
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2014
Relationship between poor physical function, inflammatory markers, and comorbidities in HIV-infected women on antiretroviral therapy.
HIV-infected individuals may be at increased risk of poor physical function. Chronic inflammation has been associated with decreased physical function in the elderly and may also influence physical function in HIV-infected individuals. ⋯ Twenty percent of women aged 40 and older with well-treated HIV had poor physical-function performance, which was associated with the high burden of comorbidities in this population and with increased IL-6. However, it is unclear from this cross-sectional study whether increased inflammation was related to poor physical function or to other factors, such as age and medical comorbidities.
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialWeight and body composition changes during oral contraceptive use in obese and normal weight women.
Oral contraceptive (OC) use seems to have little effect on weight change in normal weight women. Most previous studies have excluded obese women, so the effect of OC use on weight change in obese women is unknown. ⋯ These findings add to evidence that EE/LNG OCs are not associated with short term weight or body composition change for normal weight women and suggest that OCs are also are not associated with short term weight or body composition change in obese women.
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2014
Maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States: where are we now?
This article provides a brief overview of the work conducted by the Division of Reproductive Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on severe maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. The article presents the latest data and trends in maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, as well as on maternal substance abuse and mental health disorders during pregnancy, two relatively recent topics of interest in the Division, and includes future directions of work in all these areas.
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Journal of women's health · Jan 2014
Individual, provider, and system risk factors for breast and cervical cancer screening among underserved Black, Latina, and Arab women.
Socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in breast and cervical cancer screening persist. An exploratory study was conducted to better understand co-occurring risk factors in underserved groups that could inform interventions to improve screening adherence. The objective of this study was to examine associations between breast and cervical cancer screening adherence and co-occurring risk factors in three racial/ethnic groups of underserved women. ⋯ Characteristics associated with breast and cervical screening adherence differs among Black, Latina, and Arab underserved women. Interventions to improve screening should be tailored for racial/ethnic groups with particular attention to competing survival priorities, health literacy risks factors, and provider recommendations.