Women S Health

African-American women in Baltimore and five other U.S. cities are becoming infected with HIV at a rate five times the national average for black women, and closer to the rates of some African countries, according to a new study. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and around the country who made the findings suspected the rates were higher in these "hot spots" that have battled the epidemic for decades, but the numbers still came as a surprise in a field that tends to focus more on black and gay men. "This is why it's important to remind people that this is going on right here in our hometown," said Dr. Charles Flexner, the principal investigator for the Baltimore part of the study and a clinical pharmacologist and infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins.

Update: The American Chemistry Council disputes the study. Here is a statement: “It is concerning that the authors could be over-interpreting their results and unnecessarily alarm workers. This study included no data showing if there was actual chemical exposure, from what chemicals, at what levels, and over what period of time in any particular workplace. Although this is an important area of research, these findings are inconsistent with other research. This study should not be used to draw any conclusions about the cause of cancer patterns in workers.”  The original blog post is below: Women who worked ten years or more in jobs that exosed them to cancer-causing substances and endocrine chemicals increased their odds of getting breast cancer, a new study has found.

Saturday marks the seventh annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and the NAACP is hosting a public lunch and panel discussion at Coppin State University . The day is coordinated nationally by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health . It aims to raise awareness about impact the epidemic is having on women and girls. The forum is open to the public and there are still tickets available. They can be reserved here .  It runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Coppin's Physical Education Complex & Multipurpose Gym, 2523 Gwynns Falls Parkway in Baltimore.

Saturday marks the seventh annual National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and the NAACP is hosting a public lunch and panel discussion at Coppin State University . The day is coordinated nationally by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health . It aims to raise awareness about impact the epidemic is having on women and girls. The forum is open to the public and there are still tickets available. They can be reserved here .  It runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Coppin's Physical Education Complex & Multipurpose Gym, 2523 Gwynns Falls Parkway in Baltimore.

Could a woman's period become a thing of the past? In coming weeks, the Food and Drug Administration is expected to decide whether to approve the first oral contraceptive designed specifically to reduce the number of annual menstrual cycles a woman has. Seasonale, developed by Barr Laboratories, would reduce menstruation to four times a year instead of the typical 13. Gynecologists say that suppressing the monthly period would mean fewer women would...

In the last five years, national attention has turned to the whole area of women's health. With the emphasis on cancer, however, health professionals have paid less attention to the sobering statistics regarding intentional and unintentional injuries in women.Every year, 43,000 women die from injuries, and 1 million are hospitalized. Injuries represent the leading cause of death for females ages 1 to 34.Physical abuse accounts for a significant percentage of injuries and deaths from homicide in women.

THE CAUSES of family planning, women's health and combating AIDS in poor parts of the world are curtailed by President Bush's first executive order in the foreign aid field. Mr. Bush reinstated the "Mexico City policy" of President Reagan, so named because it was announced at a population conference in that city in 1984. The policy denies family planning aid to nongovernment organizations that also do abortion counseling, perform the procedure or advocate laws to permit it. The policy was maintained by President George H. W. Bush but was ended by President Clinton upon taking office.

Posing for the cameras is nothing new to celebrities, but truly candid shots at home are rare. In a new book, Hollywood insider and amateur photographer Joyce Ostin captures famous mothers and daughters in unguarded moments of affection. There's Madonna getting a hug from her dark-haired daughter, Lourdes; Jennifer Lopez being sweetly pecked on the cheek by mom Guadelupe. And Olivia Newton-John hamming it up with her daughter, Chloe Lattanzi. "Hollywood Moms" (Harry N. Abrams, $29.95)

American women continue to be frustrated by a lack of answers to serious questions about their health care.While breakthroughs are being reported in breast cancer and hormone replacement research, women's medical problems are far from being a top priority, experts explain."

Medical researchers in Baltimore are launching what is considered the most extensive study ever attempted into the effects of aging on women's health.The five-year study, which will involve 1,000 women 65 and over in Baltimore and Baltimore County, will try to determine which chronic illnesses are most responsible for causing disabilities as women age, and how disabilities can be lessened or prevented.The diseases include arthritis, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes and hearing and vision impairments.

African-American women in Baltimore and five other U.S. cities are becoming infected with HIV at a rate five times the national average for black women, and closer to the rates of some African countries, according to a new study. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and around the country who made the findings suspected the rates were higher in these "hot spots" that have battled the epidemic for decades, but the numbers still came as a surprise in a field that tends to focus more on black and gay men. "This is why it's important to remind people that this is going on right here in our hometown," said Dr. Charles Flexner, the principal investigator for the Baltimore part of the study and a clinical pharmacologist and infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins.

Plan wouldn't fund abortion After a month of right-wing activists employing every scare tactic imaginable at congressional town hall meetings on health reform, columnist Kathleen Parker falsely claimed that health care reform would lead to federally funded abortions ("Abortion issue could thwart Obama's health reform goals," Sept. 9). The truth is that advocates for women's health care, including Planned Parenthood, are focused on achieving affordable, quality health care for all and ensuring that women's broad health needs are met through reform.

Entries sought for Art Bras Challenge The Anne Arundel County Department of Health and the Annapolis Quilt Guild are accepting entries for the fourth annual Cup of the Month Challenge. Contestants will create Art Bras, decorated bras that inspire and support breast cancer awareness, screening and treatment. Entry forms and contest rules are available on the Department of Health Web site, www.aahealth.org. Under Hot Topics, click Cup of the Month Bra Art Challenge. There is no cost to enter, but bras must be submitted by Sept.

* Dr. Carole Miller is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's National Woman of the Year. Miller, a nationally recognized expert in the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma and director of the St. Agnes Cancer Center, was among 195 candidates for the title, which is given to the person who raises the most money for the society. Miller raised more than $122,000, a Maryland chapter record, and $40,000 more than the runner-up. She used a variety of grass-roots strategies for her fundraising campaign, including letter-writing, basket bingo, a casino night and a silent auction.

WASHINGTON -- Saudi King Abdullah's pardon of the "Qatif girl" - who was gang-raped and then sentenced to 200 lashes and six months imprisonment for "improper mingling" - is welcome news. With something less than gratitude, Westerners are nonetheless relieved. It seems obvious that the king's decision was influenced in part by pressures both from the international community, including the United States, and within Saudi Arabia, where some writers and others bravely expressed outrage and embarrassment.

Connie Hewitt was surprised to learn that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in the United States. For the past five years, Hewitt has been a volunteer for a women's health conference held by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After learning that she had nine of 10 common risk factors for heart disease at last year's conference, she lost 45 pounds and started exercising regularly and eating a more healthful diet. Yesterday, Hewitt -- along with nearly 1,000 other women -- attended "A Woman's Journey," Hopkins' 13th annual conference focusing on women's health issues.

Alexandra Penney's first book about making love, published 11 years ago, did not even breathe the word condom."How to Make Love to a Man," based on interviews with men about what they wanted sexually and emotionally from women, sold a million and a half copies."

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers seeking health care equity for women said yesterday that President Clinton's reform proposal represents a step forward but worry that his failure to make a clear commitment to abortion coverage may lead to a retreat on that key issue.The president's plan would give many women coverage for Pap smears, mammograms, prenatal services, routine exams and other preventive services for the first time, though some advocates complain the coverage would still fall short of what most doctors recommend.

A 2002 study that led millions of women to throw out their hormone pills may have overestimated the dangers of that medication to women in their 50s, new research suggests. The new study in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association found that for women near the start of menopause, the pills do not increase the incidence of heart attacks or other cardiac complications. Findings regarding stroke were less clear cut, but researchers said that the youngest women appeared to be at the lowest risk.

WASHINGTON -- When President Bush nominated Ellen R. Sauerbrey for a top State Department post last fall, outside advocacy groups waged an extended - and ultimately unsuccessful - fight to keep her from getting the job. Now that she's in it, those critics are changing their tune about the outspoken conservative Republican from Maryland. "The bottom line is, our initial impressions are good," said Kenneth H. Bacon, president of Refugees International, who met recently with Sauerbrey, at her request.