Reproductive Health Matters articles from November 2005

Reproductive Health Matters archives from November 2005

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
November 1, 2005... The photograph by Trygve Bolstad from Gaza Province, Mozambique 2003, on page 224 of the RHM 12(24) November 2004 supplement on Abortion Law, Policy and Practice in Transition should have been credited to Panos Pictures.

Why medical abortion is important for women.
November 1, 2005... Women often give birth at home. Women often miscarry at home. Women often induce abortion at home too. (Toni Belfield, Medical abortion meeting, London, 27 September 2004) MEDICAL abortion is the use of pills to cause...

Medical abortion: expanding access to safe abortion and saving women's lives: Medical Abortion: An International Forum on Policies, Programmes and Services, 17-20 October 2004, Johannesburg, South Africa.(CONSENSUS STATEMENT)
November 1, 2005... OVER 19 million women globally resort to unsafe abortion each year, largely among the world's poorest and most vulnerable women, especially young women. The deaths of 68,000 women and injury to countless more each year represents a continuing...

Introducing medical abortion within the primary health system: comparison with other health interventions and commodities.(DISCUSSION)
November 1, 2005... Abstract: Over the years, a de-medicalisation strategy has been adopted for a range of public health interventions and commodities for the reduction of mortality, morbidity and population growth, including those for reproductive, neonatal and...

Medical abortion: a fact sheet: the following information was prepared for this RHM journal issue as background to the papers.
November 1, 2005... MEDICAL abortion is the use of pills to cause a miscarriage. Historically, many different drugs and concoctions have been used to try to cause a miscarriage; many do not work very well or are unsafe. Now, thanks to medical research in the past...

Medical abortion: issues of choice and acceptability.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: Although more than one method of abortion has been available for many years, in most countries the provider chooses the method and may be skilled in one method only. This paper discusses choice and acceptability of medical abortion...

Medical abortion: the possibilities for introduction in the public sector in South Africa.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: Medical abortion is safe and effective and has been approved for use in early termination of pregnancy in South Africa since 2001. The Department of Health is currently considering its introduction in the public health sector. The...

Abortion practice in the northeast Caribbean: "just write down stomach pain".
November 1, 2005... Abstract: Small island exigencies and a legacy of colonial jurisprudence set the stage for this three-year study in 2001-2003 of abortion practice on several islands of the northeast Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua, St Kitts, St Martin and Sint...

Medical abortion in rural Tamil Nadu, South India: a quiet transformation.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: The medical abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol are now widely available in rural Tamil Nadu, India, and the practice of abortion is being transformed. This paper reports on current attitudes and practices concerning medical...

Availability of medical abortion pills and the role of chemists: a study from Bihar and Jharkhand, India.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: The clinical safety, efficacy and acceptability of mifepristone and misoprostol in the Indian context have been well studied, but little is known about how they are being used, who is using them, how women access them or how...

Women's perspectives on medical abortion in Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru: a qualitative study.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: In Latin America, where abortion is almost universally legally restricted, medical abortion, especially with misoprostol alone, is increasingly being used, often with the tablets obtained from a pharmacy. We carried out in-depth...

Reaching women with instructions on misoprostol use in a Latin American country.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: In Latin America, where restrictive laws limit women's access to safe abortion services, misoprostol is being used to induce abortions, often without correct information on dosage or regimens. This study in an unnamed Latin American...

A project to improve the quality of abortion services in Moldova.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: Abortion has been available legally in Moldova since 1955, and since then the abortion rate has gradually declined. The quality of abortion care remains low, however, and there is a high level of maternal mortality related to unsafe...

Study supports the introduction of early medical abortion in Turkey.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: In Turkey, there is an unmet need for induced abortion services provided by the public health services, especially in rural and semi-urban areas. The objective of this clinical study was to show that early medical abortion could be...

Availability and acceptability of medical abortion in Nepal: health care providers' perspectives.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: Abortion was legalised in Nepal in September 2002 and manual vacuum aspiration is the main procedure used for safe abortion. Although medical abortion has not yet officially been introduced in Nepal, with the highly porous Indo-Nepal...

Human rights begin at birth: international law and the claim of fetal rights.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the foundation of human rights, the text and negotiating history of the "right to life" explicitly premises human rights on birth. Likewise, other international and regional human rights...

Abortion in the moral world of the Cameroon grassfields.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: Despite high levels of unsafe abortion in Cameroon, remarkably limited attention has been paid to the moral dilemma for women who seek abortions. In-depth interviews were conducted with 65 Cameroonian Grasslands women within a...

Termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality incompatible with life: women's experiences in Brazil.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: Fetal abnormality incompatible with life is a fact and the options for dealing with it are abortion or birth followed by death. This paper reports a qualitative study of the experience of ten women who had a pregnancy termination in a...

Menstrual hygiene among adolescent schoolgirls in Mansoura, Egypt.
November 1, 2005... Abstract: Learning about menstrual hygiene is a vital aspect of health education for adolescent girls. This study among 664 schoolgirls aged 14-18 in Mansoura, Egypt, asked about type of sanitary protection used, frequency of changing pads or...

Reproductive health policy in Norway.
November 1, 2005... IN the May 2005 issue of RHM, Befit Austveg and I had a paper on the history of how reproductive health was improved in Norway in the 20th century and how that relates to Norway's development aid policy. (1) Policies in Norway are very much...

Using human rights principles to promote quality of abortion care in Brazil.(SHORT REPORTS)
November 1, 2005... IT is estimated that almost 1.5 million abortions occur annually in Brazil, with almost 30% of pregnancies ending in abortion. (l) The practice of abortion in Brazil is a clear demonstration of social inequality; historically, under-privileged...

The right to be accompanied at birth: new laws in Argentina and Uruguay.(SHORT REPORTS)
November 1, 2005... IN the last several years, the Buenos Aires city congress and the national congresses in Argentina and Uruguay have approved similar civil laws stating that women have the right to be accompanied during labour and delivery. This is an important...

Contemporary Women's Hell: Polish Women's Stories.(Book Review)
November 1, 2005... Contemporary Women's Hell: Polish Women's Stories Polish Federation for Women and Family Planning, Warsaw, 2005 From the Preface by Wanda Nowicka THE publication "Contemporary Women's Hell--Polish Women's Stories" is unique because its...

Late Abortion: a Research Study of Women Undergoing Abortion Between 19 and 24 Weeks Gestation.(BOOKSHELF)
November 1, 2005... LATE abortion, that is, abortion conducted at 20 or more weeks gestation, is rare, making up just 1.6% (2,927 of 181,582) of all abortion procedures carried out for residents in England and Wales in 2003. Almost 900/o of abortions were carried...

WHO adds mifepristone and misoprostol to essential medicines list.(ROUND UP: Medical Abortion)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The World Health Organization (WHO) list of essential medicines catalogues those medicines that it considers satisfy the priority health care needs of the population of developing countries, and which have been selected on the basis of their...

Home-use of misoprostol highly acceptable for Swedish women and their partners.(ROUND UP: Medical Abortion)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Medical abortion carded out at a hospital or licensed health facility normally requires three visits, the first for the administration of mifepristone, the second for administration of misoprostol and finally a follow-up visit. The misoprostol...

Indian women find medical abortion highly acceptable.(ROUND UP: Medical Abortion)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Before mifepristone became generally available in India, a study explored women's attitude to medical abortion both prior to and after the procedure. Two-thirds of the women who chose medical abortion opted for it because they thought it would...

Using peer experiences to educate patients about medical abortion in the US.(ROUND UP: Medical Abortion)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... As a result of low uptake of medical abortion in a Wisconsin clinic, training was given to providers of abortion care to standardise the regimens used and to clarify the kinds of information to be given to patients. The aim was not specifically...

Shortening the interval between mifepristone and misoprostol: preliminary findings.(ROUND UP: Medical Abortion)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Studies have shown that shortening the interval between administration of mifepristone and administration of misoprostol in medical abortion protocols can decrease the amount of time for medical abortion to occur and increase patient...

Infection rate after medical abortion is very low.(ROUND UP: Medical Abortion)
November 1, 2005... A review of the literature on infection after medical abortion, using data from 65 studies involving 46,421 women, found the overall rate of infection was 0.92%. The review included studies of regimens using mifepristone with gemeprost,...

Mifepristone does not increase maternal death risk in United States women.(ROUND UP: Medical Abortion)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... There have been three recent deaths in the US following medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol--one from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and two from a rare bacterial infection. However, as 360,000 US women have used the drugs safely,...

Endometrial thickness after medical abortion cannot be used as an indicator for further treatment.(ROUND UP: Medical Abortion)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The ultrasound finding of a thickened endometrium after medical abortion is normal. This study of 525 women returning to a clinic for a post-medical abortion ultrasound within 17 days of the initiation of mifepristone showed that 437 of them...

Dismay as Uganda moves away from condom promotion.(ROUND UP: Condoms)
November 1, 2005... Uganda is redirecting its HIV prevention strategy for young people away from scientifically proven and effective strategies toward ideologically driven programmes that focus primarily on promoting sexual abstinence until marriage. This...

Conflicting safer sex advice to young people in Zambia.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The fight against HIV/AIDS in Zambia amongst adolescents involves a mass of often conflicting moral, religious, cultural, ideological and human rights arguments which can be broadly divided into a battle between condoms and sex vs. abstinence...

Condoms for life: a worldwide campaign.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Condoms4Life (1) is an unprecedented public campaign to raise awareness worldwide of the devastation being caused by the Vatican's ban on the use of condoms. Catholics for a Free Choice sponsors the campaign, together with its European and...

Consistent condom use not sustained in Cameroon.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... In Cameroon, 966 women received monthly intensive counselling sessions about condoms and sexually transmitted infections over a period of eight months. Condom use was studied monthly for six months and again 14 months after the trial ended....

Better instruction in the use of condoms could reduce breakage and slippage.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A questionnaire given to 428 single men and women examined incidents of condom breakage and slippage over the previous three months. Breakage/slippage was found to be associated with never receiving instructions on correct condom use, more than...

If you love life, use a condom.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Catolicas por el Derecho de Decidir (CDD) in Cordoba, Argentina, have worked for the past three years on an educational project using the stage to explore and explode social and cultural patterns of behaviour. Symbolic representations in...

Early condom use encourages long-term contraceptive practices.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Condom use in France has increased significantly in response to HIV prevention campaigns. Condom use at first intercourse was around 10% between 1970 and 1985, but rose to 85% in 1995, a figure which has now levelled off. Alongside this...

Second-generation female condoms at lower price.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Female Health Company has announced that they have developed a second-generation female condom for the non-US market, which will be made available to developing countries at significantly reduced pricing when purchased in large quantities....

Increasing condom use in Slovenia.(ROUND UP: Condoms)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The first Slovenian National Survey of Sexual Lifestyles, Attitudes and Health, conducted in 1999-2001 from a probability sample of the general population aged 18-49, found that condom use at first heterosexual intercourse was reported by 23.6%...

HIV strategies and the political environment: Uganda and South Africa compared.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
November 1, 2005... The two most common international strategies for HIV prevention are syndromic management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and interventions to change sexual behaviour. Syndromic management has proved relatively popular among public...

African leaders must retake the initiative against HIV and AIDS.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The 15th International HIV/AIDS conference in Bangkok in 2004 provided an ideal opportunity for all nations, but particularly those most threatened by HIV and AIDS, to learn from the latest developments in research and trends in treatment. It...

Almost half the adult population of Swaziland has HIV.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Swaziland is suffering an HIV/AIDS epidemic on a scale worse than anywhere else. Recent figures show that 42.6% of the adult population have HIV, a massive increase over the 34.2% of three years ago. For those aged 25-29 the figure is even...

Qualified health care and teaching professionals lost to HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... In addition to the impact of HIV and AIDS on health care systems and resources, there is an impact of the disease itself on health care workers. Few data are available but a study of Ugandan doctors suggests a 30% mortality over the past 20...

Preparing young children in Namibia for the fight against HIV infection.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
November 1, 2005... The Windows of Hope programme in Namihia, aimed at school children aged 9-12, is an attempt to shape behaviour before children become sexually active. The in-schools programme integrates HIV-related topics into school subjects such as science...

Tough choices to be made on rationed antiretroviral therapy in Africa.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
November 1, 2005... Despite the increased assistance being offered to Africa, the countries concerned do not yet have the human resources, infrastructure or finance to provide antiretroviral treatment to everyone in need. Rationing is inevitable, but decisions on...

Women with low CD4 counts may miss out on antenatal provision of antiretrovirals because they aren't pregnant.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... In a cohort study of women of childbearing age in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, 473 HIV-positive women were followed for 1,551 women-years to investigate the relationship between pregnancy and live births to HIV progression. The incidence of both...

Cervical disease and HIV-positive women.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Impaired immunity has been associated with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer in HIV-positive women and is an AIDS-defining illness. The increased risk of CIN in HIV-positive women is estimated at around 4.9 compared...

Trials of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis: what went wrong?(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
November 1, 2005... The rationale for carrying out trials of drugs that prevent HIV infection in developing countries where HIV prevalence is high is clear. They cost less than those in the western world, and access to more participants at high risk of HIV...

Important to test for HIV before administration of post-exposure prophylaxis.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
November 1, 2005... Reproductive health clinics in a number of countries offer HIV post-exposure prophylaxis for those who request it, especially for health workers and anyone who has been raped. Postexposure prophylaxis following unprotected sexual intercourse is...

Identifying barriers to safer sex practices among street sex workers in Cape Town.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
November 1, 2005... Attempting to reduce HIV among women street sex workers requires an analysis of the barriers to risk reduction and access to a difficult-to-reach study population. Nine months of observational study and trust-building preceded 25 in-depth...

Empowering sex workers in Latin America.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Syndicate of Sex Workers of Argentina defends the rights of sex workers and aims to improve the quality of life for its members through workshops focused on prevention of sexually transmitted infections, self-esteem, empowerment, and...

Intra-uterine insemination with washed sperm succeeds more often with low viral load.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... HIV-positive men who wish to become fathers without infecting their HIV-negative partners can do so using sperm-washing and intra-uterine insemination. This UK study of 106 HIV-positive men shows that HIV infection has a significant effect on...

Exclusive breastfeeding reduces the risk of HIV transmission.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... During a trial of post-partum vitamin A treatment, 4,495 HIV-positive mothers were educated and counselled about infant feeding and HIV. 2,060 of the women had babies who were HIV-negative at six weeks, and data on breastfeeding, classified as...

Evidence that male circumcision reduces HIV acquisition may be flawed.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Over 30 observational studies have suggested an association between male circumcision and decreased HIV acquisition in males. However, reviews and analyses of these studies have reached varying conclusions on the validity of this finding,...

Hormonal contraception and HIV: consensus statement.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
November 1, 2005... The World Health Organization Headquarters Office and Regional Office for Africa, in partnership with the Reproductive Health and HIV Research Unit of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, International Planned Parenthood Federation...

Global midwifery training programme on HIV/AIDS launched.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... In December 2004, the Medical Knowledge Institute and the International Confederation of Midwives, with technical support from the World Health Organization, launched a five-year initiative to start from April 2005 to prepare midwifery...

Study challenges abstinence as an HIV prevention strategy.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
November 1, 2005... At the 12th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Boston, researchers presented a study that found no evidence that abstinence and monogamy explained the overall falling HIV seroprevalence in a Uganda district, though...

Brazil refuses $40 million in US AIDS grants.(ROUND UP: HIV/AIDS)
November 1, 2005... Brazil refused $40 million in US AIDS funding because of a Bush administration requirement that they must pledge to oppose commercial sex work. Under the Bush administration policy, even groups whose HIV/AIDS work in other countries has nothing...

Prioritisation the key to reducing maternal mortality: Honduras.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)
November 1, 2005... Honduras has succeeded in reducing its maternal mortality ratio from 182 to 100,000 live births in 1990 to 108 by 1997, one of the largest reductions ever documented over such a short period of time. It has achieved this by making safe...

Selective abortion in Asia and having more children in Europe--the desire for a son is worldwide.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)
November 1, 2005... Couples in Asia feel they need at least one son to care for them in their old age and perform ritual customs. When the fertility rate was high almost every couple would have had at least one son. Now that fertility rates have fallen, the...

British Pregnancy Advisory Service advises women where to travel for late abortions.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), a charity that is the UK's largest abortion provider, has become embroiled in an investigation of its advice to women seeking abortions after 24 weeks of pregnancy. In the UK abortions can only be...

Confidentiality of abortion services for girls under 16: UK and New Zealand.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Revised UK guidelines issued in 2004 confirm that doctors can provide abortions to girls under 16 without telling their parents or carer. The guidelines clearly state that "the duty of confidentiality owed to a person under 16 is as great as...

Portugal to hold referendum on abortion law.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)
November 1, 2005... In Portugal, abortion is legal only if a woman's life is in danger, to protect her mental or physical health, or in cases of rape, incest or fetal impairment. There are an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 clandestine abortions in Portugal each year,...

Polish doctors wrong to deny antenatal examinations.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... According to Polish law, women have the right to unrestricted access to antenatal screening, especially when there is a risk of serious genetic damage to the fetus, and to abortion should there be evidence of a serious fetal impairment. Yet, a...

Most US abstinence-only education curricula contain false and misleading information.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Waxman report, prepared for the US House of Representatives, is a damning indictment of abstinence-only education programmes. According to the report, the majority of curricula (11 out of 13) contain scientific errors and distortions, along...

Important to ensure that the poor don't miss out on health improvements.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Unlike the other Millennium Development Goals, the health objectives do not typically focus on people living in poverty, but instead call for improvements in national averages. These can be achieved through gains by both advantaged and...

A need to address stillbirths as well as neonatal deaths to improve maternal health.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A recent attempt to highlight the number of deaths among newborn babies in sub-Saharan Africa and to stimulate efforts to reduce the problem is laudable. However, neonatal survival must not be considered in isolation. Stillbirths of well-formed...

Assisted reproductive technology and the developing world.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)
November 1, 2005... The demand for assisted reproductive technology (ART) to overcome infertility is growing around the world. Infertility rates vary from country to country and may be as high as one third of all couples in the worst-affected areas. Childless...

Strategies to reduce multiple births after assisted reproductive technology.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)
November 1, 2005... Multiple births can arise after assisted reproductive technology (ART) in two main ways. Women with a normal menstrual cycle but low fertility can be given ovarian hyperstimulation in order to induce the release of more than one egg in a...

Children conceived by sperm donation: attitudes to their right to know.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)
November 1, 2005... There is an international trend to allow children conceived through sperm donation to know the identity of the donor. This raises many issues for both donors and recipients as well as for the children themselves. In a study of 46 UK families...

Italian referendum fails to overturn restrictive fertility laws.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... A recent Italian law on in vitro fertilisation (IVF) is one of the most restrictive in Europe. Egg and sperm donation are no longer permitted, the screening of embryos for hereditary diseases is banned, and only three embryos may be created...

Spanish woman is the first to "adopt" an excess embryo.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The first "adoption" of an unused embryo has taken place in Spain. The country has an estimated 30,000 excess frozen embryos produced by couples undergoing in vitro fertilisation. Now there is a programme matching women who want to have...

Do we need naked women to advertise sofas?(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The trend towards mainstreaming of pornography seems to be relentless. On one hand, advertising, fashion and the music industry use deliberately suggestive images and symbols, not in themselves pornographic, to refer to a pornographic universe...

Emergency contraception no longer a prescription drug in Canada.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Canadian women should soon have access to emergency contraception without first having to obtain a prescription from their doctor. Three provinces--British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Quebec--had already independently enacted provincial...

Philippine Department of Health won't decide on emergency contraception.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Postinor, also known as levonorgestrel 750mcg, is a brand of emergency contraception which can be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse, sexual abuse and rape to prevent pregnancy. In December 2001, its registration was...

Doctors seek legalisation of abortion in cases of anencephaly in Peru.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Peruvian Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (PSOG) planned in November 2004 to send a new protocol to doctors that would permit abortion in cases of anencephaly in Peru "amidst a lack of guidance on legal abortion at the country's...

Brazil to ease abortions for rape victims.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Brazil's public hospitals are now permitted to provide abortions to women who become pregnant after being raped without a police rape report, which had previously been required, according to a senior spokeswoman for the Ministry of Health....

Federal District of Mexico requires public health institutions to provide abortions free.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... On 16 January 2004, the Federal District of Mexico amended its Health Law to require public health institutions in the Federal District to perform abortions free of charge and in safe conditions, in cases where they are legal and requested by...

Iranian parliament liberalises abortion law.(ROUND UP: Law and Policy)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Iran's conservative-dominated parliament adopted a bill in April 2005 that allows abortions in the first four months of pregnancy if the woman's life is in danger or the fetus is deformed, inflicting a financial burden on the family. Both...

Prostate cancer may be linked to sexually transmitted infection.(ROUND UP: Research)
November 1, 2005... This Cuban study of 273 patients with confirmed prostate cancer and 254 matched controls showed that the risk of prostate cancer was increased among men with a history of sexually transmitted diseases (odds ratio 1.7). There was a significantly...

Sexual behaviour of young people in Northern Ireland.(ROUND UP: Research)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Over 1,000 young people in Northern Ireland, aged 14 to 25, responded to a questionnaire on their sexual lifestyles and attitudes, with the data consolidated by 71 focus group discussions and 15 one-to-one interviews. Just over half the...

Hormone replacement therapy does not improve breast cancer prognosis.(ROUND UP: Research)
November 1, 2005... The Women's Health Initiative study suggested that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) users in the US have more advanced breast cancer compared with non-users. This contrasts with a number of previous reports that HRT users have the same or even...