Journal of women's health
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Journal of women's health · Jun 2004
Racial/ethnic disparities in coronary heart disease risk factors among WISEWOMAN enrollees.
We used the baseline data collected for the Well-integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) participants to provide a snapshot of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk on enrollment and to address racial/ethnic disparities in the following CVD risk factors: body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and total cholesterol, diabetes and smoking prevalence, 10-year coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, and treatment and awareness of high cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes. ⋯ Because differences in community characteristics explain many of the racial/ethnic disparities in CVD risk factors, eliminating disparities may require community-wide interventions. Successful WISEWOMAN projects are likely to not only reduce CVD risk factors overall but also to lessen racial/ethnic disparities in these risk factors.
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Journal of women's health · May 2004
After the Women's Health Initiative: Postmenopausal women's experiences with discontinuing estrogen replacement therapy.
To gather information about women's responses to the publication of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) and to determine what proportion of women stopped hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and whether the technique of discontinuation affected the recurrence of menopausal symptoms. ⋯ In a population of women veterans, 77% stopped HRT after publication of the WHI. Tapering HRT, rather than stopping abruptly, did not reduce the recurrence of menopausal symptoms in our patient population.
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Journal of women's health · Apr 2004
Comparative StudyHormone replacement, race, and psychological health in women: a report from the NHLBI-Sponsored WISE Study.
We analyzed the impact of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on psychological factors in white and black women. We hypothesized that both groups of women would have fewer symptoms of depression and lower hostility scores associated with HRT use. ⋯ We observed racial differences in associations between HRT use and psychological health. Within the white but not the black HRT users, there were fewer symptoms of depression and lower aggression and cynicism scores.
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Journal of women's health · Mar 2004
Relationships of insulin sensitivity with fatness and fitness and in older men and women.
Increased body fatness, especially abdominal obesity, and low levels of fitness are associated with decreased insulin sensitivity. Men and women differ in obesity, body fat distribution, and fitness levels. This cross-sectional study evaluated sex differences in the relationships of insulin sensitivity with fatness and fitness and obesity. ⋯ Abdominal obesity among women and fitness among men were the strongest determinants of insulin sensitivity in this older cohort. This raises the question whether there are sex differences in the lifestyle changes that would be most effective in improving insulin sensitivity.