Women's Health

A new Texas law ending abortions after 6 weeks takes effect, angering the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; the CDC says mortality rates may not go back to normal until 2023; a Senate version of a bill aimed at lowering drug prices would only impact Medicare.

To mark National Women's Health Week, The American Journal of Managed Care® assesses challenges posed to women in the United States by the pandemic and looks ahead to potential long-term consequences.

A novel prediction model is developed that accurately predicts preterm birth in a timely manner among pregnant women in Medicaid without preterm-birth history.

The Biden administration will reopen the health exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA); direct HHS and other agencies to reexamine other health policies, including Medicaid work requirements; and reverse the so-called global gag rule while affirming support for reproductive health.

A reduction in glycated hemoglobin (A1C) may result in improved perinatal and maternal outcomes among women with prepregnancy diabetes, according to results of a cohort study published in JAMA Network Open.

Among 11 developed countries, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate, a relative undersupply of maternity care providers, and no guaranteed access to provider home visits or paid parental leave in the postpartum period, a recent report from The Commonwealth Fund concluded.

Experts spotlighted sex- and gender-specific changes in normal sleep and sleep disturbance, as well as attributable risk factors, during a session at the CHEST 2020 annual meeting.

A decision was upheld that Johnson & Johnson (J&J) must pay a $2.1-billion fine from a 2018 court decision; 3 major drug distributors face up to $18 billion in opioid-related fines; a new diabetes prevention platform may assist in symptom prevention.

Associations between maternal antidepressant use and specific birth defects exist, particularly among mothers taking venlafaxine, according to a recent case-control study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Increasing LACE+ index score is a significant predictor of greater risk of unplanned readmission, emergency department visits, and reoperation after gynecologic surgery.

Between 2002 and 2015, data showed an increase in the percentage of intimate partner violence (IPV)–related emergency department claims paid by private insurance in the United States. This finding suggests the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may have increased women’s willingness and ability to seek medical attention for IPV-related injuries and disclose IPV as the source of the injuries, according to a study published in Women’s Health Issues.

Compared with traditional cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, such as obesity and high triglycerides, migraine with aura is associated with a higher incidence rate of CVD among female health professionals aged at least 45 years, according to a study published in JAMA.

American women die in childbirth at a higher rate than in any other developed country, while non-Hispanic Black women are more than 3 times more likely to have a maternal death than white women in the United States, according to a review presented at the American Diabetes Association’s 80th Scientific Sessions.

A new survey found around 20% of cancer survivors are reluctant to switch jobs for fear of losing health insurance; the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is disrupting anti-malaria campaigns in Africa; pregnant women and newborns may face pandemic complications at birth.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield has temporarily waived its "actively at work" requrement for group policies; Native American populations, some of the nation's most vulerable, are ill-equipped to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic; rates of sexually transmitted infections increase among pregnant women.

Yoga may be used as a safe intervention for pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), according to a study published in the Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases. The exercise could also potentially improve patients’ exercise capacity.

A survey of veterans leaving the military in 2016 found that women may be underserved by the Veterans Health Administration and may need housing assistance.

A study on data from the Women’s Health Initiative found good metabolic health and effective weight management can minimize diabetes risk in postmenopausal women. The study, published in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society, aimed to determine the relationship between metabolic weight categories with incident diabetes in postmenopausal women aged 50 to 79 years.

Co-payments for preventive services can discourage breast and cervical cancer screening among Medicaid enrollees, particularly breast cancer screening, which is more costly and time-consuming.

Data collected between 1995 and 2014 show prevalence and incidence of diabetes are substantially higher in First Nations people in Canada compared to other people in Ontario, according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The authors noted that pregnant women are typically excluded from clinical trials investigating the safety and tolerability of HIV medications.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

A JAMA study covering data from more than 250,000 women found no statistically significant link between the use of powder in the genital area and risk of ovarian cancer among women. This study comes as public outcry has led to scrutiny of one of the nation’s leading talc powder producers, Johnson & Johnson.

Unnecessary testing may expose young women to “preventable harms,” including anxiety, false-positives, and treatment that isn’t needed, according to findings in JAMA Internal Medicine.

In a recently published study in The Journal of Headache and Pain, Italian researchers compiled data on 548 patients suffering from chronic and episodic migraines enrolled in a tertiary level headache center to determine overall costs incurred.

A blood test showcased potential efficacy for screening and detection of breast cancer, according to an abstract to be presented at the 2019 NCRI Cancer Conference.

The cost and care implications of osteoporosis are expected to grow substantially as the baby boomers age. A study published this year found the total annual cost of providing care for osteoporotic fractures among Medicare beneficiaries, including direct medical costs as well as indirect societal costs related to productivity losses and informal caregiving, would rise from $57 billion in 2018 to $95 billion in 2040 unless strategies are implemented to prevent fractures.

States move to encourage work for Medicaid; the Trump administration imposes restrictions on immigrants using reciept of government benefits when applying for citizenship; FDA advises against cannabis use for pregnant women.

An August study reveals that a school-based human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization program attributed to a dramatic reduction of cervical precancer rates among women living in British Columbia, Canada.

The trial, led by a team from the University of Edinburgh, used the troponin blood test to detect heart attacks, but with separate thresholds for men and women.