Religion and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Among Postmenopausal Women: the Women\u27s Health Initiative

Worship attendance has been associated with longer survival in prospective cohort studies. A possible explanation is that religious involvement may promote healthier lifestyle choices. Therefore, we examined whether attendance is associated with healthy behaviors, i.e. use of preventive medicine services, non-smoking, moderate drinking, exercising regularly, and with healthy dietary habits. The population included 71,689 post-menopausal women enrolled in the Women\u27s Health Initiative observational study free of chronic diseases at baseline. Attendance and lifestyle behaviors information was collected at baseline using self-administered questionnaires. Healthy behaviors were modeled as a function of attendance using logistic regression. After adjustment for confounders, worship attendance (less than weekly, weekly, and more than weekly vs. never) was positively associated with use of preventive services [OR for mammograms: 1.34 (1.19, 1.51), 1.41 (1.26, 1.57), 1.33 (1.17, 1.52); breast self exams: 1.14 (1.02, 1.27), 1.33 (1.21, 1.48), 1.25 (1.1, 1.43); PAP smears: 1.22 (1.01, 1.47-weekly vs. none)]; non-smoking: [1.41 (1.35, 1.48), 1.76 (1.69, 1.84), 2.27 (2.15, 2.39)]; moderate drinking [1.35 (1.27, 1.45), 1.60 (1.52, 1.7), 2.19 (2.0, 2.4)]; and fiber intake [1.08 (1.03, 1.14), 1.16 (1.11, 1.22), 1.31 (1.23, 1.39), respectively], but not with regular exercise or with lower saturated fat and caloric intake. These findings suggest that worship attendance is associated with certain, but not all, healthy behaviors. Further research is needed to get a deeper understanding of the relationship between religious involvement and healthy lifestyle behaviors and of the inconsistent patterns in this association

Effects of combination estrogen plus progestin hormone treatment on cognition and affect

CONTEXT: Some studies of hormone treatment in postmenopausal women suggest benefits on specific cognitive functions, particularly memory. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether hormone therapy influences changes in specific cognitive functions and affect in older women. DESIGN: This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. SETTING: Participants were women from 14 of 40 clinical centers of the Women\u27s Health Initiative (WHI). PARTICIPANTS: Postmenopausal women (1416) aged 65 yr and older, free of probable dementia, and enrolled in WHI and the WHI Memory Study (WHIMS) trial of combination estrogen and progestin for a mean of 3 yr and followed for a mean of 1.35 yr, were studied. INTERVENTION: Intervention was conjugated equine estrogen (CEE; 0.625 mg) with 2.5 mg medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) in one daily tablet (CEE + MPA) or placebo. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Annual rates of change in specific cognitive functions and affect, adjusted for time since randomization, were measured. RESULTS: CEE + MPA had a negative impact on verbal memory (PCONCLUSIONS: The effect of CEE + MPA on cognitive function varies across cognitive domains in older women, reflecting both possible beneficial and detrimental actions of ovarian steroids on the aging brain. Our results extend prior findings about dementia and global cognitive function to age-related changes in specific cognitive functions and suggest directions for future research

Effects of conjugated equine estrogen on health-related quality of life in postmenopausal women with hysterectomy: results from the Women\u27s Health Initiative Randomized Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND: The Women\u27s Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial of conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs), involving 10,739 postmenopausal women with hysterectomy, aged 50 to 79 years, was stopped early owing to lack of overall health benefit and increased risk of stroke. Because CEE is still prescribed for treatment of menopausal symptoms and prevention of osteoporosis, it is important to understand the overall impact of this therapy on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). METHODS: All participants completed 6 specific measures of quality of life at baseline and 1 year, and a subsample (n = 1189) also completed the questions 3 years after randomization. Changes in scores were analyzed for treatment effect. RESULTS: Randomization to CEE was associated with a statistically significant but small reduction in sleep disturbance at year 1 compared with baseline (mean benefit, 0.4 points on a 20-point scale) and a statistically significant but small negative effect on social functioning (mean effect, -1.3 points on a 100-point scale). There were no significant improvements due to CEE in the areas of general health, physical functioning, pain, vitality, role functioning, mental health, depressive symptoms, cognitive function, or sexual satisfaction at year 1. A subgroup examined 3 years after baseline had no significant benefits for any HRQOL outcomes. Among women aged 50 to 54 years with moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms at baseline, CEE did not improve any of the HRQOL variables at year 1. CONCLUSION: In this trial of postmenopausal women with prior hysterectomy, oral CEE did not have a clinically meaningful effect on HRQOL

Effects of conjugated equine estrogen on health-related quality of life in postmenopausal women with hysterectomy: results from the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Clinical Trial.

BackgroundThe Women's Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial of conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs), involving 10,739 postmenopausal women with hysterectomy, aged 50 to 79 years, was stopped early owing to lack of overall health benefit and increased risk of stroke. Because CEE is still prescribed for treatment of menopausal symptoms and prevention of osteoporosis, it is important to understand the overall impact of this therapy on health-related quality of life (HRQOL).MethodsAll participants completed 6 specific measures of quality of life at baseline and 1 year, and a subsample (n = 1189) also completed the questions 3 years after randomization. Changes in scores were analyzed for treatment effect.ResultsRandomization to CEE was associated with a statistically significant but small reduction in sleep disturbance at year 1 compared with baseline (mean benefit, 0.4 points on a 20-point scale) and a statistically significant but small negative effect on social functioning (mean effect, -1.3 points on a 100-point scale). There were no significant improvements due to CEE in the areas of general health, physical functioning, pain, vitality, role functioning, mental health, depressive symptoms, cognitive function, or sexual satisfaction at year 1. A subgroup examined 3 years after baseline had no significant benefits for any HRQOL outcomes. Among women aged 50 to 54 years with moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms at baseline, CEE did not improve any of the HRQOL variables at year 1.ConclusionIn this trial of postmenopausal women with prior hysterectomy, oral CEE did not have a clinically meaningful effect on HRQOL

Effects of estrogen plus progestin on health-related quality of life

BACKGROUND: The Women\u27s Health Initiative (WHI) and other clinical trials indicate that significant health risks are associated with combination hormone use. Less is known about the effect of hormone therapy on health-related quality of life. METHODS: The WHI randomly assigned 16,608 postmenopausal women 50 to 79 years of age (mean, 63) with an intact uterus at base line to estrogen plus progestin (0.625 mg of conjugated equine estrogen plus 2.5 mg of medroxyprogesterone acetate, in 8506 women) or placebo (in 8102 women). Quality-of-life measures were collected at base line and at one year in all women and at three years in a subgroup of 1511 women. RESULTS: Randomization to estrogen plus progestin resulted in no significant effects on general health, vitality, mental health, depressive symptoms, or sexual satisfaction. The use of estrogen plus progestin was associated with a statistically significant but small and not clinically meaningful benefit in terms of sleep disturbance, physical functioning, and bodily pain after one year (the mean benefit in terms of sleep disturbance was 0.4 point on a 20-point scale, in terms of physical functioning 0.8 point on a 100-point scale, and in terms of pain 1.9 points on a 100-point scale). At three years, there were no significant benefits in terms of any quality-of-life outcomes. Among women 50 to 54 years of age with moderate-to-severe vasomotor symptoms at base line, estrogen and progestin improved vasomotor symptoms and resulted in a small benefit in terms of sleep disturbance but no benefit in terms of the other quality-of-life outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial in postmenopausal women, estrogen plus progestin did not have a clinically meaningful effect on health-related quality of life

Impact of P3HT materials properties and layer architecture on OPV device stability

We report a cooperative study conducted between different laboratories to investigate organic solar cell degradation with respect to P3HT material properties and different solar cell architectures. Various batches of P3HT were collected from different suppliers reflecting commercial availability as well as properties variability. Among the materials properties explicitly considered were the molar mass, dispersity, regio-regularity, impurities by trace metals and intrinsic doping evaluated from radical concentrations. Each of the participating laboratories contributing test devices applied their own layer stack, i.e. their own device architecture and layout. This variation was appreciated as another parameter for evaluation. Even though a large amount of devices failed due to extrinsic degradation effects, indeed, some materials properties were found to be more important than others for obtaining long lifetimes and high stability of P3HT-based polymer solar cells

Impact of P3HT materials properties and layer architecture on OPV device stability

Ajuts: All authors are grateful for support from COST Action MP 1307, "StableNextSol". This article is based upon work from COST Action StableNextSol project MP1307, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)We report a cooperative study conducted between different laboratories to investigate organic solar cell degradation with respect to P3HT material properties and different solar cell architectures. Various batches of P3HT were collected from different suppliers reflecting commercial availability as well as properties variability. Among the materials properties explicitly considered were the molar mass, dispersity, regio-regularity, impurities by trace metals and intrinsic doping evaluated from radical concentrations. Each of the participating laboratories contributing test devices applied their own layer stack, i.e. their own device architecture and layout. This variation was appreciated as another parameter for evaluation. Even though a large amount of devices failed due to extrinsic degradation effects, indeed, some materials properties were found to be more important than others for obtaining long lifetimes and high stability of P3HT-based polymer solar cells