scholarly journals Analysis of contraceptive behavior of female athletes of reproductive age

2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-03
Author(s):  
Bugaevsky KA

The article presents the materials of a large-scale study devoted to the study of the contraceptive behavior of female athletes of reproductive age, representing different sports. It has been established that the most commonly used types of contraception, in all age categories, are: interrupted intercourse, spermicides, barrier contraception (male condoms), hormonal patches. The most rarely used are hormonal contraception (single-phase and three-phase combined oral contraceptives) and intrauterine contraception. It has been established that the choice of a particular type of contraception among athletes is determined by such leading factors as sexual activity, frequency of sexual contacts, the number of sexual partners, the presence or absence of a family and marriage.

GYNECOLOGY ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 101-107
Author(s):  
Vera N. Prilepskaya ◽  
Lana L. Bostandzhian

Since the first pill, there has been a significant evolution of hormonal contraception: low- and micro-dose drugs have appeared, drugs with components as close as possible to endogenous hormones have been developed, new dosage regimens and routes of contraceptive administration have been created. Modern combined oral contraceptives are not only used to prevent unwanted pregnancies, but are also widely used to treat a number of gynecological and non-gynecological diseases. In recent years, two new combined oral contraceptives with folate supplementation have been developed. The main purpose of adding folate to contraceptives is the prevention of fetal malformations, which is ensured by an increase in the level of folate in the body of women of reproductive age against the background of contraception and after its withdrawal.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Perrin ◽  
J Tcherdukian ◽  
A Netter ◽  
E Lechevalier ◽  
F Bretelle ◽  
...  

Abstract Study question Among health professionals involved in contraceptive prescribing, what are the knowledge, professional attitudes and training on male contraceptive methods? Summary answer The health professionals involved in prescribing contraception are not sufficiently trained in male contraception and almost all of them want more. What is known already The most recent large-scale studies show that 70% of couple contraception is provided by women and that the majority of men and women would be willing to adopt male contraception as couple contraception. The medicalization of contraception places the medical profession at the forefront of the acceptability of and information regarding a contraceptive method. However, only one study have evaluated health professionals’ knowledge of the various methods of male contraception (MC), including male hormonal contraception (MHC) and male thermal contraception (MTC). Study design, size, duration Between April 2020 and June 2020, we carried out a descriptive prospective multicentre study in a medical population of 2243 prescribers of couple contraception in France. Participants/materials, setting, methods The participants were obstetrician-gynaecologists, medical gynaecologists, general practitioners or midwives. They completed a three-part numerical questionnaire, including i) sociodemographic characteristics and personal experiences with contraception, ii) knowledge and professional attitudes about male contraception and iii) training on male contraception. Main results and the role of chance The overall participation rate was 19% (340/2243). Condoms and withdrawal were known by 98% and 89% of the population, respectively. Vasectomy was known by 75% of the population and significantly better known by obstetrician-gynaecologists than by medical gynaecologists and general practitioners (p = 0.026). Male hormonal contraception (MHC) and male thermal contraception (MTC) were known by 10% and 23% of the population, respectively, and were significantly better known by medical gynaecologists and general practitioners than by other specialties (p < 0.001). More than half (55%) of the population never or infrequently offered MC during a couple’s contraceptive request consultation. Female practitioners offered MC significantly more often than male practitioners (48% vs. 26%; p = 0.033). Only 14% of the population had ever participated in training on MC, 96% wished to be better trained on MC, and 86% expressed a willingness to participate in such a training. Limitations, reasons for caution The population was mainly representative of medical health practitioners of southeastern France. There was an over-representation of women in all medical specialties, except for midwives. Wider implications of the findings: Our study shows that health professionals involved in contraception have limited knowledge about MC and are eager to have more information about it. To advance the acceptability and dissemination of such contraceptive methods, it seems imperative to provide health professionals with an adapted training program on male contraception. Trial registration number 2020–01–23–03


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phelan Niamh ◽  
Lucy Ann Behan ◽  
Lisa Owens

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the lives of the global population. It is known that periods of stress and psychological distress can affect women’s menstrual cycles. We therefore performed an observational study of women’s reproductive health over the course of the pandemic thus far.Materials and MethodsAn anonymous digital survey was shared by the authors via social media in September 2020. All women of reproductive age were invited to complete the survey.Results1031 women completed the survey. Mean age was 36.7 ± 6.6 years (range, 15–54). 693/70% reported recording their cycles using an app or diary. 233/23% were using hormonal contraception. 441/46% reported a change in their menstrual cycle since the beginning of the pandemic. 483/53% reported worsening premenstrual symptoms, 100/18% reported new menorrhagia (p = 0.003) and 173/30% new dysmenorrhea (p < 0.0001) compared to before the pandemic. 72/9% reported missed periods who not previously missed periods (p = 0.003) and the median number of missed periods was 2 (1–3). 17/21% of those who “occasionally” missed periods pre-pandemic missed periods “often” during pandemic. 467/45% reported a reduced libido. There was no change in the median cycle length (28 days) or days of bleeding (5) but there was a wider variability of cycle length (p = 0.01) and a 1 day median decrease in the minimum (p < 0.0001) and maximum (p = 0.009) cycle length. Women reported a median 2 kg increase in self-reported weight and a 30-min increase in median weekly exercise. 517/50% of women stated that their diet was worse and 232/23% that it was better than before the pandemic. 407/40% reported working more and 169/16% were working less. Women related a significant increase in low mood (p < 0.0001), poor appetite (p < 0.0001), binge eating (p < 0.0001), poor concentration (p < 0.0001), anxiety (p < 0.0001), poor sleep (p < 0.0001), loneliness (p < 0.0001) and excess alcohol use (p < 0.0001). Specific stressors reported included work stress (499/48%), difficulty accessing healthcare (254/25%), change in financial (201/19%) situation, difficulties with home schooling (191/19%) or childcare (99/10%), family or partner conflict (170/16%), family illness or bereavement (156/15%).ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the reproductive health of women. The long term health implications of this are yet to be determined and future studies should address this.


2020 ◽  
Vol 245 (5) ◽  
pp. 437-447
Author(s):  
Quanah J Hudson ◽  
Alexandra Perricos ◽  
Rene Wenzl ◽  
Iveta Yotova

Endometriosis affects up to 10% of women of childbearing age, causing symptoms that can include chronic pelvic pain and reduced fertility. The symptoms are not specific to the disease and can be confused with other gynecological conditions or normal menstruation. Currently, the disease can be only definitively diagnosed by laparoscopy, as no clinically accepted biomarker exists. Biomarker discovery can either follow a hypothesis-driven approach selecting targets to be tested based on current knowledge of the disease, or take an unbiased high-throughput screening “omics” approach, such as transcriptomics or proteomics, to identify markers that are unique or elevated in accessible bodily fluids of patients with the disease. Numerous studies have been conducted using these approaches to try and identify endometriosis biomarkers, but variabilities in study design, cohort selection, and analysis, together with the fact that most studies were small-scale, have made independent validation of biomarker candidates difficult. Therefore, efforts are underway to standardize cohort selection, patient data, and sample collection to allow better cross-study comparisons. Large scale multi-center studies using this standardized approach are necessary to validate existing endometriosis biomarker candidates and uncover potential new markers. Given the complexity and heterogeneity of the disease, it is likely that a panel of biomarkers will be necessary to diagnose and categorize endometriosis. Impact statement Endometriosis is a common disease affecting reproductive age women, which is associated with chronic pain and reduced fertility reducing the quality of life of many women. Definitive diagnosis requires invasive laparoscopic surgery creating a high barrier to diagnosis that can delay the onset of treatment significantly. Clinically approved biomarkers of endometriosis are currently lacking, making the discovery and validation of biomarkers that would lead to earlier diagnosis a priority for improving treatment of the disease.


Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6456) ◽  
pp. eaat7693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ganna ◽  
Karin J. H. Verweij ◽  
Michel G. Nivard ◽  
Robert Maier ◽  
Robbee Wedow ◽  
...  

Twin and family studies have shown that same-sex sexual behavior is partly genetically influenced, but previous searches for specific genes involved have been underpowered. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 477,522 individuals, revealing five loci significantly associated with same-sex sexual behavior. In aggregate, all tested genetic variants accounted for 8 to 25% of variation in same-sex sexual behavior, only partially overlapped between males and females, and do not allow meaningful prediction of an individual’s sexual behavior. Comparing these GWAS results with those for the proportion of same-sex to total number of sexual partners among nonheterosexuals suggests that there is no single continuum from opposite-sex to same-sex sexual behavior. Overall, our findings provide insights into the genetics underlying same-sex sexual behavior and underscore the complexity of sexuality.


BMJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. k3609 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Iversen ◽  
Shona Fielding ◽  
Øjvind Lidegaard ◽  
Lina S Mørch ◽  
Charlotte W Skovlund ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectivesTo investigate the association between contemporary combined hormonal contraceptives (including progestogen types in combined preparations and all progestogen-only products) and overall and specific types of ovarian cancer.DesignProspective, nationwide cohort study.SettingDenmark, 1995-2014.ParticipantsAll women aged 15-49 years during 1995-2014 were eligible. Women were excluded if they immigrated after 1995, had cancer (except non-melanoma skin cancer), had venous thrombosis, or were treated for infertility before entry (final study population included 1 879 227 women). Women were categorised as never users (no record of being dispensed hormonal contraception), current or recent users (≤1 year after stopping use), or former users (>1 year after stopping use) of different hormonal contraceptives.Main outcome measuresPoisson regression was used to calculate relative risk of ovarian cancer among users of any contemporary combined hormonal contraceptives and by progestogen type in combined preparations and all progestogen-only products, including non-oral preparations. Separate analyses examined women followed up to their first contraception type switch and those with full contraceptive histories. Duration, time since last use, and tumour histology were examined and the population prevented fraction were calculated.ResultsDuring 21.4 million person years, 1249 incident ovarian cancers occurred. Among ever users of hormonal contraception, 478 ovarian cancers were recorded over 13 344 531 person years. Never users had 771 ovarian cancers during 8 150 250 person years. Compared with never users, reduced risks of ovarian cancer occurred with current or recent use and former use of any hormonal contraception (relative risk 0.58 (95% confidence interval 0.49 to 0.68) and 0.77 (0.66 to 0.91), respectively). Relative risks among current or recent users decreased with increasing duration (from 0.82 (0.59 to 1.12) with ≤1 year use to 0.26 (0.16 to 0.43) with >10 years’ use; P<0.001 for trend). Similar results were achieved among women followed up to their first switch in contraceptive type. Little evidence of major differences in risk estimates by tumour type or progestogen content of combined oral contraceptives was seen. Use of progestogen-only products were not associated with ovarian cancer risk. Among ever users of hormonal contraception, the reduction in the age standardised absolute rate of ovarian cancer was 3.2 per 100 000 person years. Based on the relative risk for the never use versus ever use categories of hormonal contraception (0.66), the population prevented fraction was estimated to be 21%—that is, use of hormonal contraception prevented 21% of ovarian cancers in the study population.ConclusionsUse of contemporary combined hormonal contraceptives is associated with a reduction in ovarian cancer risk in women of reproductive age—an effect related to duration of use, which diminishes after stopping use. These data suggest no protective effect from progestogen-only products.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. e002372
Author(s):  
Susheela Singh ◽  
Rubina Hussain ◽  
Chander Shekhar ◽  
Rajib Acharya ◽  
Melissa Stillman ◽  
...  

Abortion has been legal under broad criteria in India since 1971. However, access to legal abortion services remains poor. In the past decade, medication abortion (MA) has become widely available in India and use of this method outside of health facilities accounts for over 70% of all abortions. Morbidity from unsafe abortion remains an important health issue. The informal providers who are the primary source of MA may have poor knowledge of the method and may offer inadequate or inaccurate advice on use of the method. Misuse of the method can result in women seeking treatment for true complications as well as during the normal processes of MA. An estimated 5% of all abortions are done using highly unsafe methods and performed by unskilled providers, also contributing to abortion morbidity. This paper provides new representative abortion-related morbidity measures at the national and subnational levels from a large-scale 2015 study of six Indian states—Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The outcomes include the number and treatment rates of women with complications resulting from induced abortion and the type of complications. The total number of women treated for abortion complications at the national level is 5.2 million, and the rate is 15.7 per 1000 women of reproductive age per year. In all six study states, a high proportion of all women receiving postabortion care were admitted with incomplete abortion from use of MA—ranging from 33% in Tamil Nadu to 65% in Assam. The paper fills an important gap by providing new evidence that can inform policy-makers and health planners at all levels and lead to improvements in the provision of postabortion care and legal abortion services—improvements that would greatly reduce abortion-related morbidity and its costs to Indian women, their families and the healthcare system.


2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Brown ◽  
Laura Spiller ◽  
Beverly Stiles ◽  
Lon Kilgore

Abstract Sexual coercion affects approximately 58% of college-age females. Victims of sexual coercion often share similar characteristics, such as lower self-esteem, lower assertiveness, higher depressive symptoms, higher alcohol use, increased number of sexual partners, more romantic relationships, prior victimization, and relationship insecurity. Female athletes, on the other hand, have in common such protective factors as higher self-esteem, higher assertiveness, lower alcohol use, and fewer sexual partners. These, then, are assumed to guard against sexual coercion. The purpose of this study was to determine if female athletes were at a lower risk for sexual coercion and whether differences existed in levels of assertiveness, sexual assertiveness, self-esteem, sexual esteem, alcohol use, and the number of sexual partners. Participants included 174 college females (aged 19.94 ± 1.87 years). Participants were identified as an athlete if they reported a history of at least three years of athl iation etic involvement and described themselves as either a high school athlete or having participated in competitive sports (n=125). From among all the participants, 49 were classified as non-athletes. Data demonstrated no differences in either forced or coerced sexual contact history. Athletes and nonathletes differed neither in global nor sexual self-esteem, nor did they differ in global or sexual assertiveness. There was a significant difference across the groups in alcohol use: athletes scored higher on the AUDIT than non-athletes. The number of years of sport involvement positively correlated with the level of alcohol use. Athletes and non-athletes reported similar numbers of sexual partners. The findings of this study imply that athletics may indirectly place females at risk for sexual coercion through an assocwith higher alcohol use.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document