Here are the most interesting items we saw this week in women's health:
🔬 A DECADE AFTER NIH REQUIRED SEX DATA, MOST STUDIES STILL AREN'T REPORTING IT — A review of nearly 600 NIH-funded studies found only 44% reported results broken down by sex, despite a 2016 policy requiring it. Sixty-one percent included women — but most didn't analyze the differences. We still don't know if most drugs work differently in women.
🚨STUDY: ABORTION BANS LINKED TO MORE PREGNANT WOMEN DYING — Researchers analyzing national vital statistics found a potential 9% increase in pregnancy-associated deaths in the 14 states that imposed abortion bans — roughly 68 more deaths by end of 2023 than predicted. Researchers noted data limitations but pointed out that births carry more risk than abortion.
🧬 YOUR ORGANS DON'T AGE TOGETHER — A large-scale atlas of female reproductive aging found that around menopause, the ovary and vagina shift gradually over years while the uterus changes abruptly at the transition itself. The Barcelona Supercomputing Center study, published in Nature Aging, tracked roughly 21,000 women and identified blood-based biomarkers that could let doctors monitor reproductive aging without invasive testing. One body, multiple clocks.
TOP CLICKED THIS WEEK
• NIH-funded research lags in reporting sex differences, new study finds // STAT News
• Your organs aren't aging in sync // Nature Aging
• Study Suggests Increase in Deaths During or Within One Year of Pregnancy in States that Imposed Abortion Bans // Johns Hopkins Public Health
• New Orleans program does free house calls for new mothers. It's saving many from going over a postpartum 'cliff' // The Guardian
• Infant formula largely safe from heavy metals, FDA finds // STAT News
• Anorexic reconciliation bill could mean Planned Parenthood gets re-funded // Politico