Age Differences in Clitoral-Vestibular Bulb Anatomy Across the Adult Lifespan

ABSTRACTThe aims of this study were to perform the cross-cultural adaptation of the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) 6–20 Scale to Brazilian Portuguese language and to start testing its validity and reliability. After performing the cross-cultural adaptation of the Scale, concurrent and discriminative validity, and reliability were determined on a treadmill in young (18–30 years) and older adult women (60–75 years). Considering young and older adult women, RPE presented high and moderate positive correlation with heart rate and high and low positive correlation with oxygen consumption, respectively. Older adult women presented RPE (11 ± 2) significantly higher than young ones (8 ± 1) exercising at the same absolute intensity. Intraclass coefficient correlation was excellent for RPE to young and older adult women. The Scale presented concurrent validity only to young adult women, whereas it presented discriminative validity between such groups of women. Moreover, the scale is reliable to young and older adult women.

Low serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in young adult Japanese women: a cross sectional study

To examine the cut-off point of the osteoporosis self-assessment tool, age, weight and body mass index for osteoporosis among young adult Taiwanese women, using a large-scale health examination database containing bone mineral density tests. The cut-off points of osteoporosis risk factors identified earlier focus on menopausal or senior Caucasian and Asian women. However, young adult Asian women have seldom been identified. A retrospective historical cohort study. Using the 2009-2011 health examination database of a large-scale medical centre in northern Taiwan, this study investigated young adult Asian women (i.e. range in age from 30-49years) in Taiwan who had received dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry test. This study also explored the cut-off point, sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy of receiver operating characteristics of osteoporosis among young adult females in Taiwan. This study collected 2454 young adult Asian women in Taiwan. Cochran-Armitage analysis results indicated that the prevalence of osteoporosis increased with decreasing weight, body mass index and osteoporosis self-assessment method quartiles. According to the results of receiver operating characteristics, weight, body mass index and osteoporosis self-assessment tool approaches can generally be used as indicators to predict osteoporosis among young adult Asian women. Results of this study demonstrate that Taiwanese women contracting osteoporosis tend to be young and underweight, as well as having a low body mass index and osteoporosis self-assessment scores. Those results further suggest that the assessment indicators for cut-off points are appropriately suitable for young adult women in Taiwan. Early detection is the only available means of preventing osteoporosis. Professional nurses should apply convenient and accurate assessment procedures to help young adult women to adopt preventive strategies against osteoporosis early, thus eliminating the probability of osteoporotic fracture.

BackgroundWomen’s gynecological health needs are not limited to the reproductive years of their life. Women are at risk of hormonal changes, gynecological malignancies, and various genitourinary conditions as they move toward menopause and beyond. Concerns about older women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) continue to be taboo in many countries, of little interest to researchers and professionals in the field of healthcare, and a “blind spot” in discussions about policy as a whole. Despite the widespread agreement, the life course approach to addressing SRHR concerns has received minimal attention. The study estimates the prevalence, assesses the correlates, and treatment-seeking of gynecological morbidity (GM) among older adult women aged 45–59 years (N = 18,547) in India.MethodThe analysis was based on the nationally representative Longitudinal Ageing Study (2016–2017) data that adopted a multistage stratified area probability cluster sampling to select respondents. The outcome variables used in this analysis were ‘had any GM’ and ‘sought treatment for any GM.’ Women with any morbidity such as per vaginal bleeding, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, uterus prolapses, mood swings/irritability, fibroid/cyst, and dry vagina causing painful intercourse were considered to have any GM. Of the respondents with GM, who sought a doctor’s consultation or treatment were considered ‘sought treatment for any GM.’ Binary logistic regression was conducted to examine the adjusted effect of socioeconomic and demographic predictors of GM and treatment-seeking. Stata (V 16) was used for statistical analyses with a 5% significance level.ResultsFifteen percent of the women had any GM, and only 41% of them sought treatment. Age, marital status, education, number of pregnancies, hysterectomy, involvement in household decision-making, social group, religion, wealth status, and region were significantly associated with GM. The odds of treatment-seeking were higher among women with 10+ years of schooling (OR 1.66, CI 1.23, 2.23), with hysterectomy (OR 7.36, CI 5.92, 9.14), with five-plus pregnancies (OR 1.25, CI 0.96, 1.64), and those from the richest (OR 1.91, CI 1.40, 2.60) households than their respective counterparts.ConclusionMany older adult women experience GM, and treatment-seeking is inadequate. The GM prevalence and treatment-seeking vary considerably by socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Results suggest community-level awareness generation and the inclusion of this otherwise ignored group in programs targeting better health and wellbeing of women.

Aging and exercise have opposing effects on mnemonic discrimination task performance, which putatively taxes pattern separation mechanisms reliant on the dentate gyrus (DG) subfield of the hippocampus. In young adults, increasing cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been shown to improve mnemonic discrimination task performance and increase left anterior DG/CA3 volume. It is unknown how these variables interact in cognitive aging, yet this knowledge is critical, given the established effects of aging on hippocampal plasticity. To investigate these relationships, 65 older adults (aged 55–85 years) completed a submaximal treadmill test to estimate CRF, a mnemonic discrimination task, and a high‐resolution MRI scan to determine hippocampal subfield volumes. Our older adult sample demonstrated the lowest task accuracy in the condition with the greatest stimuli similarity and left DG/CA3 body volume significantly predicted accuracy in this condition. Our results did not provide support for relationships between CRF and task accuracy or CRF and DG/CA3 volume as evidenced in studies of young adults. Instead, CRF predicted bilateral subiculum volume in older adult women, not men. Altogether, these findings provide further support for a role of the DG in behavioral pattern separation in humans and suggest that CRF may have differential effects on hippocampal subfield integrity in older adult men and women. ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: (a) Neuroimaging Study of Exercise and Memory Function, NCT02057354; (b) The Entorhinal Cortex and Aerobic Exercise in Aging, NCT02775760; (c) Physical Activity and Cognition Study, NCT02773121.

RESUMENObjetivo: generar recomendaciones para la vacunación de la mujer, en las diferentes etapas de su vida, a fin de disminuir la posible variabilidad de su uso actual en Colombia.Materiales y métodos: el grupo desarrollador estuvo conformado por profesionales pertenecientes al área de la salud. Todos los participantes declararon por escrito sus conflictos de interés. Se formularon preguntas clínicas contestables, se hizo la graduación de los desenlaces y la pesquisa de la información se realizó en Medline/PubMed, Embase y Lilacs. La búsqueda también abarcó fuentes de literatura gris y se actualizó el 14 de mayo de 2024 sin restricciones por fecha o idioma. Se implementó la metodología GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) para establecer la calidad de la evidencia y la fuerza de la recomendación. En virtud de las limitaciones de los estudios recuperados, y especialmente cuando se trató de limitaciones en la aplicabilidad de la evidencia, se acudió a la opinión de expertos. Se realizó consenso formal acorde con la metodología RAND/UCLA (RAND Corporation/Universidad de California en Los Ángeles). Previo a la publicación, el documento fue objeto de revisión por pares.Resultados: se desarrollaron las siguientes recomendaciones:1. El grupo desarrollador sugiere que las mujeres no inmunes a las paperas, sarampión o rubeola (p. ej., IgG negativo) sean vacunadas durante el periodo preconcepcional. Calidad de la evidencia: baja ⨁⨁◯◯2. El grupo desarrollador sugiere que todas las mujeres en periodo preconcepcional se vacunen contra la varicela si no tienen inmunidad natural confirmada (p. ej., anticuerpos IgG negativo para el virus varicela zóster). Calidad de la evidencia: muy baja ⨁◯◯◯3. El grupo desarrollador sugiere que las mujeres que viven en regiones endémicas para fiebre amarilla se vacunen durante el periodo preconcepcional si no han sido previamente inmunizadas. Calidad de la evidencia: muy baja ⨁◯◯◯4. El grupo desarrollador sugiere vacunar adolescentes y adultas jóvenes con la vacuna para el virus del papiloma humano (VPH), de 3 dosis (0,2 y 6 meses) con el fin de reducir la incidencia y mortalidad por cáncer cervical. Calidad de evidencia: moderada ⨁⨁⨁◯ 5. El grupo desarrollador sugiere que las mujeres gestantes sean inmunizadas contra el tétano, la difteria y la tos ferina durante la gestación, con el objetivo de reducir el riesgo de infección en la madre y el neonato. Calidad de la evidencia: baja ⨁⨁◯◯6. El grupo desarrollador sugiere la vacunación contra la influenza a cualquier edad gestacional, con el objetivo de reducir el riesgo de infección en la madre y el neonato hasta los seis meses de edad. Calidad de la evidencia: muy baja ⨁◯◯◯7. El grupo desarrollador sugiere la vacunación materna frente al COVID-19 a cualquier edad gestacional, con el objetivo de reducir el riesgo de hospitalización y muerte de la madre y el neonato durante los primeros cuatro meses de vida. Calidad de la evidencia: muy baja ⨁◯◯◯8. El grupo desarrollador sugiere la vacunación contra el virus sincitial respiratorio (VSR) en mujeres gestantes, con el objetivo de reducir el riesgo de hospitalización en el neonato. Calidad de la evidencia: muy baja ⨁◯◯◯9. El grupo desarrollador sugiere que la mujer adulta mayor se vacune contra el herpes zóster, con el fin de reducir la morbilidad asociada a esta condición. Calidad de la evidencia: moderada ⨁⨁⨁◯10. El grupo desarrollador sugiere que la mujer adulta mayor se vacune contra la influenza a fin de reducir la incidencia de infección respiratoria aguda (IRA). Calidad de la evidencia: moderada ⨁⨁⨁◯11. El grupo desarrollador sugiere que la mujer adulta mayor se vacune contra el neumococo a fin de reducir la incidencia de neumonía y enfermedad neumocócica invasora. Calidad de la evidencia: baja ⨁⨁◯◯12. El grupo desarrollador sugiere que la mujer adulta mayor se vacune contra el VSR a fin de reducir la incidencia de infección respiratoria aguda e infección respiratoria del tracto inferior. Calidad de la evidencia: baja ⨁⨁◯◯13. El grupo desarrollador sugiere que la mujer adulta mayor que vive en regiones endémicas para fiebre amarilla se vacune si no ha sido previamente inmunizada. Calidad de la evidencia: muy baja ⨁◯◯◯Conclusiones: se recomienda la vacunación como estrategia de prevención primaria a lo largo de las diferentes etapas de la vida en la mujer. Dada la calidad de la evidencia y las serias limitaciones en la aplicabilidad de algunos estudios, especialmente en mujeres gestantes, se requieren más investigaciones que evalúen la seguridad y la efectividad de esta intervención en esta etapa de la vida.

Psychosocial variables and self-rated health in young adult obese women

The growth of the fitness industry observed in the last decade has been accompanied by the emergence of an occupation as a social media fitness influencer. The most popular are able to accumulate millions of followers. The marketing potential of fitness influencers is a subject of interest, not only for the fitness industry but also for other sectors offering products related to health, wellness, or healthy nutrition. However, the activities of fitness influencers related to the promotion of physical activity and healthy lifestyle converge with the aims of those promoting public health. The main objective of this study was to make an assessment of the determinants of regular access to fitness influencers’ sites (FIS) and their relationship with the health behaviors of young adult women. It was based on the data originating from an online survey on a representative sample of Polish women aged 18–35 years. Chi2 test, univariate, and multiply logistic regression models were used to determine the relationships between FIS and the variables related to the respondents’ characteristics of and their health behaviors. FIS were accessed by 29.3% of respondents (n = 1030) at least once a week. It was found that those living in cities with a population ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 were more likely to access FIS than those living in rural areas. Similarly, greater access was made by those in a high-income household rather than those with the lowest income, by those with inadequate rather than those with problematic health literacy and by those with high rather than low e-health literacy. The use of FIS was significantly associated with the consumptions of fruit and vegetables (OR, 95%CI: 2.77, 2.01–3.82), physical activity (1.74, 1.27–2.38), breast self-examination (1.54, 1.11–2.13), and also with the greater use of e-cigarettes (1.63, 1.09–2.43) and increased consumption of alcohol (1.37, 1.01–1.88). In conclusion, as access to Internet resources run by fitness influencers was a prevailing predictor of young adult Polish women’s health behaviors, FIS may play a potentially important role in promoting a healthy lifestyle in this population. However, it should be remembered that there are complex patterns of associations with specific behaviors, e.g., the use of e-cigarettes or alcohol consumption.

BackgroundCurrent evidence supports the adoption of healthy diet and physical activity (PA) behaviors in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), given the positive effects of those behaviors on physical well-being. An improved understanding of the associations between diet and PA with PCOS is needed to ascertain whether tailored dietary and PA recommendations are needed for this population. Thus, we investigated the associations of diet and PA with PCOS and its isolated features.MethodsCross-sectional study. Of the 748 women who were included in this study from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Women’s Study, 40 were classified as having PCOS, 104 had isolated hyperandrogenism (HA) and 75 had isolated oligomenorrhea (OA). Dietary intake was measured using the CARDIA diet history questionnaire and diet quality was scored using the Alternative Healthy Eating Index 2010; a higher score indicated a better quality diet. Self-reported PA was measured using a validated interviewer-administered questionnaire. Polytomous logistic regression analyses examined the associations between diet and PA with PCOS, HA, and OA status (outcomes), adjusting for age, race, total energy intake, education, and/or body mass index. The threshold for statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.ResultsMean age of the participants was 25.4 years (SD 3.6) and 46.8% of participants were Black women. There was little to no association of total energy intake, nutrients, diet quality, and PA with PCOS, HA or OA status.ConclusionEnergy intake, nutrient composition, diet quality, and PA were not associated with PCOS, supporting recent PCOS guidelines of using national recommendations for the general population to encourage health-promoting behaviors among women with PCOS. However, longitudinal studies evaluating changes in diet and physical activity in relation to the development and/or the progression of PCOS are needed to establish a causal association.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore people’s perceptions, stated attitudes, and observed and reported behaviour to water and other environmental quality. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a mixed method approach. It employed a cross-sectional survey design. Ten communities were selected in Accra and its surrounding communities to indicate various levels of infrastructure provision and environmental quality. Four separate focus group discussions (FGDs) were carried out in each community, with a mixed group of older and young adult men and women, a group of men only, a group of women only, and a group of young adults only. Following the FGDs, further information was obtained through structured household questionnaire survey involving 443 respondents. Findings – Different ideas were employed to explain people’s perceptions of water quality. There were common ideas such as on health, history of water use, perceptions which affect water use, and management of community activities which affect water sources. These ideas which emerged from the focus groups helped participants to assign meaning to their environment. Reported behaviour was influenced by the ability to pay for services, their availability and the influence of shared community norms. Although citizen participation in water and environmental management decision making was very limited, community collective action can be harnessed to enhance water and other environmental management. Originality/value – Adopted an interdisciplinary approach that enabled explanations to phenomenon to emerge from the perspectives of the society rather than views being suggested to them. Thus, resulting in evidence-based issues for intervention.

The literature suggests that obesity mirrors some aspects of aging, but little is known whether body weight can contribute to one’s self-perception of aging. We aimed to qualitatively understand the self-perception of aging of adult and older adult women who underwent bariatric surgery, both at the present time and at the time of the procedure. We conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with 15 adult and 15 older adult women. Data were analyzed identifying the regular, expressive, and meaningful significance units collected through the interviews. Three major aspects influenced the participants’ aging perceptions: 1) The process of undergoing bariatric surgery; 2) the way they presented themselves and acted in the world (feeling a sense of independence, capacity, youthfulness, and having a certain attitude) and 3) their excessive weight before the bariatric surgery. Ageism and weight stigma were intricated in our participants’ experiences, leading them to wish distance from negative labels about aging and fatness. It is high time that the public sphere proposes public politics to the population with obesity that is algo getting older. Thus, our data can help policymakers to consider interactions between age and obesity.

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in adolescent and young adult (AYA) women age 15-39, and the incidence continues to rise each year (1, 2). The reason for this remains unknown, but one potential etiology includes the increasing incidence of obesity (1). Studies in premenopausal women have demonstrated that a high body mass index (BMI) prior to BC diagnosis is associated with worse clinical outcomes (3). The prognostic value of weight gain after BC diagnosis remains unclear (4) as its impact on recurrence risk and overall survival has been inconsistently reported, with limited data among the AYA population (5). Our aim was to describe the clinical-pathological characteristics of AYA women diagnosed with BC, its association with weight change, and the impact of weight variation during the initial treatment period on patient outcomes. Methods: This retrospective study included patients with invasive stage I-III BC, age 15-39 at the time of diagnosis, that received treatment at the Cleveland Clinic between 1996 and 2023. Data was collected via computerized data extraction and manual chart review. The analysis was limited to patients who had both a pre-diagnosis (within 1.5 years (y) before diagnosis) and post-diagnosis (up to 1.5y after diagnosis) BMI measurement so that change in BMI could be calculated. A BMI reduction of ≥2 units was considered clinically meaningful weight loss and a BMI increase of ≥2 units was considered clinically meaningful weight gain. A change in BMI &amp;lt; 2 units was considered no change or stable weight. Continuous and categorical variables were summarized using median IQR and N (%), respectively. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to test for differences according to BMI change categories in continuous variables, and either Fisher’s exact test or the Chi-squared test was used to test for differences according to BMI change in categorical variables, as appropriate. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate 5y overall survival (OS) probability, the log-rank test was used to test for differences according to weight change and hazard ratios (HR) were estimated using univariable Cox regression. Results: A total of 345 patients were identified for analysis. 339 patients (98%) were ≥25 years, 5 were age 19-24, and one was ≤18 years. The median pre-diagnosis BMI was 25 kg/m2 (22,31). Stable weight was observed in 242 patients (70%), 52 (15%) experienced weight loss, and 52 (15%) had weight gain during the first 1.5y of treatment from the time of diagnosis. While the measurement and analysis of weight changes focused on the initial BC treatment period, median follow-up time among survivors was 6.8y. During follow-up, 51 patients died from any cause. The 5y OS probability of patients with weight gain, weight loss, and stable weight were 66%, 85%, and 90%, respectively (log-rank P=0.006). Patients with weight gain had a statistically significant increased hazard of mortality as compared to those with no change and with weight loss combined, HR 2.71 (95% CI: 1.44-5.10), P=0.005 Discussion: Overall survival probability was reduced in AYA women with early stage BC that experienced weight gain during the initial treatment period. Approximately 70% of patients had no significant change in BMI during their initial BC treatment course, despite undergoing loco-regional and systemic therapies. These results support counselling AYA women regarding the risk of reduced survival associated with weight gain during the initial BC treatment period. Future research is necessary to examine the impact of longer-term weight changes on the risk of BC recurrence and mortality. Citation Format: Nerea Lopetegui-Lia, Emily C. Zabor, Kenda Alkwatli, Ahmed Mohamed, Hassan Elmaleh, Alex Milinovich, Anukriti Sharma, Blaine Martyn-Dow, Kevin M Pantalone, Daniel Rotroff, Halle CF Moore. Impact of Weight and Weight Variation in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Women with Invasive Breast Cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2024; 2024 Dec 10-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2025;31(12 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-12-04.

Background: Cross-sectional and prospective studies have demonstrated that self-reported short sleep is a predictor of cardiometabolic conditions including obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and cardiovascular events. The relationship may be non-linear, with short and long sleep related to markers of cardiometabolic risk. Research on sleep duration and cardiometabolic health is limited by use of single item self-report sleep measures and homogeneous populations. The current study tested the hypothesis that accelerometer-measured sleep duration would be significantly associated with objective markers of cardiometabolic risk in older adult women. Methods: Cross-sectional data were analyzed in 2662 women (mean age: 79.05, 52.8% white, 29.8% black, 17.4% Hispanic), from the Objective Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health Study, ancillary study to the Women’s Health Initiative. Women wore accelerometers on the hip for 24 hours over 7 days and completed a daily sleep log. To be included in the present analysis women must have validated night wear for at least 3 nights. Sleep data were scored according to a standard protocol using sleep logs and visual inspection of the accelerometer data. Body mass index (BMI) and fasting blood samples were obtained at home visits prior to accelerometer monitoring. Adjusting for age and race/ethnicity, linear regression models estimated the relationship between sleep duration and BMI (kg/m 2 ), HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose (mg/dL each), and C-reactive protein (CRP; mg/L). A quadratic term for sleep was included in the models to evaluate nonlinearity. Results: The mean nightly sleep duration in the sample was 489.6 mins per night (8.16 hours) with 14.8% of the sample sleeping less than 7 hours per night and 21% sleeping more than 9 hours per night. After adjusting for age and race/ethnicity, sleep duration was significantly related to BMI (regression coefficient [ B ] :- 0.034, p&lt;.01), and the relationship appeared to be non-linear (quadratic, p=.02). The estimated quadratic function indicated a decreasing BMI as sleep duration increased up to 500 minutes/night, and then an increasing BMI as sleep duration continued to increase beyond 500 minutes/night. Additionally, sleep duration was significantly related to CRP ( B: - 0.005, p=.03), triglycerides ( B: 0.002, p=.03) and glucose ( B: - 0.125, p=.05), with both the CRP (quadratic, p =.02) and glucose (quadratic, p =.03) relationships appearing to be u-shaped and the triglyceride relationship linear. Sleep duration was not significantly related to HDL cholesterol. Conclusions: In older women, there is a significant relationship between sleep duration and cardiometabolic risk factors, independent of age and race/ethnicity. These cross-sectional relationships should be further explored in prospective studies to inform sleep guidelines for better cardiovascular health in older adult women.

To evaluate age and gender differences as well as effects of affection, we examined exploratory eye movements. Exploratory eye movements were recorded in healthy subjects (57 women and 57 men) ranging from 9 to 74 years. All subjects were divided into three groups as pre puberty, young, and older adults to study the influences of age and gonadal hormones. Exploratory eye movements were analyzed for total eye scanning length (TESL), and total numbers of gaze points (TNGP) as subjects viewed neutral or affectively charged pictures. TESL and TNGP in older adults were significantly larger than that in both pre puberty and young adults for crying babies. TESL and TNGP in pre puberty were significantly smaller than that in both young and older adults for circles. TESL and TNGP in pre puberty were significantly smaller than that in older adults for smiling babies. Pre puberty and young adult of both genders for crying babies showed significantly shorter TESL than for when smiling babies. When viewing circles, young adult women had shorter TESL than men. TNGP in young adult women was smaller than in men for circles or crying babies. TNGP of young adult women in the visual right field was significantly smaller than in men. TNGP for crying babies was significantly smaller than that for smiling babies in young adults of both genders for the left field. Exploratory eye movements thus are a useful marker of visual cognitive function. Gender differences were limited to younger adults, suggesting influences of gonadal hormones.

Objective:to identify the factors associated with the risk of violence against older adult women.Method:this is a quantitative, analytical, and cross-sectional research conducted with 122 older adult females in the city of Recife, state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Data collection was carried out using validated instruments adapted to Brazil. The analysis was performed using descriptive statistics (absolute and relative frequency) and inferential statistics (Pearson’s chi- square, Spearman’s correlation test, and Multiple Logistic Regression).Results:there was prevalence of a risk of abuse against older adult women under 70 years of age, literate, without a stable relationship, living alone, without any work activity, and who had an income higher than the minimum wage. There is a significant association between the risk of violence among older women with a higher number of chronic health conditions (24; 77.4%), and who are less active in advanced activities (42; 70.0%). A reduction in quality of life and satisfaction with life, and the onset of depressive symptoms, increase the risk of violence.Conclusion:multimorbidity, low functional capacity, depressive symptoms, low quality of life and low satisfaction with life, a high number of chronic conditions, depressive symptoms, and functional dependence to perform daily activities can be conditioning factors for the emergence of abuse against older adults.