Advances in women’s health

Women’s health, beyond reproductive medicine, has long been the neglected stepchild in clinical trials and in clinical practice. That is changing rapidly as organizations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration to university research centers and medical schools scramble to include sex differences in lab studies, trials and textbooks. So we’re going to share three important insights into women’s health that you might not have heard about and need to apply to your life today!

1. Taking calcium supplements may be risky. Almost 70% of older females report taking them, but they may not know that the supplements can make women who have had a stroke or who have white matter lesions (a marker for cerebrovascular disease) up to seven times more likely to develop dementia. The groundbreaking research that uncovered this was published in Neurology in 2016.

2. Your mammogram could clue you in to your risk for heart disease. Digital mammograms reveal more than your risk for breast cancer. They can spot calcium deposits in your breasts’ blood vessels. Research estimates that around 10% of women in their 40s have what’s called breast arterial calcification and around 50% of women in their 80s do. Preliminary studies indicate that BAC lets you know you are at an increased risk for heart attack, stroke and heart failure. So when you get your mammogram, ask specifically if you have BAC. If you do, schedule an appointment with a cardiologist to assess your risk. Changing your diet, taking a statin, lowering your blood pressure, getting more physical activity — those changes can reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke by 50% or more.

3. Being a woman increases your risk for diabetes-related complications. In fact, it quadruples your chances of diabetesassociated heart disease, while it only doubles men’s chances.