Updates

Cooper and colleagues [1] have recently reported that cumulative leisure-time physical activity across adulthood may affect physical performance and strength in midlife. In all, 1189 men and 1253 women from the UK Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development, born in March 1946, participated in the study. Self-reported leisure-time physical activity at ages… Read More

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressants are used off-label to treat menopausal hot flushes. One of their most common side-effects is insomnia and, therefore, investigation of this mode of therapy in postmenopausal women with vasomotor symptoms and related sleep disturbances is of importance. The aim of a recent… Read More

Two papers from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), an updated assessment of the risk of breast cancer in relation to the use of unopposed estrogen therapy (ET) [1] and a review of breast cancer risk in relation to the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) [2], have recently been published.    The WHI randomized, ‘double-blind’… Read More

Management of vasomotor symptoms in women who have a contraindication for taking hormone therapy or who do not wish to take hormone therapy remains a challenge. Among various non-hormonal alternative therapies, psycho-educational and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been suggested as a possible alternative treatment for hot flushes [1]. CBT is defined as a combination… Read More

Sleep disturbances may be bothering enough to lead to substantial impairment of quality of life. Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women typically complain of sleep problems and therefore are often prescribed with hypnotics. Many previous studies have pointed at the serious adverse effects of prolonged use of hypnotics [1], but the impact of those data on clinical… Read More

[i]Due to the importance of this study, we received two commentaries, one published last week, and the current one.[/i]   Culver and colleagues [1] recently analyzed the use of statins and the risk of diabetes mellitus in postmenopausal women who participated in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) observational study. This investigation included 153,840 women without… Read More

Meta-analyses have shown an increased risk of incident type 2 diabetes associated with statin use. However, the risk increase has been estimated to be rather small (odds ratio 1.09; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.02–1.17) [1] and, for instance, more pronounced in the elderly and associated with intensive-dose treatment [2].    In a recent study by… Read More

The objective of a recently published meta-analysis by Seshasai and colleagues [1] was to assess the impact (and safety) of aspirin on vascular and non-vascular outcomes in primary prevention. Nine randomized, placebo-controlled trials with at least 1000 participants each, reporting on cardiovascular disease (CVD), non-vascular outcomes, or death were included. During a mean (standard deviation)… Read More

Most medical practitioners still consider sexual activity to be the domain of the young, with elderly women rarely considered as having sexual needs or being sexually active. A recent publication of Trompeter and others [1] is an important addition to the small body of literature about the sexuality of older women. In all, 806 women… Read More

The original decision to introduce mammographic screening in the UK was based on The Forrest report [1] which analyzed the costs and benefits of screening in terms of quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and found that screening would reduce the death rate from breast cancer by almost one-third with few harms and at low cost. Since that… Read More