Association between nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and postpartum depression: the Japan Environment and Children's Study.

OBJECTIVE: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a global emotional distress that affects women and their offspring regardless of their culture. The association between nausea and vomiting of pregnancy (NVP) and PPD has been widely described only for the severe form of NVP. We aimed to assess the relationship between PPD and NVP with regards to its severity. METHODS: Data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study (JECS), a birth cohort study, were analyzed. PPD was assessed using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Multiple logistic regression models were performed to assess the association between NVP and PPD. RESULTS: Out of the 80,396 women included in the study 14% had PPD. Among them 4,640 (42.1%) had mild NVP; 3,295 (29.9%) had moderate NVP whereas 1,481 (13.4%) had severe NVP. All forms of NVP were associated with PPD and the association gradually increased with the severity of NVP symptoms with odd ratio (OR): 1.26; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18-1.35 for mild, OR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.19-1.38 for moderate and OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.42-1.68 for severe NVP. CONCLUSION: Japanese women with NVP were more susceptible to develop PPD and the more severe the NVP symptoms were, the greater the risk of PPD. Thus, close monitoring of NVP-affected women is recommended.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards menopause among Congolese middle-aged and postmenopausal women.

INTRODUCTION: with the increase in life expectancy, women will live longer during their postmenopausal period. To improve their quality of life, they should be aware of what challenges they will be facing. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of middle-aged women towards menopause. METHODS: in this cross-sectional study, data collected using a multistage clustered random sampling from 54 health centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo were used. Participants filled a questionnaire derived from the menopause rating scale and from local beliefs. The knowledge, attitudes and practices towards menopause were evaluated among pre- and postmenopausal women. RESULTS: of the 353 women, both pre- and postmenopausal women knew the definition of menopause but for the symptoms, postmenopausal women were more informed than premenopausal. For the attitudes and practices towards menopause, while both had equally positive attitudes, the premenopausal women did not know which practice to adopt. CONCLUSION: Congolese women had limited knowledge, positive attitudes and unconventional practices towards menopause. Health-care providers, therefore, need to dispense appropriate advice to middle-aged women before the advent of menopause.

Morphometric semi-quantitative assessment of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal black women in Central Africa.

This prospective and multi-centric study assessed the lacking of pattern in fractured patients and features of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal black women living in central Africa. INTRODUCTION: Patients with osteoporosis commonly collapsed their vertebral body. This has been widely studied in Caucasians, Asians, and Americans and studies in black African are lacking. Our study was designed to establish a pattern of patients with fractures and determine the features of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal black women living in Central Africa. METHODS: A prospective and multi-centric study was conducted from June 2011 to June 2016, to assess the thoraco-lumbar-computed tomographic images of women. The menopausal statuses and anthropometric parameters (age, height, and weight) were collected. The body mass index and the Asset Poverty Index were evaluated. The reviews included a morphometric analysis of each vertebra that was rated according to the visual semi-quantitative system proposed by Genant et al. RESULTS: Four hundred thirty women aged 47-87 years old were included in this study. The mean age was 57 years old, and the mean menopause duration was 11.45 ± 6.6 years with extremes ranging from 2 to 37 years. The body mass indices were rated as overweight and obese in 80.8% of subjects and 54, 3% had high-API indices. Among the 4730 vertebrae analyzed, 529 (11.12%) were fractured, with 68.7% exhibited a cup-shaped deformation (biconcave), 19.8% had a wedge-shaped deformation, and 11.4% exhibited a cake (crush) deformation. Of the vertebras, 88.8% were grade 0, 5.5% grade 1, 5% grade 2, and 0.57% were grade 3. Of the women, 68.8% had one vertebra fractured and 31.2% had more than one fractured vertebrae. CONCLUSION: This study seemed to determine the pattern and features of vertebral fractures in black African women which may be useful for comparisons with the pattern of worldwide populations.