Women, Health and Aging: Building a Statewide Movement

Provides an overview of current policy and program environments that affect the state's most vulnerable elder population, and considers some effective strategies to address the growing needs of older persons in California

Sex difference in the association of metabolic syndrome with high sensitivity C-reactive protein in a Taiwanese population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although sex differences have been reported for associations between components of metabolic syndrome and inflammation, the question of whether there is an effect modification by sex in the association between inflammation and metabolic syndrome has not been investigated in detail. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare associations of high sensitivity C-creative protein (hs-CRP) with metabolic syndrome and its components between men and women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 1,305 subjects aged 40 years and over were recruited in 2004 in a metropolitan city in Taiwan. The biochemical indices, such as hs-CRP, fasting glucose levels, lipid profiles, urinary albumin, urinary creatinine and anthropometric indices, were measured. Metabolic syndrome was defined using the American Heart Association and the National Heart, lung and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI) definition. The relationship between metabolic syndrome and hs-CRP was examined using multivariate logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjustment for age and lifestyle factors including smoking, and alcohol intake, elevated concentrations of hs-CRP showed a stronger association with metabolic syndrome in women (odds ratio comparing tertile extremes 4.80 [95% CI: 3.31-6.97]) than in men (2.30 [1.65-3.21]). The p value for the sex interaction was 0.002. All components were more strongly associated with metabolic syndrome in women than in men, and all sex interactions were significant except for hypertension.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggest that inflammatory processes may be of particular importance in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome in women.</p

Executive Regulation of Abortion During the Reagan-Bush Years

In 1980, the anti-abortion movement successfully gained control of the U.S. presidency and for twelve years dominated the political agenda. This thesis analyzes the rise in executive power and how Reagan and Bush used administrative mechanisms to create a regulatory strategy to eliminate the right to abortion. The power of appointment and the use of the presidential veto were key components of the administrative efforts. In addition, this thesis reviews the transformation of American jurisprudence with regard to abortion and concludes that a refashioned Supreme Court has made it almost impossible to prove that regulations of abortion are undue burdens. An analysis of three executive policies: the 1984 Mexico City Policy, the 1988 Fetal Tissue Research Funding Ban, and the 1988 Gag Rule illustrates how regulation was created, implemented, legitimized and sustained all through the powers of the Reagan-Bush administrations. These regulations violated legal standards and principles of ethics. In addition, they had substantial adverse consequences for their recipients. As a result of the Reagan-Bush efforts, there has been a reduction in both the supply of and demand for legal abortion

Normalizing the exceptional: incorporating the "abortion pill" into mainstream medicine

Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, and in the US known as "the French abortion pill", finally received FDA approval in the United States in September 2000. This paper discusses the steps now in process to integrate this drug into mainstream healthcare and the sociological implications of those efforts. Each of the steps that is normally taken to introduce a newly approved medication in the US context is rendered highly complex in the case of mifepristone--because of the unique circumstances of abortion in both American culture generally, and medical culture specifically. The story of RU-486/mifepristone, as it is currently unfolding, can be understood as one of attempting to "normalize the exceptional". After offering a brief historical overview of the protracted struggle for FDA approval of mifepristone in the US, this paper discusses the typical processes for integration of a newly approved medication into mainstream medicine and contrasts this process with the special challenges posed by a drug that is associated with abortion. We outline the challenges to implementation, including both external and internal obstacles. We compare the traditional role of a pharmaceutical company in drug diffusion and the circumstances of the company that produces mifepristone in the US. We discuss such external obstacles as the conflict between the FDA-approved regime and an evidence-based alternative; the necessity for physicians to order and dispense this drug; the ambiguity over the need for ultrasonography; and insurance reimbursement, malpractice, and other legal issues. Internal issues addressed include "turf issues" between medical specialties and between physicians and advanced practice clinicians as well as concerns over "cowboy medicine", and patient compliance. This paper concludes with an exploration of the sociological implications of this effort to "normalize the exceptional".Abortion Mifepristone Technological diffusion United States

The Stratified Legitimacy of Abortions.

Roe v. Wade was heralded as an end to unequal access to abortion care in the United States. However, today, despite being common and safe, abortion is performed only selectively in hospitals and private practices. Drawing on 61 interviews with obstetrician-gynecologists in these settings, we examine how they determine which abortions to perform. We find that they distinguish between more and less legitimate abortions, producing a narrative of stratified legitimacy that privileges abortions for intended pregnancies, when the fetus is unhealthy, and when women perform normative gendered sexuality, including distress about the abortion, guilt about failure to contracept, and desire for motherhood. This stratified legitimacy can perpetuate socially-inflected inequality of access and normative gendered sexuality. Additionally, we argue that the practice by physicians of distinguishing among abortions can legitimate legislative practices that regulate and restrict some kinds of abortion, further constraining abortion access

El “Estudio del Rechazo”: mujeres a las que no se les permite abortar = Turnaway Study

El Turnaway Study o Estudio del Rechazo, es un estudio longitudinal prospectivo sobre mujeres a quienes se realiza un aborto y mujeres a quienes se les niega debido a que se presentan a recibir tratamiento después del límite de semanas de gestación establecido por la clínica. El estudio está encaminado a describir la salud mental y física y los resultados socioeconómicos de la realización de un aborto en comparación con llevar a término un embarazo indeseado