- Email: [email protected]
Periodontal Disease and Breast Cancer Risk
Periodontal Disease and Breast Cancer Risk Postmenopausal women with periodontal disease and a history of smoking are more likely to develop breast cancer than women who do not have the chronic inflammatory gum disease, according to a study published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Researchers from the University of Buffalo in New York led this study, which was an analysis of data on more than 73,000 postmenopausal women without previous breast cancer participating in the prospective Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study. During nearly 7 years of follow-up, there were 2,124 new cases of invasive breast cancer, and 26% of women in the study reported periodontal disease. Compared with women who did not have periodontal disease, women with periodontal disease had a 15% increased risk of breast cancer. Because prior studies had shown that the effects of periodontal disease vary depending on whether a person smokes, researchers examined the associations stratified by smoking status. Women with periodontal disease who were former smokers and quit within the last 20 years had a 36% increased risk of breast cancer. Among the women with periodontal disease, those who had never smoked had a 6% increased risk, and those who had quit smoking more than 20 years ago had an 8% increased risk of breast cancer. A 32% increased breast cancer risk reported for current smokers was not statistically significant.
Photos © left: iStock Collection, right: Trish 233 / both from thinkstockphotos.com
Caffeine Intake and Miscarriage A pregnancy is more likely to end in miscarriage if a woman and her male partner drink more than two caffeinated beverages per day during the weeks leading up to conception, according to a study published online in March in Fertility & Sterility. Similarly, women who drank more than two daily caffeinated beverages during the first 7 weeks of pregnancy were also more likely to experience miscarriage. However, women who took a daily multivitamin before conception and through early pregnancy were less likely to experience miscarriage than women who did not. Researchers analyzed data from the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) Study, which was established to examine the relationship between fertility, lifestyle, and exposure to environmental chemicals. The LIFE Study enrolled 501 couples from four counties in Michigan and 12 counties in Texas from 2005 to 2009. The researchers reported their results using a hazard ratio, which estimates the chances of a particular health outcome occurring during the study
June | July 2016
time frame. Of the 344 pregnancies studied, 98 (28%) ended in miscarriage. For the preconception period, miscarriage was associated with female age of 35 years or older, for a hazard ratio of 1.96 (nearly twice the miscarriage risk of younger women). The study was not designed to conclusively prove cause and effect. The study authors cited possible explanations for the higher risk, including advanced age of sperm and egg in older couples or cumulative exposure to substances in the environment, which could be expected to increase as people age. Male and female consumption of more than two caffeinated beverages a day also was associated with an increased hazard ratio: 1.74 for women and 1.73 for men.
Extending the Second Stage of Labor A new study in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology assesses what happens if women in the second stage of labor who have had an epidural are given 4 hours, instead of 3 hours, before moving to cesarean or operative vaginal birth. Researchers studied whether extending the length of labor in nulliparous women with prolonged second stage labor affects the incidence of cesarean birth and maternal and neonatal outcomes. Seventy-eight women with singleton pregnancies who had reached the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists definition of prolonged second stage of labor (i.e., 3 hours with epidural anesthesia or 2 hours without epidural anesthesia) were randomly assigned to extended labor for at least 1 additional hour or usual labor defined as expedited delivery via cesarean or operative vaginal birth. Cesarean birth occurred in 20% of women in the extended-labor group and 43% in the usual-labor group, reflecting a 55% reduction in cesarean births when an extended second stage of labor was permitted. Although the study was not statistically powered to assess maternal or neonatal morbidity, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in maternal or neonatal morbidity.
Nursing for Women’s Health
241
Photos © left: iStock Collection, right: Trish 233 / both from thinkstockphotos.com
Caffeine Intake and Miscarriage A pregnancy is more likely to end in miscarriage if a woman and her male partner drink more than two caffeinated beverages per day during the weeks leading up to conception, according to a study published online in March in Fertility & Sterility. Similarly, women who drank more than two daily caffeinated beverages during the first 7 weeks of pregnancy were also more likely to experience miscarriage. However, women who took a daily multivitamin before conception and through early pregnancy were less likely to experience miscarriage than women who did not. Researchers analyzed data from the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) Study, which was established to examine the relationship between fertility, lifestyle, and exposure to environmental chemicals. The LIFE Study enrolled 501 couples from four counties in Michigan and 12 counties in Texas from 2005 to 2009. The researchers reported their results using a hazard ratio, which estimates the chances of a particular health outcome occurring during the study
June | July 2016
time frame. Of the 344 pregnancies studied, 98 (28%) ended in miscarriage. For the preconception period, miscarriage was associated with female age of 35 years or older, for a hazard ratio of 1.96 (nearly twice the miscarriage risk of younger women). The study was not designed to conclusively prove cause and effect. The study authors cited possible explanations for the higher risk, including advanced age of sperm and egg in older couples or cumulative exposure to substances in the environment, which could be expected to increase as people age. Male and female consumption of more than two caffeinated beverages a day also was associated with an increased hazard ratio: 1.74 for women and 1.73 for men.
Extending the Second Stage of Labor A new study in the March issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology assesses what happens if women in the second stage of labor who have had an epidural are given 4 hours, instead of 3 hours, before moving to cesarean or operative vaginal birth. Researchers studied whether extending the length of labor in nulliparous women with prolonged second stage labor affects the incidence of cesarean birth and maternal and neonatal outcomes. Seventy-eight women with singleton pregnancies who had reached the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists definition of prolonged second stage of labor (i.e., 3 hours with epidural anesthesia or 2 hours without epidural anesthesia) were randomly assigned to extended labor for at least 1 additional hour or usual labor defined as expedited delivery via cesarean or operative vaginal birth. Cesarean birth occurred in 20% of women in the extended-labor group and 43% in the usual-labor group, reflecting a 55% reduction in cesarean births when an extended second stage of labor was permitted. Although the study was not statistically powered to assess maternal or neonatal morbidity, there were no statistically significant differences between groups in maternal or neonatal morbidity.
Nursing for Women’s Health
241