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PREGNANCY AND POSTPARTUM
Maternal Deaths from Cardiovascular Causes on the Rise in U.S.
What: Maternal deaths due to cardiovascular issues more than doubled in the US between 1999 and 2022, with Black women and people in Southern states facing increased risk. Researchers said the increase was driven in part by an overall increase in heart disease and hypertension, which led to more high-risk pregnancies.
Key Line: “’We’re heading in the wrong direction. The United States is supposed to be a global leader in advancing health and medicine, and the fact that we still have pregnant women who are dying—often because of preventable causes—should sound alarm bells,’ said Mohammad Ahabab Hossain, MD, the study’s lead author.”
Source: American College of Cardiology
ABORTION ACCESS
Supreme Court Abortion Case Could Also Hit Medicaid
What: A case at the Supreme Court is ostensibly about states like South Carolina trying to stop Medicaid patients from going to Planned Parenthood clinics for non-abortion care, but it could end up hitting the entire Medicaid program. How? The state is arguing that key parts of the law are entirely “unenforceable”.
Key Line: “So, Medicaid patients of all kinds should hope that the Supreme Court does not, in its zeal to restrict abortion rights, embrace the Alliance Defending Freedom’s arguments in the Kerr case. Because if the Court does, much of federal law will become unenforceable overnight.”
Source: Vox
MENOPAUSE
Study: Women Take ‘Substantial’ Earnings Hit During Menopause
What: A working paper from a Stanford economist found women who visited a health care provider for menopause treatment made 10% less income four years later, because they ended up cutting back their hours or quitting. Economist Petra Persson used data on women in Sweden and Norway to conduct the study.
Key Line: ““The economic losses for working women in menopause are substantial,’ says Persson, who is also an assistant professor of economics in the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences. ‘For decades, social scientists have analyzed the ‘motherhood penalty,’ but until now, we haven’t known what the financial consequences are for women at the other end of the reproductive spectrum, when they enter menopause.'”
Source: Stanford University
ONCOLOGY
Study: Delaying Breast Cancer Surgery Matters
What: A study from the University of Oklahoma found that for certain types of breast cancer, waiting more than 42 days for surgery increased the risk of dying. And that risk kept increasing as the days went on. Interestingly, it was breast cancers that typically have the best prognosis (hormone positive) that were affected by delays, while more aggressive hormone negative cases were not.
Key Line: “’This is an important finding because 42 days can go by very quickly, but it’s also concerning because recent studies show that both the frequency and length of delay are increasing,’ said lead author Takemi Tanaka, Ph.D., a professor of pathology in the OU College of Medicine.”
Source: University of Oklahoma
WELLNESS + BEAUTY
Facelift at 35? Plastic Surgeons Share Their Theories
What: The Wall Street Journal talks to plastic surgeons who say women in their 30s and 40s are increasingly opting for facelifts. The previous “sweet spot”? Fifty years old. The theories offered include weight loss driven by GLP-1 drugs, people having to see their faces constantly on Zoom, or the trend of starting Botox and fillers younger, so getting a facelift doesn’t seem like a big deal.
Key Line: “That was the case for Amanda Hurd, a real-estate broker based in Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., who had been spending roughly $15,000 a year on filler and other cosmetic treatments. In 2023, at age 43, she decided to ‘bite the bullet’ and get a facelift (which included a neck lift and rhinoplasty) with Dr. Sean Alemi, a New York facial plastic surgeon. ‘I’ll get more use out of it now than if I did it when I was 60,’ said Hurd, who paid $71,000 for her surgery.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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