High Blood Pressure Often Mistaken for Menopausal Symptoms in Women

• Robert Preidt
• January 27, 2021
• Full Page

High blood pressure is often dismissed as part of menopausal symptoms in older women, experts say. And that could raise a woman's risk for heart trouble, European experts warn.

That warning, along with recommendations on how doctors can help middle-aged women av...

Premature Menopause May Bring Tougher Symptoms for Women

• Cara Murez
• January 21, 2021
• Full Page

Menopause is known to bring a variety of unpleasant symptoms ranging from hot flashes to insomnia. Yet, for those who have a condition known as premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), it is much worse, researchers report.

The new study examined the impact of POI, in which...

Estrogen Taken During Gender-Affirming Surgeries Won't Raise Blood Clot Risk: Study

• January 18, 2021
• Full Page

Most transgender women can safely continue their estrogen treatments during gender-affirming surgery, a new study finds.

Estrogen therapy and surgery can increase the risk of blood clots, so experts have suggested that transgender women stop taking the hormone when havin...

Some Older Breast Cancer Patients Can Safely Cut Down on Chemo

• Amy Norton
• December 9, 2020
• Full Page

More women with early-stage breast cancer may be able to safely skip chemotherapy after having surgery, according to initial results from a major clinical trial.

The trial, conducted in nine countries, found that adding chemotherapy to hormone-blocking drugs brought no a...

Could the Pill Reduce Asthma Attacks?

• Amy Norton
• November 24, 2020
• Full Page

Women with asthma may suffer fewer severe symptom attacks if they are on birth control pills, a large new study suggests.

The study of more than 83,000 women with asthma found that those who used birth control pills for at least three years tended to have fewer severe fl...

Transgender People Often Have Heart Risks: Study

• Steven Reinberg
• November 12, 2020
• Full Page

Many transgender people who take hormone therapy have unaddressed risks for heart disease and stroke, a new study finds.

These patients often have undiagnosed high blood pressure and high cholesterol, even in young adulthood, researchers found.

"Previous research h...

Birth Control Pill Could Cut Women's Risk for Asthma

• Serena McNiff
• August 19, 2020
• Full Page

Could birth control pills build a bulwark against asthma?

New research suggests that hormonal contraceptives, which alter the natural ebb and flow of female hormones, may do just that.

A study of more than half a million women in the United Kingdom found th...

HRT Might Help Older Women Ward Off Recurrent UTIs

• Dennis Thompson
• July 20, 2020
• Full Page

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) might be able to break the cycle of recurring urinary tract infections in some women, a new study reports.

Women taking HRT for symptoms of menopause tend to have a greater variety of bacteria in their urine, including larger amounts...

Hormones May Explain Greater Prevalence of Alzheimer's in Women

• Robert Preidt
• June 26, 2020
• Full Page

Women have more Alzheimer's disease-related changes in the brain than men, and this may be linked to hormonal disruptions at menopause, researchers say.

"About two-thirds of people living with Alzheimer's are women, and the general thinking has been it's because wome...

COVID-19 Continues to Strike Men Harder Than Women

• Steven Reinberg
• April 29, 2020
• Full Page

New research adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests men are far more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 than women are.

Although both genders fall ill in the same numbers, men are 2.5 times more likely to get severe disease and die, the study from China showed.<...

A Woman's Guide to Skin Care During and After Menopause

• Robert Preidt
• February 23, 2020
• Full Page

People sometimes refer to menopause as "the change of life," but many women are surprised that one of the things that changes is their skin, an expert says.

"Although fluctuating hormones during menopause can result in a number of skin changes, these don't need to be...

Mom-to-Be's Cosmetics Chemicals Could Lead to Heavier Baby

• Amy Norton
• February 11, 2020
• Full Page

When pregnant women use cosmetics containing parabens, their children may have a greater likelihood of becoming overweight, a new study suggests.

Parabens are chemicals that have long been used as a preservative in cosmetics and body care products. A number of studie...

Is Suppressing Puberty the Right Course When a Child Questions Their Gender?

• Dennis Thompson
• January 27, 2020
• Full Page

Suppressing puberty in a child who's questioning their gender identity might seem extreme, but the therapy is relatively safe and could significantly lower their risk of suicide, a new study reports.

Adolescents who wanted and received puberty suppression were 60%...

Birth Control Pill May Alter Part of Women's Brains

• Serena Gordon
• December 4, 2019
• Full Page

A small, preliminary study suggests that a brain area called the hypothalamus appears to be about 6% smaller in women who use birth control pills.

But exactly what that means isn't yet clear. In this study, women on the pill had statistically significant increas...

More Hot Flashes Could Mean Higher Odds for Heart Trouble

• Kayla McKiski
• September 24, 2019
• Full Page

Women, if you're bothered by frequent hot flashes, it may be more than a mere annoyance.

New research offers evidence that frequent or persistent hot flashes are linked to higher odds of heart attack and stroke. The finding stems from a 20-year study of about 3,300 w...

Some Transgender Women May Be Able to Make Sperm

• Steven Reinberg
• August 5, 2019
• Full Page

Researchers are exploring fertility preservation in transgender women. And while they say there are no guarantees, they report it's possible to start producing sperm after stopping drugs that suppress maleness.

In a new case report, researchers found one of two pati...

Trans Women Have Raised Odds of Breast Cancer, But Risk Still Small: Study

• Robert Preidt
• May 15, 2019
• Full Page

Transgender women on gender-confirming hormone therapy have increased odds of breast cancer, but the overall risk is low and not as high as it is for the general female population, a new study finds.

Trans women are those who were declared male at birth but identify ...

About 1 in 1,000 Babies Born 'Intersex,' Study Finds

• Robert Preidt
• May 3, 2019
• Full Page

Cases in which a newborn's genitals make it unclear whether the child is a boy or girl may be more common than once believed, researchers say.

One example of what's known as ambiguous genitalia is a baby girl with an enlarged clitoris that looks more like a small pen...

What Couples Considering IVF Need to Know

• Robert Preidt
• May 1, 2019
• Full Page

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is widely used in the United States to help infertile couples have children. But there are a number of things people should know when considering it, an infertility specialist says.

"Many factors … can affect the success of an IVF ...

Fewer Periods May Mean Higher Dementia Risk

• Amy Norton
• March 27, 2019
• Full Page

A new study suggests that the fewer menstrual periods a woman has in her lifetime, the higher her risk of dementia -- though the reasons, for now, are unclear.

The study was based on close to 16,000 women. It found that those who started having periods at age 16 or l...

Hormone Therapy Linked to Slight Rise in Alzheimer's Risk

• Serena Gordon
• March 7, 2019
• Full Page

Many women turn to hormone therapy to ease some of the more troubling symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes and night sweats.

But new research suggests that relief may come at a cost -- an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

The study found that wo...