Anna gets the HPV shot

Want lower blood pressure? Fall in love, get married

Happily married people tend to have lower blood pressure than singles, a new study out by Brigham Young University says.

But the reverse is also true. Unhappily married people had the highest blood pressure than anyone in the study. And considering the high rate of divorce today — which various sources say hovers between 40 percent and 50 percent of marriages — it seems like there are quite a bit of unhappily married people.

I’m glad someone funded an entire scientific study, only to prove that happiness has positive health ramifications. It seems like a no brainer to me. Next, let’s fund a study that shows a correlation between having sex and pregnancies. My guess is, they might be related.

Gardasil gets FDA’s quick review, for approval in women 27 to 45

The United States Food and Drug Administration will give Merck priority review to expand the Gardasil vaccine for use in women ages 27 to 45.

FDA officials announced today that they would make the decision in six months, as opposed to the agency’s typical 10-month review period.

Read the story by Reuters here.

‘What to Expect’ includes new sections on fatherhood, working during pregnancy

Publishers Weekly and Jezebel.com are reporting that the famous, bestselling pregnancy book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” will receive its third update next month.The fourth edition of the book, which is due out in April, includes expanded sections on working during pregnancy, “expectant beauty,” preconception and fatherhood. According to the book’s editor Suzanne Rafer, the chapter on eating while pregnant is “more realistic than ever,” and the new edition has an updated jacket, with a hip-looking mom-to-be replacing the older editions’ more matronly pregnant woman.

The book was first published in 1984 and every edition since has been on the New York Times bestseller list.

This PSA about sex abuse creeps me out

Check out this creepy public service announcement about sexual abuse. Does it get the message across, or does it just leave you feeling nauseous?

The video was produced by German ad agency Dunkelziffer.

Another gross Lysol ad

Here’s yet another disturbing Lysol ad, courtesy of the Vintage Ads blog on LiveJournal.

I love stories like this…

A Starbucks barista in Tacoma, Wash. donated a kidney to one of her regular customers.

Read the story in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Aromatherapy, a bunch of foolery?

Researchers say that two of the most common scents in aromatherapy do nothing to heal wounds, relieve pain or enhance immune status, according to a report published in the April issue of Psychoneuroendocrinology, an online journal.

Washingtonpost.com featured an article about the study today.

The researchers analyzed lemon, which is thought to be a mood enhancer, and lavender, which is often used as a sleep aid. Neither scent had an impact on the biochemical markers for stress, pain control or wound healing.

That doesn’t change the fact that lavendar just smells good, period. I’m sure there are plenty people out there who will still buy scented candles, whether or not they have magical effects.

Catch 22: Hot flashes, or cancer?

Menopausal women who take estrogen and progesterone pills may face a small increased risk of cancer long after they’ve stopped, according to a federal study about the hormone therapy.

Washingtonpost.com posted an article today about the results of the study, which surveyed more than 15,000 women who took the hormones. The study, which was done by the federally-funded Women’s Health Initiative, found that the chance of developing cancer remained elevated for more than two years after they quit.

Women use hormone therapy to relieve hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause. As the Post reports, the new study follows a 2002 study, which found that the hormones increased the risk of heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and breast cancer.

These results bring up two important questions:

When do risks outweigh the benefits?

What about estrogen and progesterone birth control pills?

For a more complete summary of the results, check out washingtonpost.com’s video, featuring interviews with expert sources.

Once upon a time, single girls couldn’t use tampons…

I often check this Vintage Ads blog for an occasional laugh.

Some of the ads are not only funny, they also capture such a stark contrast in societal values, that they’re shocking. Here’s one from a mere 40 years ago. Isn’t it interesting that an ad like this would never fly in a women’s magazine today?

That in itself is a social commentary all on it’s own.

Posted by LiveJournal user sicily_1922