Early Childbirth Linked To Poor Health In Middle Age

Women who have their first child before age 20 are at a higher risk of chronic diseases and death when they reach middle age, a new study shows


The study appears in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior and reveals that women who are single at the time they have their first baby could also be at risk of earlier death an outcome that can probably relates to socioeconomic status later in life after having a child as a young, single woman.


"Being unmarried at the time of first birth is associated with lower midlife income and a lower probability of being married in midlife," said study author John Henretta at the University of Florida. "It's not so much the characteristic of being unmarried at first birth that's important; it's what being unmarried at first birth tells us about the midlife status of these women."


Henretta evaluated data from the Health and Retirement Study, focusing on 4,335 women born in the United States between 1931 and 1941. These women were first interviewed in 1992 (at ages 51 to 61) and then followed until 2002. Interviewers asked about their health, level of education, marital status, wealth, how many children they had and the age of each living child.


Study data showed that women who give birth before age 20 have a risk of dying 1.42 times higher than that of women who first give birth after age 20. Women who had a child before age 20 also had higher rates of reporting having heart disease, lung disease and cancer.


Henretta said that having a baby while unmarried could lead to a lower chance of eventually marrying and lower economic status in midlife, which research shows can relate to poorer access to healthcare.


"The conditions under which a woman has a child at a young age would be important to consider," said Ken R. Smith, a professor of human development and family studies at the University of Utah. "For example, were her parents or siblings there to assist in rearing the child, did the child survive, did the mother go on to marry the father and was that first child followed quickly by another birth?


"But overall, this [study] is a plausible finding and worth replicating," Smith added. "A parallel study of men would be useful to determine if the effects exist for the fathers as well."


Henretta JC. Early childbearing, marital status, and women's health and mortality after age 50. J Health Soc Behav 48(3), 2007.


Health Behavior News Service

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NPR Broadcasts First Of Four Reports On College Rape, Sexual Assault

"Morning Edition" on Wednesday aired the first segment in a four-part series examining sexual assault and rape on U.S. college campuses. The series, which was produced in partnership with the Center for Public Integrity, focuses on the "failure" of colleges and the Department of Education "to prevent these assaults and then to resolve these cases." According to Department of Justice estimates, one of out of every five college women is sexually assaulted.

Wednesday's segment examined the effects of the Jeanne Clery Act, a crime disclosure law passed 20 years ago. According to DOJ figures, campuses have reported a 9% decrease in violent crime and a 30% decrease in property crime in the past 10 years under the Clery Act. However, DOE has fined schools that violate the act only six times, and most fines have been less than $350,000 (Shapiro, "Morning Edition," NPR, 2/24).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2010 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Kansas Equal Rights Amendment Proposal Prompts Criticism From Antiabortion Groups

Kansas lawmakers are considering a proposal that would place a state Equal Rights Amendment (H.R. 5003) before voters in the next general election, the Kansas City Star reports. The amendment would grant women the same rights to men in the state constitution. According to the Star, antiabortion-rights groups have suggested that an ERA could "open the door to a constitutional guarantee for abortion" in Kansas. Although Kansas does have a statute outlawing gender-based discrimination, ERA supporters maintain that the amendment could make it less difficult for women to successfully argue sexual discrimination and harassment lawsuits. They also cite the symbolic value of having equal rights for women included in the state constitution.

Catholic and antiabortion-rights groups believe that an ERA could derail all state restrictions on abortion. Beatrice Swoopes, a lobbyist with the Kansas Catholic Conference, said, "If we allow it to pass, Kansans will wake up one day wondering how a right to unrestricted and taxpayer-funded abortion was smuggled into our constitution." However, Washburn University professor Jeffrey Jackson noted that many states with ERAs have more restrictive abortion policies than Kansas.

Kansas lawmakers would have to approve the proposal by a two-thirds vote in both chambers to place the measure on the state ballot. According to the Star, the proposal "might not get that far," as state Sen. Pete Brungardt (R), who leads the committee reviewing the bill, has not decided whether the committee will have the time to vote on the legislation this year (Klepper, Kansas City Star, 2/26).


Reprinted with kind permission from nationalpartnership. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.


© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

Insomnia In Adults Improved By A Self-Help Program Delivered Online

A cognitive behavioral intervention for insomnia delivered via the Internet can significantly improve insomnia in adults, according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).



The study, authored by Lee Ritterband, PhD, of the University of Virginia, focused on 44 participants (mostly female) with an average age of 45 years. The participants were randomly selected to either the cognitive behavioral intervention for insomnia via the Internet or a wait list control. Measures of sleep, mood, cost, and cognitive functioning were collected at pre- and post-treatment, while additional measures of sleep were collected throughout treatment.



According to the results, sleep improved significantly for those who received a cognitive behavioral intervention for insomnia via the Internet over the six-week intervention, whereas control participants showed no change during the treatment period. Sleep efficiency also significantly improved for the experimental group from pre- to post- assessment, with no change for the controls. The experimental group increased total sleep time by 80 minutes and the control group increased by nine minutes.



"We believe these types of Web-based treatment programs have the potential to impact countless individuals around the world," said Dr. Ritterband. "Specifically related to insomnia, the availability of non-pharmacological help is significantly lacking. The Internet has already become a critical source of health-care and medical information. The Internet may prove an effective tool to more broadly disseminate cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia."



Insomnia is a classification of sleep disorders in which a person has trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking up too early. It is the most commonly reported sleep disorder. About 30 percent of adults have symptoms of insomnia. It is more common among elderly people and women.



Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps you change actions or thoughts that hurt your ability to sleep well. It helps you develop habits that promote a healthy pattern of sleep. CBT is most often used for people who suffer from insomnia.



The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) offers the following tips on how to get a good night's sleep:
Follow a consistent bedtime routine.


Establish a relaxing setting at bedtime.


Get a full night's sleep every night.


Avoid foods or drinks that contain caffeine, as well as any medicine that has a stimulant, prior to bedtime.


Do not bring your worries to bed with you.


Do not go to bed hungry, but don't eat a big meal before bedtime either.


Avoid any rigorous exercise within six hours of your bedtime.


Make your bedroom quiet, dark and a little bit cool.


Get up at the same time every morning.

Those who suspect that they might be suffering from insomnia, or another sleep disorder, are encouraged to consult with their primary care physician or a sleep specialist.







The annual SLEEP meeting brings together an international body of 5,000 leading researchers and clinicians in the field of sleep medicine to present and discuss new findings and medical developments related to sleep and sleep disorders.



More than 1,000 research abstracts will be presented at the SLEEP meeting, a joint venture of the AASM and the Sleep Research Society. The three-and-a-half-day scientific meeting will bring to light new findings that enhance the understanding of the processes of sleep and aid the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders such as insomnia, narcolepsy and sleep apnea.



SleepEducation, a patient education Web site created by the AASM, provides information about various sleep disorders, the forms of treatment available, recent news on the topic of sleep, sleep studies that have been conducted and a listing of sleep facilities.



Source: Kathleen McCann


American Academy of Sleep Medicine