Freelance writer for Contemporary OB/GYN
Oral contraceptives and risk of cardiac events in women with congenital long-QT syndrome
August 18th 2021Women with congenital long-QT syndrome (LQTS) have an increased risk of cardiac events, including sudden cardiac death, after the onset of adolescence, perhaps due to the effects of estrogen and progesterone on cardiac potassium channels.
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Study finds risk of pregnancy low prior to IUD placement following recent unprotected sex
August 12th 2021The findings of a secondary analysis from a randomized trial of intrauterine devices (IUDs) for emergency contraception should bolster confidence about the low pregnancy risk when providers insert an IUD following a recent episode of unprotected intercourse.
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Oral contraceptive use during adolescence has small but meaningful link to future depression
July 29th 2021Adolescent oral contraceptive use is associated with a small yet meaningful increased risk of experiencing an episode of major depressive disorder (MDD) in early adulthood, especially among women with no history of MDD in adolescence.
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Lower risk of peripheral arterial disease linked to dietary patterns
July 29th 2021An evaluation of multiple recommended eating patterns has found that intakes of legumes, dietary fiber, and vegetable protein is linked to lower risk of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), whereas intakes of unprocessed red meat, processed meat, and regular soft drinks are associated with higher risk.
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Bringing sexual dysfunction into the conversation for women with diabetes
July 27th 2021The management of diabetes is multifaceted, often requiring the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team of providers. While sexual side effects of diabetes are not commonly discussed during patient visits, there is a correlation between the presence of diabetes and frequent sexual dysfunction in women.
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Medicare closes gaps in racial and ethnic health care disparities
July 27th 2021A cross-sectional study in JAMA Internal Medicine has found that entry to Medicare increases coverage rates, access to care, and self-reported health, and it also closes gaps in access and health between racial and ethnic groups.
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Contraceptive services, financial incentives may help those with OUD prevent unintended pregnancy
July 26th 2021Among women with opioid use disorder (OUD) at high risk for unintended pregnancy, onsite contraceptive services coupled with financial incentives to attend follow-up visits to assess contraceptive satisfaction was a significantly more efficacious and cost-beneficial intervention than without incentives or with usual care, according to a prospective randomized clinical trial in JAMA Psychiatry.
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Smart default policy helps lower-income enrollees avoid inferior health plans
July 22nd 2021An analysis of individual enrollment and premium data from California’s marketplace and the American Rescue Plan premium tax credit subsidy schedule has concluded that a smart default policy avoids defaulting lower-income marketplace enrollees to objectively inferior health care insurance plans and leads to large reductions in lower-income enrollees’ deductibles, copayments, and maximum out-of-pocket amounts.
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Use of women's preventive health services during COVID-19
July 22nd 2021All categories of women’s preventive health services that required an in-person visit plummeted during the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in comparison to 2019, but then rebounded to near 2019 levels by July 2020.
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NIPT may not be as effective for twin pregnancies
July 20th 2021Clinicians should carefully consider using noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for the screening of chromosomal abnormalities in twin pregnancies because the combined positive predictive value (PPV) is limited and the screening efficiency is not stable, according to a prospective study.
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Risk of miscarriage with amniocentesis
July 19th 2021Despite the inadvisability of performing early amniocentesis (EA) before 15 gestational weeks due to a high rate of miscarriage, a retrospective cohort study has found no significant difference in the procedure-related risk of miscarriage between EA, at around 14 weeks gestation, and mid-trimester amniocentesis (MA).
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Racial and ethnic differences among women with gestational diabetes
July 16th 2021Nearly 1 in 5 Black women and 1 in 6 Latina women who experience gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during pregnancy are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes within only 8 years postpartum, according to a study poster at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) virtual conference.
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Adapting cervical cancer screening to decreasing HPV infection rates
July 12th 2021For cervical cancer screening, human papillomavirus (HPV)–based screening modalities detect significantly more abnormal cervical cells than traditional liquid-based cytology (LBC) approaches, according to a study in JAMA Network Open.
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Telemedicine for managing diabetes in pregnancy
July 8th 2021A significant uptick in telemedicine for managing diabetes in pregnancy occurred during the COVID-19 crisis, which should continue as the pandemic subsides, according to a session on telemedicine at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) virtual conference.
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Ultrasound to predict placental pathology
July 5th 2021Despite the umbilical artery (UA) Doppler pulsatility index being used to detect elevated fetoplacental vascular resistance, the metric is confounded by variation in fetal cardiac function and is only moderately predictive of placental pathology.
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Effectiveness of online contraception platforms
July 2nd 2021“Over the past several years, a growing number of companies have been providing contraception through online platforms, but there has been very little research on these businesses,” said principal investigator Brittni Frederiksen, MPH, PhD, a senior policy analyst at KFF in San Francisco.
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Does bacterial vaginosis increase risk of developing uterine fibroids?
June 24th 2021No evidence exists that bacterial vaginosis (BV)-associated bacteria increases the risk of developing uterine fibroids (UFs) or the number of UFs, according to a nested case-control study in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
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Nemvaleukin monotherapy and with pembrolizumab for ovarian cancer
June 18th 2021Nemvaleukin alfa (Alkermes) was mostly well tolerated and indicated antitumor activity as both monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab among patients with advanced solid tumors, according to study results presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held virtually from June 4-8.
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Predicting the age at natural menopause
June 17th 2021Besides sex hormone levels, predictors for the age at natural menopause (ANM) include irregularity of menstrual cycle, menopausal symptoms, life habits and socioeconomic factors, according to a retrospective study of 105 middle-aged women who kept bleeding diaries.
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Behavioral counseling interventions for pregnancy weight
June 15th 2021“Promoting healthy weight gain during pregnancy is important for both pregnant people and their babies,” said Task Force member Aaron Caughey, MD, MPP, MPH, PhD, a professor and chair of ob/gyn at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.
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POP, emergency contraception increases subsequent use of effective contraception
June 15th 2021The authors of the prospective study in the journal Health Technology Assessment believe the simple intervention has enormous potential to prevent more unintended pregnancies after emergency contraception.
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Breast milk fortification with formula powder vs. human milk fortifier
June 14th 2021Although fortification of expressed breast milk (EBM) via commercially available human milk fortifiers (HMF) has been shown to increase short-term weight and length among preterm very low-birth-weight (VLMW) neonates, widespread adoption of HMF is hampered by high cost and the increased risk of severe adverse events.
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