HPV Is Age Blind, Keep Screening
Women aged 51 years are at least as likely as were younger women to become infected with human papillomavirus, a study suggests; the findings indicate that cervical screening should not be discontinued after age 50.
To compare rates of HPV acquisition in older and younger women, paired archived cervical smears taken an average of 3 years apart from 656 women were tested. Of these, 567 were negative for HPV at baseline, Dr. Matthew J. Grainge of the University of Nottingham (England) and his colleagues reported.
Of 333 women aged 51 years at the time of a baseline smear that was HPV negative, 21% had a positive smear 3 years later, compared with 15% of 66 women aged 21 years, 14% of 85 women aged 31, and 13% of 83 women aged 41 at the time of a negative baseline smear. The differences were not statistically significant, the investigators noted (Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2005;11:1680–5).
Prospective research is needed on the effects of HPV acquisition during middle age, such as the associated risk for high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer, they concluded.
BV and Cytomegalovirus in Cahoots
Bacterial vaginosis appears to facilitate local cytomegalovirus replication as well as infection with multiple CMV strains, Dr. Shannon A. Ross of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and her colleagues have found.
Conversely, the presence of CMV infection may facilitate BV, the investigators noted. An analysis of vaginal wash specimens from 52 women who presented to a sexually transmitted disease clinic showed that CMV shedding was significantly more common in women with BV (52% of 21 women), compared with those without BV (19% of 31 women). Multiple CMV strains were found in 91% of women with CMV shedding and BV vs. 83% of those with CMV shedding and no BV (J. Infect. Dis. 2005;192:1727–30).
Additional study of the correlations between BV and CMV is needed, and could provide insight regarding the effects of BV treatment on CMV replication and local inflammatory response, they concluded.
Girls' Body Images Depend on Moms
Adolescent girls who reported peer and parental attitudes that encouraged healthy behavior and exercise, rather than weight loss, were significantly more likely to report high levels of body satisfaction, said Dr. Amy M. Kelly and her colleagues at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
Overall, 26.7% of 2,357 middle and high school students surveyed in 1998–1999 reported high body satisfaction (J. Adolesc. Health 2005;37:391–6). The study population included 46% whites, 21% Asian Americans, 20% African Americans, and 5% Hispanics.
Body satisfaction was significantly higher among African American girls (40%) and underweight girls (39%) after controlling for ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and age. Girls with high body satisfaction were more likely to report having mothers who exercised for fitness and who encouraged them to be active and eat healthfully.
In addition, girls who reported high body satisfaction were more likely to report that they cared about their health, being fit, and exercising.
HCM More Severe in Women
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is diagnosed later in women than in men, and it is more likely to progress to severe, disabling symptoms or death, reported Dr. Iacopo Olivotto of Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy, and associates.
Both findings “underscore the importance of heightened suspicion for HCM in women,” the researchers said (J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2005;46:480–7).
They assessed disease progression over an average of 6 years in 969 consecutive patients treated for HCM at three medical centers in Italy and the United States. The 393 women were an average of 9 years older than the 576 men at diagnosis.
Nearly 60% of the women had severe symptoms, including exertional dyspnea, chest pain, and syncope, compared with fewer than 40% of the men.
Women were more likely to have left ventricular outflow obstruction, possibly because of the smaller dimensions of their left ventricular cavities.
Although treatment was equivalent for men and women once they were diagnosed, women were much more likely to show symptomatic progression and to die from heart failure or embolic stroke. This was due in part to the delay in diagnosis and treatment, but the data also suggest that some other, as yet unknown, mechanism related to female gender may make women more prone to HCM progression, the researchers said.