Ganesa Wegienka

Self-Reported Heavy Bleeding Associated With Uterine Leiomyomata

OBJECTIVE To characterize the relationship between self reported bleeding symptoms and uterine leiomyoma size and location. METHODS The leiomyoma status of a randomly selected sample of women aged 35–49 in the Washington, DC, area was determined using abdominal and transvaginal ultrasound to measure size and location of leiomyomata found at screening. Women were asked about symptoms of heavy bleeding (gushing-type bleeding, long menses, pad/ tampon use) in a telephone interview. Using multivariable regression, we examined the relationships between leiomyoma characteristics and heavy bleeding symptoms among 910 premenopausal women. RESULTS Women with leiomyomata (n = 596) were more likely to report gushing-type bleeding than women without leiomyomata; risk increased with leiomyoma size. Adjusted relative risks with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for women in each leiomyoma size category compared with the reference category (women without leiomyomata) were as follows: adjusted relative risk of 1.4 (95% CI 1.1, 1.9) for diffuse only, adjusted relative risk of 1.4 (95% CI 1.1, 1.8) for small leiomyomata (less than 2 cm), adjusted relative risk of 1.6 (95% CI 1.3, 2.0) for medium leiomyomata (2–5 cm), and adjusted relative risk of 1.9 (95% CI 1.5, 2.5) for large leiomyomata (greater than 5 cm). Reported use of eight or more pads/tampons on the heaviest days of menstrual bleeding increased with leiomyoma size, with a nearly 2.5-fold risk for women with large leiomyomata compared with women without leiomyomata (adjusted relative risk of 2.4; 95% CI 1.8, 3.1). Nonsubmucosal leiomyomata were associated with essentially the same increase in heavy bleeding as submuscosal leiomyomata of similar size. CONCLUSION Small leiomyomata were associated with increased risk of heavy bleeding, and risk increased with size. Contrary to published articles, nonsubmucosal leiomyomata were associated with heavy bleeding to the same extent as submucosal leiomyomata.

Influence of Medical Conditions and Lifestyle Factors on the Menstrual Cycle

Background. Few studies have described medical and lifestyle factors associated with various menstrual cycle characteristics. Methods. We analyzed cross-sectional data collected from 3941 premenopausal women from Iowa or North Carolina participating in the Agricultural Health Study between 1994 and 1996. Eligible women were age 21–40, not taking oral contraceptives, and not currently pregnant or breast feeding. We examined four menstrual cycle patterns: short cycles (24 days or less), long cycles (36 days or more), irregular cycles, and intermenstrual bleeding. Results. Long and irregular cycles were less common with advancing age and more common with menarche after age 14, with depression, and with increasing body mass index. The adjusted odds of long cycles increased with increasing body mass index, reaching 5.4 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.1–13.7) among women with body mass indexes of 35 or higher compared with the reference category (body mass index of 22–23). Smoking was associated with short cycles. Long cycles, irregular cycles, and intermenstrual bleeding were associated with a history of infertility. Having long cycles was associated with a doubling in the adjusted odds of having a fetal loss among women who had been pregnant within the last 5 years (odds ratio = 2.3; 95% CI = 0.9–5.7). Conclusions. Menstrual patterns are influenced by a number of host and environmental characteristics. Factors that perturb menstruation may increase a woman’s risk of other reproductive disorders.

Man’s best friend? The effect of pet ownership on house dust microbial communities

Pet-ownership, which has been shown to be protective against allergic disease development, is associated with increased house dust bacterial diversity and fewer fungal species, suggesting a potentially microbial-based mechanism for this protective effect.

Neonatal gut microbiota associates with childhood multisensitized atopy and T cell differentiation

Gut microbiota bacterial depletions and altered metabolic activity at 3 months are implicated in childhood atopy and asthma. We hypothesized that compositionally distinct human neonatal gut microbiota (NGM) exist, and are differentially related to relative risk (RR) of childhood atopy and asthma. Using stool samples (n = 298; aged 1–11 months) from a US birth cohort and 16S rRNA sequencing, neonates (median age, 35 d) were divisible into three microbiota composition states (NGM1–3). Each incurred a substantially different RR for multisensitized atopy at age 2 years and doctor-diagnosed asthma at age 4 years. The highest risk group, labeled NGM3, showed lower relative abundance of certain bacteria (for example, Bifidobacterium, Akkermansia and Faecalibacterium), higher relative abundance of particular fungi (Candida and Rhodotorula) and a distinct fecal metabolome enriched for pro-inflammatory metabolites. Ex vivo culture of human adult peripheral T cells with sterile fecal water from NGM3 subjects increased the proportion of CD4+ cells producing interleukin (IL)-4 and reduced the relative abundance of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ cells. 12,13-DiHOME, enriched in NGM3 versus lower-risk NGM states, recapitulated the effect of NGM3 fecal water on relative CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ cell abundance. These findings suggest that neonatal gut microbiome dysbiosis might promote CD4+ T cell dysfunction associated with childhood atopy.

Lifetime dog and cat exposure and dog‐ and cat‐specific sensitization at age 18 years

Background Prior research about whether keeping a dog or cat at home causes allergies to that pet has been limited to outcomes in early childhood.

Prenatal exposure to household pets influences fetal immunoglobulin E production

Background Early life pet exposure may protect against allergic sensitization during childhood. Few studies have evaluated the effect of prenatal pet exposure on potential neonatal markers of allergic risk.

Are uterine leiomyoma a consequence of a chronically inflammatory immune system

The cumulative incidence of uterine leiomyoma at age 50 is ≈ 70% in White women and >80% in Black women. Although risk factor research is limited, increasing age, and being premenopausal, nulliparous or Black are risk factors for leiomyomas. Black women tend to have larger leiomyomas and be younger at diagnosis. Surprisingly little is known about the etiology or pathogenesis of uterine leiomyomas. Women with diagnosed uterine leiomyomas have higher healthcare costs - more than 2.5 times that of women without a diagnosis. In the United States, leiomyomas are the leading indication for hysterectomy. The proposed hypothesis is that leiomyomas are caused in part by a systemic immune milieu that is chronically inflammatory - one that predominates in T helper 17 (Th17) cytokines. Inflammation can be problematic if it is not well regulated. Should an inflammatory imbalance be demonstrated to be associated with leiomyoma development and growth, this would provide an avenue for development of preventative treatments (e.g., focus on anti-inflammatory pathways), which would substantially reduce the morbidity costs of these tumors and reduce a known health disparity.

Effect of Body Mass Index on Robotic-Assisted Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy

STUDY OBJECTIVE To estimate the impact of body mass index (BMI) on the surgical outcomes of patients undergoing robotic-assisted total laparoscopic hysterectomy. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Henry Ford Health System academic medical center (Henry Ford and Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospitals) PATIENTS A total of 135 patients who underwent scheduled robotic-assisted total laparoscopic hysterectomy for benign indications, without concomitant urogynecologic procedures between January 2008 and June 2010. INTERVENTIONS Patients underwent robotic-assisted total laparoscopic hysterectomy as the intention to treat. Two cases were converted to laparotomy. MEASUREMENTS & MAIN RESULTS: Electronic medical records of all patients that underwent robotic-assisted total laparoscopic hysterectomy at Henry Ford Health System were reviewed. Data on demographics, BMI (kg/m(2)), estimated blood loss, perioperative hemoglobin change, procedure duration, hospital length of stay, specimen weight, pathology, and postoperative complications were obtained. The womens median age was 45 years (range 30-68), 61.5% were black, and BMI ranged from 14.8-56.2 kg/m2; 23.4% of women were normal weight or less (BMI <25, n = 31), 52.7% of women were obese (BMI >30, n = 70) and 36 of these patients (27.1%) were morbidly obese (BMI ≥35). BMI did not correlate with procedure duration (Spearman r = .12, p = .16), length of stay (Spearman r = .10, p = .24), or estimated blood loss (Spearman r = .12, p =.18). Our analysis did not identify any meaningful associations between BMI and absolute change in hemoglobin. In addition BMI was not associated with an increase in major or minor complications. CONCLUSION BMI is not associated with blood loss, duration of surgery, length of stay, or complication rates in patients undergoing robotic-assisted total laparoscopic hysterectomy. Robotic assistance may help surgeons overcome adverse outcomes sometimes found in obese patients.

Comparison of robotic-assisted hysterectomy to other minimally invasive approaches.

This study suggests that robotic-assisted hysterectomy has comparable outcomes and possibly fewer complications than other methods of minimally invasive hysterectomy.

Racial Disparities in Allergic Outcomes in African Americans Emerge as Early as Age 2 Years

Racial disparities in allergic disease outcomes have been reported with African Americans suffering disproportionately compared to White individuals.