Women’s health

Research on women's sexual desire and satisfaction lags behind that on men's, but scientists and drug companies are trying to close the gap.

Understanding the nuances of women's various roles in African societies can make or break health research.

Sex chromosomes in every cell of the body exert widespread and sometimes unexpected effects.

Heart disease is a different for women. Researchers must investigate, educate, advocate and legislate to decrease the risks, says Nanette Wenger.

Girls are entering puberty at ever younger ages. What are the causes, and should we be worried?

Surveys of the microbes that live in the vagina have revealed unexpected variability. More research might reveal links between these microbes, infection and birth complications.

An improved understanding of bone loss can help women reduce their risk of fractures as they age.

Regulators have been calling for equal representation of men and women in health research for nearly 25 years. So why are women still underrepresented?

There is only one industrialized country where the rate of maternal deaths has risen over the past 30 years. US researchers are trying to find out what went wrong.

Clinical practice regarding the use of hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) has undergone many changes since its introduction in the 1940s. Here, Roger Lobo frames the current thinking on the use of HRT in postmenopausal women, beginning with a historical perspective and then discussing how the interpretation of HRT data has changed over time.

John Perry, Ken Ong and colleagues analyze genotype data on ∼370,000 women and identify 389 independent signals that associate with age at menarche, implicating ∼250 genes. Their analyses suggest causal inverse associations, independent of BMI, between puberty timing and risks for breast and endometrial cancers in women and prostate cancer in men.

The prevalence of stroke in women is predicted to increase rapidly in the near future. Yet, despite the presence of numerous female-specific risk factors for stroke, women remain under-represented in stroke clinical trials. Here, members of the Women Initiative for Stroke in Europe (WISE) group summarize new advances and future research priorities in the research of stroke in women.

Women's health is more than reproductive health. Why does this phrase still need to be repeated? This commentary highlights the urgent need to encourage more women to lead, research, and educate to move beyond stereotypes and to ensure we push forward in improving the lives of women everywhere.

Whole-genome shotgun sequencing and sequencing of the gene encoding the 16S rRNA in samples from a variety of body sites in a large cohort of mothers and their infants reveals that, during the 6 weeks after birth, changes in the composition and function of the microbiome are driven by body site but not by the mode of delivery.

Menopause is the age-related loss of female reproductive function. Here, Davis et al. describe menopause physiology and its impact on women's health. They call for more research to understand the basic biology underlying this transition and to develop new therapies.

Menopause is the age-related (primary) or iatrogenic (secondary) loss of female reproductive function. Menopausal women are at increased risk for many conditions including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and some cancers, by mechanisms that are not yet fully understood.