Articles: disease.
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Comparative Study
Iron status of Zairean pregnant women with and without serological markers of hepatitis B virus infection.
We assessed the iron status of 203 Zairean pregnant women: 38 with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (HBsAg(+)), 94 with antibodies to the surface antigen (Anti-HBs(+)) and 71 without HBV markers (HBsAg(-)/Anti-HBs(-)). Participants, age range 15-42 years and parity 1-12, were recruited from Mama Yemo Hospital in summer 1983. Haemoglobin (Hb), serum iron, total iron binding capacity and transferrin saturation (TS) were determined by standard techniques and serum ferritin (FERR) by radioimmunoassay. ⋯ Women with inflammation and identical HBV markers had higher mean FERR levels than those without inflammation. Neither the prevalence of anaemia, which varied between 32 and 35%, nor that of iron deficiency, which varied between 52 and 59%, differed significantly between the three groups of women. We conclude that in pregnant women, chronic asymptomatic HBV infection is not associated with a lower prevalence of iron deficiency and/or anaemia.
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India aims at the elimination of neonatal tetanus by 1995 by providing TT immunization services to all pregnant women in the country. Strengthening of the surveillance system is part of the strategy for the elimination of neonatal tetanus. There is a wide range of performance at state and district level. Many states have the potential of achieving the difficult and challenging goal of neonatal tetanus elimination within a few years.
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Comparative Study
Comparing the health risks and benefits of contraceptive choices.
Simulation models were used to compare the health consequences of birth control methods currently relied on by American women with those of using no method. The incidence of morbidity and mortality related to unintended pregnancies, live births, abortions, upper genital tract infections, tubal infertility, cardiovascular disease and reproductive cancers were estimated for hypothetical cohorts of 100,000 women aged 15-44. Women who never use any method and who never have an abortion would have an average of 18 births during their reproductive lifetime, compared with no more than five among women using any of the available birth control methods. ⋯ The proportion of women who would become infertile--estimated by taking into account the likelihood of developing upper genital tract infections and the probability that any pregnancies that occurred would be ectopic--is reduced substantially if women at low risk of sexually transmitted diseases use any method and if women at high risk use oral contraceptives or barrier and spermicide methods. Oral contraceptive use has a relatively small, independent effect on the risk of cardiovascular diseases, but it greatly augments that risk in combination with smoking and increased age. When ovarian, endometrial and breast cancers are considered together, there will be approximately 110 fewer diagnoses of these three cancers per 100,000 ever-users of the pill aged 15-54 than among 100,000 never-users; furthermore, prior to age 45, 100,000 ever-users will experience 10 fewer deaths from ovarian or endometrial cancers than never-users of the pill.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)