Prevalence and characteristics of women at risk for an alcohol-exposed pregnancy (AEP) in the United States: estimates from the National Survey of Family Growth.

Non-pregnant women can avoid alcohol-exposed pregnancies (AEPs) by modifying drinking and/or contraceptive practices. The purpose of this study was to estimate the number and characteristics of women in the United States who are at risk of AEPs. We analyzed data from in-person interviews obtained from a national probability sample (i.e., the National Survey of Family Growth) of reproductive-aged women conducted from January 2002 to March 2003. To be at risk of AEP, a woman had to have met the following criteria in the last month: (1) was drinking; (2) had vaginal intercourse with a man; and (3) did not use contraception. During a 1-month period, nearly 2 million U.S. women were at risk of an AEP (95 % confidence interval 1,760,079-2,288,104), including more than 600,000 who were binge drinking. Thus, 3.4 %, or 1 in 30, of all non-pregnant women were at risk of an AEP. Most demographic and behavioral characteristics were not clearly associated with AEP risk. However, pregnancy intention was strongly associated with AEP risk (prevalence ratio = 12.0, P < 0.001) because women often continued to drink even after they stopped using contraception. Nearly 2 million U.S. women are at AEP risk and therefore at risk of having children born with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. For pregnant women and women intending a pregnancy, there is an urgent need for wider implementation of prevention programs and policy approaches that can reduce the risk for this serious public health problem.

Lifestyle and demographic factors in relation to vasomotor symptoms: baseline results from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.

Results of recent trials highlight the risks of hormone therapy, increasing the importance of identifying preventive lifestyle factors related to menopausal symptoms. The authors examined the relation of such factors to vasomotor symptoms in the multiethnic sample of 3,302 women, aged 42-52 years at baseline (1995-1997), in the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). All lifestyle factors and symptoms were self-reported. Serum hormone and gonadotropin concentrations were measured once in days 2-7 of the menstrual cycle. After adjustment for covariates using multiple logistic regression, significantly more African-American and Hispanic and fewer Chinese and Japanese than Caucasian women reported vasomotor symptoms. Fewer women with postgraduate education reported vasomotor symptoms. Passive exposure to smoke, but not active smoking, higher body mass index, premenstrual symptoms, perceived stress, and age were also significantly associated with vasomotor symptoms, although a dose-response relation with hours of smoke exposure was not observed. No dietary nutrients were significantly associated with vasomotor symptoms. These cross-sectional findings require further longitudinal exploration to identify lifestyle changes for women that may help prevent vasomotor symptoms.