Articles: health.
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Dysmenorrhea, which may be primary or secondary, is the occurrence of painful uterine cramps during menstruation. Until a decade ago, medical and social attitudes toward dysmenorrhea were shrouded with folklore, psychoanalytical profiles, or psychosomatic bases. In secondary dysmenorrhea, there is a visible pelvic lesion to account for the pain, whereas only a biochemical abnormality is responsible for primary dysmenorrhea. ⋯ Primary dysmenorrhea affects 50 percent of postpubescent women and absenteeism among the severe dysmenorrheics has been estimated to cause about 600 million lost working hours or 2 billion dollars annually. Thus, an effective, simple, and safe treatment of primary dysmenorrhea for two to three days during menstruation will not only have a positive economic impact but will also enhance the quality of life. The availability of effective dysmenorrhea therapy with NSAIDs has induced greater expectations of relief by the patient, as well as greater willingness to seek medical help, a more rational approach to patient management by physicians, changes in attitude toward women with primary dysmenorrhea, and the debunking of myths about dysmenorrhea that often have been perpetuated as fact.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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J Adolesc Health Care · May 1988
Anthropometric predictors of low birth weight outcome in teenage pregnancy.
The highest relative risks of low birth weight are found among births to teenage mothers. An analysis of anthropometrics (weight, mid-arm circumference, and triceps skinfold) among black teenagers attending an adolescent prenatal program was studied. The sample consisted of 100 girls under 17 years. ⋯ Arm fat area estimates of the LBW mothers demonstrated weekly depletion (-24.9 mm2/wk), which was significantly less than those of the NBW group, who accumulated fat (+15.3 mm2/wk) (p less than .05). Changes in maternal nutritional status may in part mediate the birthweight outcome in adolescent pregnancy. Anthropometrics may be useful in predicting those teens at highest risk of bearing LBW infants.
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Journal of gerontology · Mar 1988
Comparative StudyThe relationships of coping responses to physical health status and life satisfaction among older women.
This study examined a model specifying the causal links between the physical, functional, and subjective components of physical health status and life satisfaction among older women, and assessed the effects of three coping responses (direct-action, positive-cognitive, and passive-cognitive coping) at each point in the process. Based on interview data with 281 older women, a series of regression analyses indicated that, before the inclusion of the coping variables, physical conditions directly contributed to functional impairment, and both indirectly lowered life satisfaction through their direct negative effects on subjective health assessments. Further analyses indicated that positive-cognitive coping buffered the effects of physical conditions at each point in the model, that passive-cognitive coping generally had deleterious effects on health status, although it prevented negative health assessments from lowering life satisfaction, and that direct-action coping had little effect. These findings emphasize the importance of a multidimensional conceptualization of physical health status in understanding its relationship with life satisfaction as well as the specific functions of coping at different points in the process for older women.
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In Morocco, as in many developing countries, tobacco use has become a plague which aggravates the many already existing problems. A coordinated prevention programme which included research and a variety of educational efforts, has been underway for the past five years. The preliminary stage of the non-smoking campaign consisted of research through use of a variety of standardized questionnaires. ⋯ V. broadcasts; contests run with the assistance of the CIPADED (International Committee for the Prevention of Alcohol/Drug Dependence). Information of the harmful effects of tobacco use was diffused in workplaces, government offices, and at public assemblies. Efforts were also implemented to promote adoption of legislation which would limit tobacco consumption.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)