Reproductive factors and risk of endometrial cancer

Article Abstract:

Although research evidence suggests that women who have borne children have a reduced risk for endometrial cancer (cancer of the uterus), the protective effects of incomplete pregnancies (miscarriages or abortions) or of several births, have not been clarified. To learn more about this issue, a case-control study was carried out with 568 Italian women (cases). These women (average age, 61) had received the diagnosis of endometrial cancer during the year prior to inclusion in the study. An additional 1,925 women (controls; average age, 54) admitted to the hospital for acute conditions not related to malignancy were selected. Both groups were interviewed to determine personal characteristics and habits, gynecologic information, number of births, number of pregnancies and outcomes, age at first and last births, and other relevant factors. Results showed that the cases were older, less educated, more often overweight, and more likely to take estrogen replacement preparations (female hormones). Women with a history of childbirth had a 30 percent lower risk of endometrial cancer than women who had not borne children, but the risk did not decrease with each successive birth. Abortions or miscarriages reduced the risk of endometrial cancer; the extent of risk reduction increased with the number of such events. An older age (35 or older) at the last birth was also associated with a reduced risk (compared with women whose last birth took place before the age of 25). Analysis of data from women of different ages showed that, for women 49 or younger at the time of the study, an association was present between older age at first birth and endometrial cancer. The protection offered by reproduction seems greater at younger ages and levels off as women get older. Since the protective effects of pregnancy did not increase with the number of pregnancies, it is possible that infertility, when associated with ovulation disorders, increases the risk of endometrial cancer. Perhaps the women with histories of miscarriages or abortions also had increased fertility, leading to risk reduction. These results and other published reports indicate that pregnancy may exert a short-term protective effect against endometrial cancer. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Demographic aspects, Endometrial cancer, Reproduction (Biology), Fertility, Reproduction

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Risk factors for vulvar lichen sclerosus

Article Abstract:

Lichen sclerosus is an uncommon chronic skin condition characterized by white flat papules, and found mostly in women, usually in the genital region. It has been suggested that there may be a relationship between repeated vaginal infections, certain autoimmune diseases, and hormonal changes due to menopause and the increased incidence of lichen sclerosus. (Autoimmune diseases are those in which the body's ordinarily protective immune system begins to attack certain of its own tissues.) Seventy-five subjects and 225 control subjects were studied to assess risks. Results indicate women who have had children are more likely to contract lichen sclerosus, although incidence did not increase with the number of subsequent pregnancies. There were no clear relationships between lichen sclerosus and age of first intercourse, number of sexual partners (an indicator of sex- related diseases such as vaginitis), education, socioeconomic status, smoking habits, or body weight. None of the 75 women were diagnosed with autoimmune disease, nor was there a relationship between women taking female hormones and likelihood of acquiring the disease. Dietary intake of preformed vitamin A (retinoids) had no effect; however, increases in provitamin A (carotenoids) reduced risk of getting the disease.

Women, Skin diseases, Diseases, Vulvar diseases

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Maternal and paternal moderate daily alcohol consumption and unexplained miscarriages

Article Abstract:

Excessive alcohol consumption during pregnancy is known to cause fetal growth retardation, mental retardation and facial abnormalities (fetal alcohol syndrome). The effect of moderate drinking on fetal development and miscarriage is less clear. Although alcohol consumption can impair the production and movement of sperm, the role of the father's alcohol intake in miscarriage has not been well-studied. The relationship of the mother's and father's alcohol intake in causing miscarriage was studied among 94 women who had two or more unexplained miscarriages and 176 women without a history of miscarriage. The risk of miscarriage for regular drinkers (who averaged one drink per day) was 0.9. Pregnancies conceived by fathers who drank three drinks per day were 1.7 times more likely to end in miscarriage (1.4 for three or more drinks per day). The trend in risk, however, was not statistically significant. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that moderate drinking by the mother or the father was not associated with an increased risk of recurrent miscarriage. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Complications and side effects, Physiological aspects, Fathers, Alcohol, Ethanol, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Alcohol use, Alcoholism in pregnancy

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