Women's Health Archive

Stress can raise your risk of developing a substance use disorder. Here's how to get help when you need it.

In recent months, Americans' collective stress level has risen in response to the pandemic and economic fallout. Many people are looking for ways to help themselves feel better. Unfortunately, stress can trigger a number of unhealthy coping strategies — drinking alcohol to excess, bingeing on junk food, engaging in drug use, or other harmful behaviors. If you've ever had a substance use disorder, a bout of significant stress may even put your recovery at risk.

This is likely due to the shift the human brain makes in times of trauma. Instead of focusing on long-term goals, your brain zeroes in on short-term objectives.

There's no easy answer to this question. Rather, women should make the decision based on their individual needs.

Most women don't look forward to their routine mammogram, which can be uncomfortable and stressful. You may wonder: Is there an age when can you dispense with this regular chore? 75, 80, 85?

The truth is that experts haven't determined a magic age when women no longer need breast cancer screening — largely because scientific evidence in this area is lacking, says Dr. Kathryn Rexrode, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Division of Women's Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital. But many experts also agree that continuing mammography might not be the right choice beyond age 75. The real question, they say, is what is the right age for you to stop based on your individual needs? To decide, you need to understand both the potential risks and benefits of breast cancer screening.

Exercise affects your muscles and bones in similar ways. When you work out regularly, your muscles get bigger and stronger. By contrast, if you sit around doing nothing, they get smaller and weaker. The same principle holds true for bones, although the changes are less noticeable.

Not only do muscles and bones both respond to exercise, but the changes in both of them happen in tandem. That’s because muscles and bones work together to make your body move—and for maximum efficiency, muscle and bone strength need to be bal­anced. Consider what would happen if this balance didn’t exist. At one extreme, a weak muscle wouldn’t be able to move a big, strong bone. At the opposite end of the spec­trum, if a muscle were much stron­ger than a bone, it would snap it.

Many women making the transition to menopause have trouble sleeping. Several strategies can help you get the rest you need.

If you're a woman of a certain age and you often find yourself staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night, you're not alone. The years leading up to menopause and the period that immediately follows are the times that women are most likely to report problems sleeping, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Many different conditions that are common in this stage of life — including hot flashes, obstructive sleep apnea, and mood disorders such as depression or anxiety — can cause sleep problems.

Lack of sleep is more than just a nuisance. "We now understand that high-quality sleep is absolutely vital to good health," says Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, the Michael and Lee Bell Professor of Women's Health at Harvard Medical School. This means that seeking care should be a priority if you are experiencing problems.

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.

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.