Urinary incontinence Archive

Ask the doctors

Q. I have pelvic organ prolapse and I want to start working out. Are there exercises I should avoid?

A. Pelvic organ prolapse is a common problem, caused by a weakening of the bowl-shaped group of muscles and tissues that supports your pelvic organs. As this support fails, one or more of these organs — such as the uterus, bladder, or rectum — can shift out of place, typically pushing into (and sometimes protruding out of) the vagina.

Are prostate cancer biopsies reliably accurate? Not always. The most common method, called a systematic biopsy, sometimes misses tumors, and it can also misclassify cancer as being either more or less aggressive than it really is. During systematic biopsy, a doctor takes 12 evenly-spaced samples of the prostate, called cores, while looking at the gland […]

Some routine or elective healthcare can safely wait a while, but putting off medical care for certain health conditions or potentially serious problems is risky.

Attempting to stand up from a seated position on the floor is a good way to assess your overall fitness. No problem? Do it regularly to track your physical health. Having difficulty? Try these exercises to help you improve your fitness.

The question of what age a woman can stop having mammograms does not have a definite answer, but is one each woman must answer based on her circumstances and her feelings about the risks of the procedure versus its benefits.

Here's what the numbers mean — and strategies to lower your cholesterol if it's too high.

For some women who've had normal cholesterol readings all their lives, that changes at menopause. "Going through menopause often results in lipid and cholesterol changes for the worse," says Dr. Samia Mora, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a specialist in cardiovascular medicine the Brigham and Women's Hospital. Drops in the female hormone, estrogen, are associated with a rise in total cholesterol levels due to higher amounts of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol, and another blood lipid (fat) known as triglyceride. Over time this can raise heart risks, which is a reason for concern, as cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 cause of death in postmenopausal women, says Dr. Mora.

"So, it's especially important to track the numbers in perimenopause and the early years after menopause, as LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol tend to increase," she says.

Research we're watching

If a woman has gestational diabetes during her pregnancy, she has a higher risk of developing diabetes later. But a study published February 10 in Diabetes Care found that breastfeeding may help reduce that risk.

The study, which used data from the Nurses' Health Study II, found that the longer a woman nursed her infant, the lower her risk of developing diabetes later in life. The study included more than 4,000 women who had gestational diabetes. Of those women, more than 800 developed diabetes within the next 25 years. Those who breastfed for six to 12 months were 9% less likely to develop diabetes, compared with women who didn't breastfeed at all. Women who breastfed for one to two years had a 15% lower risk of developing diabetes, compared with women who didn't breastfeed. And diabetes risk was 27% lower in women who breastfed for more than two years. This provides another reason that doctors may want to encourage women with gestational diabetes to breastfeed whenever possible.

On call

Q. Can specific types of supplements help reduce my risk of developing prostate cancer?

A. Most studies of vitamin and mineral supplements have had disappointing results. In fact, some even appear to increase prostate cancer risk. Here's a rundown on where everything stands.

How older men can approach the dating life again — and why they should.

One downside to aging is the higher likelihood that at some point you will not have a partner. No matter what the reason for your singlehood, a healthy remedy is to begin dating again.

"Pursuing a more robust social and romantic life is good medicine for your mental and physical health," says Dr. Sharon Bober, founding director of the Sexual Health Program at Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

In the journals

Men often rely on drugs to manage overactive bladder symptoms, such as frequent urination, urgency, incontinence, and nocturia (having to use the bathroom at night). However, a study published online Jan. 13, 2020, by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that adding behavioral therapy may lead to better results.

Scientists recruited more than 200 men (average age 64) with overactive bladder symptoms and divided them randomly into three groups. One group received only drug therapy. One received only behavioral therapy, which consisted of learning pelvic floor exercises and relaxation techniques to help suppress urges and prevent urine loss. The third group had both behavioral and drug therapy.