Women’s Health Dr. Anupama Gonjhu Consultant obgyn Fortis Hospital Manesar Gurgaon
Osteoporosis prevention By NHANES III data (1988-94), mean total calcium intake below recommended level in female teenagers NHANES IV data (1999-2000) Age 16-19: 779mg/d Age 20-39: 797mg/d Milk consumption is responsible for 46% of calcium intake in 12-18 year old Americans Milk consumption decreased by 36% among female teenagers from the late 1970’s to the mid-1990’s
Osteoporosis prevention Adequate calcium intake 1000-1500 mg/d 50-60% of older adults meet this recommendation Adequate Vitamin D intake 400-800 IU/d Exercise, particularly resistance and high-impact exercise
Osteoporosis screening Indications People who have had ”fragility” fractures Most women by age 65 People with risk factors for secondary osteoporosis Other high-risk patients (by age 60?) Methods DXA scan at two sites most commonly used
Folic acid intake All women of reproductive age should get at least 400mcg of folic acid daily to reduce the risk of having a child with a neural tube defect
Domestic Violence Screening Routine screening recommended; no clearly accepted best way to do so Physicians are typically reluctant to ask about domestic violence, for many reasons “Expert” physicians were consulted regarding screening methods Include with other safety questions Phrase generally: “this is a real problem in our society…I want all my patients to know how to get help…” Have a high index of suspicion when a patient’s story doesn’t fit with their exam
Depression Screening Depression costs $43 billion in the U.S. annually Point prevalence of major depression in primary care is 4.8-8.6% “usual care” without formal screening misses 30-50% of depressed patients Many well-validated screening tools “Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt down, depressed or hopeless?” “Over the past 2 weeks, have you felt little interest or pleasure in doing things?”
Vaccines Td booster every 10 years Consider Tdap substitution for ages 18-65 MMR vaccine if uncertain regarding prior vaccination; contraindicated if pregnancy anticipated within 4 weeks Flu vaccine if pregnancy anticipated within flu season Varicella vaccine if uncertain immunity; contraindicated in pregnancy New vaccines: HPV and Herpes zoster/shingles vaccines
HPV vaccine Recommended routinely for girls 11-12 May also be given in ages 13-26 Series of 3 injections Targets 4 types of HPV Cause up to 70% of cervical cancers Cause about 90% of genital warts Not recommended during pregnancy $ 120 per dose (total $360)
Herpes zoster/shingles vaccine Licensed in age > 60 64% reduction ages 60-69 18% reduction age > 80 Reduces risk of shingles by 50% Duration of post-shingles pain reduced by vaccination Live vaccine, so don’t give in immunocompromised patients Has not been studied in patients with history of shingles If patient has not had chicken pox, she should have primary varicella vaccination series, not this vaccine
Breast screening Mammogram screening, age 40-49 USPSTF evaluated trials containing a total of almost 200,000 participants Relative risk 0.85 after 14 years’ observation Need to screen 1792 to prevent one breast cancer death “…over 10 years of biennial screening among 40-year-old women, approximately 400 would have false-positive results on mammography, and 100 would undergo biopsy...for each death from breast cancer prevented.” Digital mammography performs better than film in women under 50 and in postmenopausal women on HT
Breast screening Mammogram screening, age 50 or older USPSTF recommends annual or biennial screening No clearly-defined upper age limit; evidence of benefit in women as old as 74 years of age If patients 75 and older have co-morbidities that limit life expectancy, mammogram of less benefit
Breast screening Clinical breast exam Sensitivity 40-69% Specificity 88-99% 13.4% of women will have false-positive results at least once, over 10 years, with screening every 2 years Highest risk of false-positive results in women under 50
Breast screening Breast self-examination No evidence of benefit in reducing breast cancer morbidity, or in allowing earlier detection Breast cancer mortality no different in subjects instructed in BSE vs. subjects not instructed
Cervical Screening Pap smears Use lubricating gel Do annually, unless 3 consecutive annual Pap smears have been normal, and no change in risk factors—then acceptable to do Pap smear every 2-3 years ASCUS Pap: triage by HPV DNA Dysplasia: refer to Gyn Some evidence that can follow LGSIL in young women, since this is typically a marker for HPV infection, rather than a warning for impending cervical CA If hysterectomy for benign cause, Pap smear screening not indicated
Cervical Screening Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhea screening Routine screening for chlamydia is recommended for all sexually active women under 26 years of age 5-14% of screened females aged 16-20 are infected 3-12% of screened women aged 20-24 are infected Screening for gonorrhea recommended in high-risk women Prevalence higher among African American patients than other ethnic groups 0.43-5.3% of screened young adults infected
Colon cancer screening Colonoscopy preferred to sigmoidoscopy in average-risk women Study of 1463 asymptomatic women, 4.9% found with advanced neoplasia; 3.2% would have been missed by sigmoidoscopy Colonoscopy more sensitive and specific than ACBE or CT colonography for lesions > 6mm
Emergency Contraception Appropriate for unprotected or under-protected intercourse Prevents pregnancy from starting Does not interrupt an existing pregnancy Many proposed mechanisms Best if used within 72 hours of sex No medical contraindications, but not indicated in suspected or confirmed pregnancy Progestin-only regimen is preferred method 0.75 mg levonorgestrel, two doses Marketed as Plan B Prevents 60-85% of predicted pregnancies
Contraception 26-35% of adolescents do not use contraception with first intercourse Girls under 15 less likely to use contraception with first intercourse 20% of teenage pregnancies occur within a month of first coitus 85% of sexually active women who do not use contraception become pregnant in one year Treatment to prevent pregnancy with EC or other contraception is a task separate from cervical screening with Pap smears
Contraception Combination hormonal contraceptives Act primarily by inhibiting GnRH release, which prevents ovulation Safe and effective for most women, and have non-contraceptive benefits 8 unintended pregnancies per 100 woman-years with typical use Initiate oral contraceptives by Sunday-start method; if oligomenorrheic, start after a negative pregnancy test
Contraception Contraceptive patch (Ortho-Evra) Comparable to COC’s in ideal effectiveness, but better compliance Less effective if patient weighs more than 200lbs/90kg Adhesive reactions can be problematic Higher estrogen levels of concern, consider equivalent to COC with 50mcg of ethinyl estradiol Contraceptive vaginal ring (NuvaRing) Left in place for 3 weeks Comparable to COC’s in ideal effectiveness, but compliance may be better Vaginal discharge and irritation can occur
Contraception Progestin-only pills Used when contraindication to COC 8 unintended pregnancies per 100 woman-years with typical use Depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate IM injection every 3 months Irregular bleeding common at first Amenorrhea in 60% at 12 months Weight gain common Decreases in bone mineral density of concern, with FDA black-box warning for use beyond 2 years
Postmenopausal hormone therapy WHI disproved effectiveness of PremPro for preventive therapy No clear reason to presume this applies only to CEE + MPA Less evidence of harm, but no net benefit with CEE alone Only compelling reason to initiate systemic HT is to treat vasomotor symptoms unresponsive to other treatments Osteoporosis improves with treatment, but not sufficiently for this to be the only reason to treat with HT Urogenital atrophic symptoms improve, but vaginal estrogen is presumably a safer way to treat HT duration should be limited, as possible There is a subgroup of women who have intolerable vasomotor symptoms off of HT/ET—for them, a careful discussion of risks and goals may lead to the joint decision of prolonged HT FDA recommends that postmenopausal women “use CEE only for menopausal symptoms at the smallest effective dose for the shortest possible time.”
Hypertension In the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study, mortality risk from CVD was lowest in women on diuretics, either alone or in combination Increased risk in women on CCBs Nonfatal CVD risk not different between groups
Cardiovascular risk In the HOPE study including 2182 women with cardiovascular disease, increasing waist-to-hip ratio correlated with increasing rate of cardiovascular outcomes Ratio > 0.8 high risk Evidence that women with diabetes are at higher risk for cardiac death than women with prior history of MI In Women’s Health Study of low-risk women, ASA 100mg every other day did not alter risk of CVD RR stroke 0.83 Still worthwhile to consider ASA for primary prevention if 10-year Framingham risk >6%