Jane E. Corboy

WOMEN’S HEALTH INITIATIVE UPDATE: Low-Fat Diets Not Associated with Weight Gain

Obesity in the U.S. has reached epidemic proportions. Many lay publications have promoted the belief that low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets are to

Breast-Feeding Appears to Reduce Diabetes Risk

Lactation has been associated with improved insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, suggesting that it may also reduce risk for type 2 diabetes.

Hypothalamic-Pituitary Insensitivity to Estrogen in Perimenopause

Traditionally, the onset of menopause is attributed to the failure of ovarian endocrine function and oocyte production. However, evidence suggests that

WOMEN’S HEALTH INITIATIVE UPDATE: Surprise! Menopausal Symptoms Return After Stopping HT

This is another report from the discontinued, estrogen-progestin arm of the WHIs hormone therapy trial. In this arm, 16,608 postmenopausal women who had not had hysterectomy were randomized to receive either conjugated estrogens (0.625 mg/day) plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (2.5 mg/day) or placebo (Journal Watch Womens Health Aug 7 2002).nnClinicians are well aware that menopausal symptoms are likely to return in women who discontinue HT, but which …

Exercise-Related Injury in Women: Prevention and Recovery

Exercise, with its numerous benefits to health and well-being, also carries risk for injury. Exercise-related injuries fall into two major categories -- acute injuries (e.g., sprains and strains) and overuse injuries (e.g., tendonitis). This article focuses on conditions most common in recreational athletes, as well as those that disproportionately affect female athletes.nnAcute Injuries nnAcute injuries usually result from trauma, such as stepping on an uneven surface or making contact with another player. An exception is the potentially season- or career-ending anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, which occurs much more frequently in female than male athletes, often without contact. ACL injuries commonly occur during deceleration, landing, or cutting -- particularly if the athlete is off balance, with her feet flat and knees straight. Womens predisposition to this injury is related to both modifiable factors (environmental, biomechanical, and neuromuscular) and nonmodifiable ones (hormonal and anatomical).nnOveruse Injuries nnOveruse injuries result from three preventable factors: (1) training errors -- e.g., increasing workout duration or intensity too rapidly1; (2) gear problems -- e.g., mismatch of footwear to foot type; and …

Amoxicillin-Clavulanate: Not a Good First-Line Choice for UTIs

Clinicians frequently treat acute uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) empirically, but the standard 3-day course of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole has been compromised by the increasing prevalence of resistant organisms. Fluoroquinolones are effective, but resistance to these agents is emerging, and although nitrofurantoin is suggested as a fluoroquinolone-sparing alternative, it requires a 7-day course of treatment. …

Obesity: Independent Predictor of AFib

Atrial fibrillation and its treatment carry significant morbidity, making it important to identify potentially modifiable risk factors. As part of the

Soy Protein: No Cognitive, BMD, or Lipid Benefit

With the Womens Health Initiative studies demonstrating that the overall risks associated with hormone therapy outweigh its preventive effect on cancer and heart disease, clinicians and patients are seeking alternative ways to mitigate the effects of aging and to control menopausal symptoms. Population-based and animal studies have suggested that consumption of phytoestrogens, found in soy, nuts, and grains, might be …

WOMEN'S HEALTH INITIATIVE UPDATE: Estrogen-Only Arm Stopped

When the estrogen-progestin arm of the WHIs hormone therapy trial was stopped in 2002 (Journal Watch Womens Health Aug 7 2002), the estrogen-only arm

Declines in HT Use After the WHI and HERS II

Use of postmenopausal hormone therapy increased dramatically in the U.S. during the 1980s and 1990s, because evidence from observational studies