Women's Health Archive

Research we're watching

If you've ever experienced a bout of bacterial vaginosis, a vaginal infection that affects anywhere from 15% to 50% of reproductive-age women, a study published May 14, 2020, in The New England Journal of Medicine may be of interest. It found that women who inserted a type of probiotic called Lactobacillus crispatus (Lactin-V) in their vagina twice per week were less likely to have a recurrence of bacterial vaginosis than women who did not. Experts don't fully understand what causes bacterial vaginosis, but it is associated with an overgrowth of some microorganisms (such as Gardnerella vaginalis or Prevotella), which outnumber healthier types of vaginal bacteria, including a common one called Lactobacillus. In many cases, the condition will recur after treatment. All of the 228 women in the study were initially treated for bacterial vaginosis with the standard topical antibiotic metronidazole (MetroGel Vaginal). But after that treatment, 152 of the women were assigned to use Lactin-V for an additional 11 weeks. The remainder of the group got a placebo treatment. Researchers found that only 30% of the Lactin-V group had a recurrence of bacterial vaginosis by week 12, compared with 45% of the placebo group.

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Research we're watching

A national coalition of women's health organizations recommends screening all adolescent girls (ages 13 and older) and adult women for anxiety. The goal is to improve detection and treatment for this common condition. The Women's Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI) recommends screening to look for all types of anxiety disorders, such as panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, in addition to depression screenings, which are already recommended for adults, says the WPSI. It would be up to individual clinicians to determine how often to do the screenings and to refer women and girls for follow-up examinations and screening.

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The discovery that the urinary tract has a microbiome analogous to the one in the digestive tract has led to research showing that in women with urinary incontinence, their urinary microbiome differs from those in women who do not have urinary incontinence.

Tips to help you treat this common skin condition.

You thought you left acne behind you in your teen years, but here you are at midlife with a breakout. But it might not be what you think. Rosacea is often mistaken for acne, and the condition, which most often begins after age 30, sometimes flares at menopause, says Dr. Suzanne Olbricht, an associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School.

A common skin condition affecting some 16 million Americans, rosacea most often develops in people with fair skin who blush easily. Rosacea is sometimes mistaken for sunburn, a naturally ruddy complexion, or even an allergic reaction. It produces a number of skin problems, including

Ask the doctors

Q. I'm hoping to prevent urinary incontinence. Is there anything I can do?

A. Nearly half of all women experience some type of urinary incontinence during the course of their lives. It may not be possible to prevent all of these cases, which can be caused by pregnancy, childbirth, or hormonal shifts that occur around the time of menopause. Here are some strategies that may help to reduce your risk.

Ask the doctors

Q. I've heard that walking could reduce my risk of breast cancer. Is this true?

A. Yes, it's true. Walking is not only a great form of exercise to help keep your heart healthy, it could potentially reduce your risk of breast cancer. One 2013 study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, found that women who walked seven hours a week — an hour a day on average — had a 14% lower chance of getting breast cancer when compared with women who walked three hours a week or less. The benefit was seen even in women who were at higher risk for breast cancer, including those who were overweight or who were taking hormone therapy. It's not clear how walking helps, but experts speculate that physical activity might help keep the body's levels of estrogen and insulin in check. Both of these hormones can fuel breast cancer, so regulating them more effectively could reduce your risk.

For women living with abusive partners, the COVID-19 pandemic has made an already difficult and dangerous situation even worse. And even if a woman had been thinking about leaving an abusive situation or planning to leave, with current restrictions she may not be able to.

Research we're watching

Your diet may influence your breast cancer risk. An analysis of 20 studies by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which was published online April 6, 2020, by the journal Cancer, found that women who ate the most fiber were 8% less likely to go on to develop breast cancer compared with the women who ate the least.

The reduction in breast cancer risk was seen for both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancers, as well as different types of breast cancer, including those that were estrogen and progesterone receptor–positive and estrogen and progesterone receptor–negative. Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said that that the reduction may be due to fiber's effect in reducing both blood sugar and estrogen levels in the body.