Update in Women’s Health

INTRODUCTION  The aim of this clinical update is to summarize articles and guidelines published in the last year with the potential to change current clinical practice as it relates to women’s health. METHODS  We used two independent search strategies to identify articles relevant to women’s health published between March 1, 2007 and February 29, 2008. First, we reviewed the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and journal indices from the ACP Journal Club, Annals of Internal Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, British Medical Journal, Circulation, Diabetes, JAMA, JGIM, Journal of Women’s Health, Lancet, NEJM, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Women’s Health Journal Watch. Second, we performed a MEDLINE search using the medical subject heading term “sex factors.” The authors, who all have clinical and/or research experience in the area of women’s health, reviewed all article titles, abstracts, and, when indicated, full publications. We excluded articles related to obstetrical aspects of women’s health focusing on those relevant to general internists. We had two acceptance criteria, scientific rigor and potential to impact women’s health. We also identified new and/or updated women’s health guidelines released during the same time period. RESULTS  We identified over 250 publications with potential relevance to women’s health. Forty-six articles were selected for presentation as part of the Clinical Update, and nine were selected for a more detailed discussion in this paper. Evidence-based women’s health guidelines are listed in Table 1. Table 1 Important Women’s Health Guidelines in 2007–2008: New or Updated

血液系统疾病孕前评估及孕期管理

妊娠合并血液系统疾病可导致不良母儿结局。孕前应针对不同疾病进行全面的病情评估,把握适宜妊娠的指征和时机。妊娠期保健应重视原发病病情的监测,有治疗指征者应给予必要的支持或药物治疗;维持妊娠期安全的外周血三系细胞水平有助于减少母儿并发症。围分娩期应做好计划分娩,准备相应的血源,根据病情程度及产科情况综合考虑终止妊娠的时机和方式。产后应积极预防产后出血及感染的发生。     

高龄女性孕前管理

随着二孩政策的实行,近年来我国高龄孕妇人群明显增多。与非高龄孕妇人群相比,高龄孕妇在孕前及孕期面临更多问题,包括不孕、妊娠期合并症以及出生缺陷发生率高等,因此需要对该群体进行针对性的孕前管理。     

Preconception management of thyroid dysfunction

Uncorrected thyroid dysfunction in pregnancy has well‐recognized deleterious effects on foetal and maternal health. The early gestation period is one of the critical foetal vulnerability during which maternal thyroid dysfunction may have lasting repercussions. Accordingly, a pragmatic preconception strategy is key for ensuring optimal thyroid disease outcomes in pregnancy. Preconception planning in women with hypothyroidism should pre‐empt and mirror the adaptive changes in the thyroid gland by careful levothyroxine dose adjustments to ensure adequate foetal thyroid hormone delivery in pregnancy. In hyperthyroidism, the goal of preconception therapy is to control hyperthyroidism while curtailing the unwanted side effects of foetal and maternal exposure to antithyroid drugs. Thus, pregnancy should be deferred until a stable euthyroid state is achieved, and definitive therapy with radioiodine or surgery should be considered in women with Graves’ disease planning future pregnancy. Women with active disease who are imminently trying to conceive should be switched to propylthiouracil either preconception or at conception in order to minimize the risk of birth defects from carbimazole or methimazole exposure. Optimal strategies for women with borderline states of thyroid dysfunction namely subclinical hypothyroidism, isolated hypothyroxinaemia and thyroid autoimmunity remain uncertain due to the dearth of controlled interventional trials. Future trial designs should aspire to recruit and initiate therapy before conception or as early as possible in pregnancy.     

Reproductive health beliefs and behaviors in teens with diabetes: application of the Expanded Health Belief Model

OBJECTIVE: To identify significant correlates among constructs of the Expanded Health Belief Model (EHBM) with reproductive health behaviors [preventing an unplanned pregnancy and seeking preconception counseling (PC)] and metabolic control in teenaged women with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Eighty adolescent women with type 1 diabetes participated in a multisite, exploratory, case-control study. Subjects (only cases, and not controls, were used for the analyses of this paper) had a single, 1-h structured phone interview with a trained, same gender research assistant. Variables of interest were awareness, knowledge, health beliefs, attitudes, intention and behaviors regarding diabetes and reproductive health. RESULTS: Several major constructs of the EHBM were significantly correlated in the expected direction with reproductive health behaviors and metabolic control of adolescents with type 1 diabetes. In particular, perceived susceptibility, barriers, threat, intention, and self-efficacy with birth control (BC) use, and motivational cue (initial awareness of PC) with seeking PC. CONCLUSIONS: Being told by a health care professional to seek out PC is a motivational cue that triggers action. The timing of this message would seem to play an important role in preventing an unplanned pregnancy. Therefore, interventions focusing on changing health beliefs and on increasing awareness may be effective in promoting positive reproductive health behaviors in adolescent females with diabetes.     

Drug utilization and teratogenicity risk categories during pregnancy

A limited number of studies have investigated in detail the use of drugs during pregnancy. Researchers in the present study investigated the details of drug utilization in pregnant women during the month before pregnancy, at the time that they became aware of the pregnancy, and during the first trimester. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 359 pregnant women who were admitted to the fetal medicine unit at a university hospital for diagnosis and follow-up. A questionnaire was used to document sociodemographic characteristics and details of drug use. Drugs were categorized according to the US Food and Drug Administration fetal risk classification. Mean maternal age was 29.9±5.1 y, and mean gestational age was 19.6±9.5 wk. Many of the pregnant women studied (46.6%) were university graduates, and most (61.9%) had a relatively high annual income. Mean gestational age when participants first learned of their pregnancy was 39.8±16.4 d. One hundred seventeen participants (32.6%) used drugs during the month before conception, 54 (15%) at the time when they learned of their pregnancy, 180 (50.1 %) at the time of the interview, and 289 (80.5%) during the first trimester. The percentages of drugs in categories D and X used by these subjects were 14%, 13.5%, 2.9%, and 5.9%, respectively. Most of the drugs were hormones. The total rate of drug utilization was not high before and during the first trimester of pregnancy. A considerable number of women were using drugs from the D and X categories; however, these numbers decreased significantly when women learned of their pregnancies. Intake of folic acid, vitamins, and iron was very low during the preconception period and was not high enough during the first trimester; this suggests that particular attention should be paid to the use of beneficial “safe” drugs during the preconception and early pregnancy periods.     

结合年龄探讨抗苗勒氏管激素筛查在孕前保健中的应用

目的结合年龄探讨抗苗勒氏管激素(anti-müllerian hormone,AMH)筛查在孕前保健中的应用价值。方法将2015年4月至2015年9月于成都市妇女儿童中心医院妇女保健中心进行孕前保健检查的1 426例25~40岁妇女分为25~30岁、31~35岁、36~40岁3组,采用血清AMH筛查,分析检验结果。结果 1 426例受检者AMH水平随年龄增长逐渐降低,3组比较差异有统计学意义(P0.05);36~40岁AMH1.1 ng/m L的比例显著高于其他两组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05);1 426例受检者中有不孕症者184例,占总筛查人数的12.9%;其AMH1.1ng/m L的比例明显高于其他孕前检查者,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论在孕前保健中,35岁以上的妇女通过筛查血清AMH水平,有助于提高隐匿性卵巢储备功能降低的检出率,以促进妇女进行更合理的生育规划及指导不孕症治疗方案的决策。     

Patient actions and reactions after receiving negative results from expanded carrier screening

With the expansion of carrier screening to general preconception and prenatal patient populations, most patients will receive negative results, which we define as indicating <25% risk of having a child with a genetic condition. Because there is limited experience with expanded carrier screening, it is important to understand how receiving negative results affects patients, especially as providers, payers, and policymakers consider whether to offer it. In this mixed‐methods study, we asked preconception patients enrolled in the NextGen study about their expectations and experiences receiving negative expanded carrier screening results. Participants completed surveys at study enrollment (n = 110 women, 51 male partners), after receiving carrier results (n = 100 women, 38 male partners), after receiving secondary findings (n = 98 women, 36 male partners), and 6 months after receiving results (n = 95 women, 28 male partners). We also interviewed a subset of participants 12 to 24 months after receiving results (n = 24 women, 12 male partners). We found minimal negative emotional impact and privacy concerns, increased confidence in reproductive plans, and few changes to health behaviors, although some patients made health decisions based on misunderstandings of their results. These findings suggest that expanded carrier screening causes minimal psychosocial harms, but systems are needed to reduce the risk of misinterpreting results.     

Dietary guideline adherence during preconception and pregnancy: A systematic review

The aim of this study is to determine the level of adherence to dietary guidelines among men and women during preconception, and pregnant women, and factors associated with adherence. Searches were conducted in CINAHL, AMED, EMBASE, and Maternity and Infant Care from inception to March 2018. Observational studies assessing the primary outcome (adherence to dietary guidelines and/or nutritional recommendations) and/or secondary outcome (factors associated with adherence) were eligible. Study quality was assessed using the National Institutes of Health Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross‐sectional studies. Men or women (aged ≥18 years) who identified as trying/intending to conceive or were pregnant. Eighteen studies were included. The quality of studies was fair (44%) to good (56%). Most studies indicated preconceptual and pregnant women do not meet recommendations for vegetable, cereal grain, or folate intake. Pregnant women did not meet iron or calcium intake requirements in 91% and 55% of included studies, respectively, and also exceeded fat intake recommendations in 55% of included studies. Higher level education was associated with improved guideline adherence in pregnant women, whereas older age and non‐smoking status were associated with greater guideline adherence in preconceptual and pregnant women. The findings of this review suggest that preconceptual and pregnant women may not be meeting the minimum requirements stipulated in dietary guidelines and/or nutritional recommendations. This could have potential adverse consequences for pregnancy and birth outcomes and the health of the offspring. Major knowledge gaps identified in this review, which warrant further investigation, are the dietary intakes of men during preconception, and the predictors of guideline adherence.