The Relationship Between Yoga Practice Dosage and Perceived Stress, Anxiety, and Self-reported Health Among Breast Cancer Survivors Who Practice Yoga.

The aim of this anonymous online study was to explore the yoga practice of breast cancer survivors to determine if yoga dosage (frequency and duration of practice) was related to stress, anxiety, and self-reported health in female survivors. Participants were recruited from online breast cancer support groups during a 3-month period (June-September 2019). Demographic information, stage and treatment of breast cancer, and frequency of yoga participation, including a home yoga practice were reported. Measures include the Perceived Stress Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and self-reported health. Cumulative yoga dosage was calculated. Thirty-five women participated (mean age = 55 years) and were divided into low and high yoga dosage groups based on the sample distribution. Low dosage of yoga was operationally defined as a cumulative dosage that fell within the lowest quartile (≤25%). Findings indicated no difference between the low-dosage group compared with the high-dosage group for perceived stress and self-reported health; but the high dosage yoga group had lower state anxiety scores (P < .05). All participants reported good self-reported health. These findings contribute to our knowledge of the psychosocial aspects of breast cancer survivorship and raise questions for further research quantifying the therapeutic dosing of yoga practice.

The journey of women with breast cancer who engage in mindfulness-based stress reduction: a qualitative exploration.

This phenomenological study explores the "lived experience" of 8 women with stage I or II breast cancer who used mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). The following 4 themes were identified: (1) the cancer journey: a shift in perception, (2) the treatment journey: the experience of MBSR, (3) the journey toward recovery, and (4) the journey toward self.

Causes of chronic vaginitis: analysis of a prospective database of affected women.

OBJECTIVE: To compare women with different chronic vaginal symptoms with a wide variety of sociodemographic, health, behavioral, and psychosocial characteristics. METHODS: Serially recruited subjects answered a questionnaire that asks about demographic information and symptoms and measures depression and stress scores. Patients underwent a standardized history, physical examination, and laboratory examination. Patients with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis, vulvar vestibulitis syndrome, desquamative inflammatory vaginitis, physiologic leukorrhea, and other diagnoses were compared with one another. Chi-square tests and one-way analysis of variance with Tukey honestly significant difference (HSD) post hoc analyses were used for categorical and continuous data analysis. RESULTS: Two hundred patients were enrolled in this study. The most common diagnoses were contact dermatitis (21%), recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (20.5%), atrophic vaginitis (14.5%), and vulvar vestibulitis syndrome (12.5%); 18% of women had 2 or more diagnoses. In the overall study sample, the mean age was 38.4 years, 78% were white, and 55% were college educated. Sixty-two percent had symptoms for over a year. Desquamative inflammatory vaginitis patients were older and less likely to be menstruating. Those with vulvar vestibulitis syndrome had more frequent complaints of dyspareunia. Recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis patients felt that their symptoms had the greatest negative impact on work and social life. There were high rates of psychiatric disorder (43.5%), atopic disease (42.5%), and pain syndrome (56%) in all groups. CONCLUSION: Women with chronic vaginal symptoms have a variety of diagnoses, most of them noninfectious. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II-3.

Vaginal Candida parapsilosis: pathogen or bystander?

OBJECTIVE: Candida parapsilosis is an infrequent isolate on vaginal cultures; its role as a vaginal pathogen remains unstudied. This retrospective study of women with positive culture for C. parapsilosis sought to characterize the significance of this finding and its response to antifungal therapy. METHODS: From February 2001 to August 2002, we identified all individuals with positive fungal isolates among a population of women with chronic vulvovaginal symptoms. Charts of women with C. parapsilosis cultures were reviewed with regard to patient demographics, clinical presentation and therapeutic response. Mycological cure, defined as a negative fungal culture at the next office visit, and clinical cure, i.e. symptom resolution, were determined for each subject. RESULTS: A total of 582 women had positive vaginal cultures for 635 isolates, of which 54 (8.5%) were C. parapsilosis. The charts of 51 subjects with C. parapsilosis were available for review and follow-up cultures and clinical information were available for 39 (76.5%). Microscopy was positive in 9 (17.6%). Antifungal treatment resulted in mycological cure in 17/19 patients with fluconazole, 7/7 with butoconazole, 6/6 with boric acid, 1/1 with miconazole and occurred spontaneously in 6/7: 24/37 (64.9%) patients with a mycological cure experienced clinical cure. CONCLUSIONS: Although C. parapsilosis is often a cause of vaginal symptoms, it seems to respond to a variety of antifungal agents and may even be a transient vaginal colonizer.

Treatment of recurrent bacterial vaginosis with tinidazole.

BACKGROUND: Recurrent bacterial vaginosis is a difficult clinical condition. In women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis, relapses are common, even after prolonged courses of maintenance therapy. Because of its spectrum of activity, tinidazole was used in a patient with recurrent bacterial vaginosis. CASE: A 23-year-old woman taking oral contraceptives had a single sexual partner. She was treated for recurrent bacterial vaginosis with multiple courses of metronidazole gel 0.75%, including regimens of maintenance therapy. The patient experienced repeated recurrences shortly after stopping treatment. A single course of oral tinidazole resulted in a prolonged period where she was free of bacterial vaginosis. CONCLUSION: Treatment options for recurrent bacterial vaginosis are currently limited. Tinidazole may be a useful option in women with recurrent bacterial vaginosis.

Risk factors for recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis in women receiving maintenance antifungal therapy: results of a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine risk factors for symptomatic vulvovaginal candidiasis episodes among women with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (defined as >/=4 vulvovaginal candidiasis episodes in 1 year) who were receiving maintenance antifungal therapy. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study of 65 women aged >/=18 years with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis who attended vaginitis clinics in Detroit, Mich, and Philadelphia, Pa. RESULTS: The 9-month risk of vulvovaginal candidiasis recurrence was 41.8%. Almost two fifths of the women reported activity limitations because of vulvovaginal candidiasis episodes, most or all of the time. Younger women and those women with a history of bacterial vaginosis were at increased risk of vulvovaginal candidiasis episodes. Behavioral factors that were associated significantly with increasing vulvovaginal candidiasis recurrence >/=2- fold included wearing pantyliners or pantyhose and consuming cranberry juice or acidophilus-containing products. CONCLUSION: The use of pantyliners or pantyhose, consumption of cranberry juice or acidophil-containing products, a history of bacterial vaginosis, and age <40 years were positively associated with a symptomatic vulvovaginal candidiasis episode.