Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report Highlights Recently Released Journal Articles

The following highlights recently released journal articles on women's health issues.

Pregnancy & Childbirth
"Gestational Weight Gain and Adverse Neonatal Outcome Among Term Infants," Obstetrics and Gynecology: Naomi Stotland of the University of California-San Francisco and colleagues looked at the link between weight gain during pregnancy and adverse outcomes among 20,465 full-term, single-birth infants. Weight gain among women was categorized under Institute of Medicine guidelines and by weight gain extremes -- either a gain of fewer than 15.4 pounds or a gain of more than 39.6 pounds. The researchers found that 29% of the participants gained more than 39.6 pounds during their pregnancies, while 4.8% gained less than 15.4 pounds. According to the researchers, infants born to women who gained weight above recommended levels had poor Apgar scores -- a measurement of how well infants look and respond immediately following birth. Excessive weight gain also was associated with infant seizures, low blood sugar and meconium aspiration -- a potentially serious breathing condition. In addition, women who gained weight above recommended levels had a decreased risk of delivering small infants, while weight gain below recommended levels was associated with an increased risk of delivering a small infant. The study's findings indicate that increased efforts need to be made to prevent excessive weight gain during pregnancy, the researchers said (Reuters Health, 9/11).
"The Infant Development, Environment and Lifestyle Study: Effects of Prenatal Methamphetamine Exposure, Polydrug Exposure and Poverty on Intrauterine Growth," Pediatrics: Lynne Smith, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of California-Los Angeles' David Geffen School of Medicine, and colleagues analyzed the stools of 1,618 newborns for presence of methamphetamines in four medical centers in Honolulu, Los Angeles, Iowa and Oklahoma and asked their mothers if they had used meth during pregnancy. The researchers found that 84 of the infants had been exposed to meth in utero. After taking into account such factors as socioeconomic status, smoking and alcohol intake, the researchers found that the infants whose mothers had used meth during pregnancy were 3.5 times as likely to be underweight -- which is classified as weighing fewer than five pounds -- as those who were not exposed to the drug. The researchers said the drug might have hampered the flow of nutrients from the pregnant women to the womb (BBC News, 9/6).

Public Health
"Recreational Physical Activity and Survival Among Young Women With Breast Cancer," Cancer: Page Abrahamson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and colleagues examined the link between physical activity before cancer diagnosis and survival rates among 1,264 women ages 20 to 54 who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1990 and 1992. Within several months of breast cancer diagnosis, the researchers asked the women how often, on average, they participated in moderate and vigorous physical activity at ages 13, 20 and during the 12 months before diagnosis. According to the researchers, 290 women died during the study participants were followed, and women who reported the lowest activity levels had consistently lower survival rates. After accounting for cancer stage and income level, the researchers recorded a 22% reduction in the risk of death among the women with the highest level of activity in the year before their cancer diagnosis, compared with women who had the lowest activity levels. High levels of physical activity also were associated with a 30% decrease in the risk of death among women who were overweight or obese at diagnosis, according to the study. The researchers did not observe a correlation between risk of death and physical activity among women who were underweight or at their ideal weight when they were diagnosed with cancer. They also found that physical activity at ages 13 and 20 had no effect on survival rates among study participants. The study's findings are promising because not many adjustable lifestyle behaviors have been identified for improving breast cancer survival rates, according to the researchers (Rauscher, Reuters Health, 9/11).















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