July 18, 2024
Scorecard Highlights: Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island top the rankings for the 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care, which is based on 32 measures of health care access, quality, and health outcomes. The lowest performers were Mississippi, Texas, Nevada, and Oklahoma. Deaths from all causes among women of reproductive age — 15 to 44 — were highest in southeastern states. Causes of death include pregnancy and other preventable causes such as substance use, COVID-19, and treatable chronic conditions. The highest maternal death rates were in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Vermont, California, and Connecticut had the lowest rates. Nationally, rates were highest for Black and American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) women. Mental health conditions are the most frequently reported cause of preventable pregnancy-related death, including deaths by suicide and overdoses related to substance use disorders. States that screened for postpartum depression at the highest rates also had lowest rates of postpartum depression. Among women of reproductive age (ages 15–44), those in Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma were uninsured at the highest rates; those in Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and Vermont had the lowest uninsured rates. Women in states that had not expanded Medicaid eligibility were among those most at risk of lacking coverage. The U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in June 2022 has significantly altered both access to reproductive health care services and how providers are able to treat pregnancy complications in the 21 states that ban or restrict abortion access.
2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care
July 16, 2024
A new study finds that early detection of specific microRNAs (miRNAs) packaged in vesicles may offer the opportunity to predict preeclampsia in pregnant people before clinical symptoms manifest.
July 16, 2024
Hormone modulating therapy (HMT) used for the treatment of breast cancer was associated with a 7% lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and related dementias later in life, according to a new study.
Hormone therapy for breast cancer linked with lower dementia risk
July 11, 2024
About 40% of new cancer cases among adults ages 30 and older in the United States — and nearly half of deaths — could be attributed to preventable risk factors, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society.
July 11, 2024
A new study finds four in 10 cancer cases and about one-half of all cancer deaths in adults 30 years old and older in the United States (or 713,340 cancer cases and 262,120 cancer deaths in 2019) could be attributed to modifiable risk factors, including cigarette smoking, excess body weight, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, diet, and infections.
July 10, 2024
Researchers have created an eco-friendly, blood absorbent biomaterial that improves the performance of menstrual products by minimizing blood leakage and spilling, while also helping prevent infection.
July 9, 2024
Pasta without sauce. Unsalted crackers. Plain white rice. What is traditionally known to be the renal diet — a complicated diet with a wide range of restrictions, including limited protein, potassium, phosphorus and sodium — often lacks flavor and color, leaving individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who have been prescribed the diet dissatisfied with their meal options. Some patients go as far as ignoring aspects of the diet altogether.
July 3, 2024
Purdue University, as a member of Heartland BioWorks, will share $51 million in federal funding to bolster workforce development and business startup efforts in the state’s burgeoning biotechnology ecosystem. Awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, the funding will catalyze Indiana’s biotechnology innovation and manufacturing efforts, which are a pillar of Purdue’s recently announced One Health Innovation District. One Health will also bolster the deep connections and research opportunities that will be offered through Purdue University in Indianapolis, which launched July 1 as the university’s urban campus.
July 1, 2024
Screening eligibility was determined using 2021 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force criteria, which recommend annual lung cancer screening in high-risk individuals.
Fewer than 1 in 5 eligible Americans up to date with lung cancer screenings
July 1, 2024
Despite widespread belief that sex hormones are important to women's brain health, little work has considered how these hormones in women relate to white matter hyperintensities (WMH), a major indicator of cerebral small vessel disease. We considered relations of estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) to WMH in midlife women. Higher E2 and E1 were associated with lower whole-brain WMH volume (WMHV), and higher FSH with higher whole-brain WMHV. Associations of E1 and FSH, but not E2, to WMHV persisted with adjustment for cardiovascular disease risk factors. Findings underscore the importance of E2 and FSH to women's cerebrovascular health.
Reproductive hormones in relation to white matter hyperintensity volumes among midlife women
