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Background: This study was undertaken to determine women’s knowledge of menopause and its consequences, and their menopause-related health-care experiences. Methods: Participants were recruited to this cross-sectional qualitative study from a nationally, representative sample of Australian women. Recruitment was stratified by age to achieve groups of premenopausal (PRE), perimenopausal (PERI), early postmenopausal (E-POST), and late postmenopausal (LPOST) women. Results: The 32 participants were aged 46–69 years: 10 PRE, three PERI, 11 E-POST and eight L-POST women. All understood that menopause meant the end of reproductive function and were aware of menopause-associated symptoms. Most PRE and E-POST women referred to lifestyle changes to optimize health, and self-help and complementary therapies to manage symptoms. E-POST and L-POST women were more likely to nominate seeing a doctor for overall health and symptom management. Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) was viewed negatively, with shared perceptions of cancer risk and over-prescription. A strong theme was lack of knowledge of long-term menopause sequelae, with only four women nominating osteoporosis. Conclusions: Our in-depth qualitative study would suggest that, while Australian midlife women have a good understanding of the immediate effects of menopause, their lack of knowledge of the longterm consequences is concerning. Despite the effectiveness and safety of MHT, the overall attitude to MHT remains negative.

Ambient air pollution is a leading risk factor for the global burden of disease. One possible pathway of particulate matter (PM)-induced toxicity is through iron (Fe), the most abundant metal in the atmosphere. The aim of the review was to consider the complexity of Fe-mediated toxicity following inhalation exposure focusing on the chemical and surface reactivity of Fe as a transition metal and possible pathways of toxicity via reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation as well as considerations of size, morphology, and source of PM. A broad term search of 4 databases identified 2189 journal articles and reports examining exposure to Fe via inhalation in the past 10 years. These were sequentially analyzed by title, abstract and full-text to identify 87 articles publishing results on the toxicity of Fe-containing PM by inhalation or instillation to the respiratory system. The remaining 87 papers were examined to summarize research dealing with in vitro, in vivo and epidemiological studies involving PM containing Fe or iron oxide following inhalation or instillation. The major findings from these investigations are summarized and tabulated. Epidemiological studies showed that exposure to Fe oxide is correlated with an increased incidence of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and several respiratory diseases. Iron PM was found to induce inflammatory effects in vitro and in vivo and to translocate to remote locations including the brain following inhalation. A potential pathway for the PM-containing Fe-mediated toxicity by inhalation is via the generation of ROS which leads to lipid peroxidation and DNA and protein oxidation. Our recommendations include an expansion of epidemiological, in vivo and in vitro studies, integrating research improvements outlined in this review, such as the method of particle preparation, cell line type, and animal model, to enhance our understanding of the complex biological interactions of these particles.

Ambient air pollution is a leading risk factor for the global burden of disease. One possible pathway of particulate matter (PM)-induced toxicity is through iron (Fe), the most abundant metal in the atmosphere. The aim of the review was to consider the complexity of Fe-mediated toxicity following inhalation exposure focusing on the chemical and surface reactivity of Fe as a transition metal and possible pathways of toxicity via reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation as well as considerations of size, morphology, and source of PM. A broad term search of 4 databases identified 2189 journal articles and reports examining exposure to Fe via inhalation in the past 10 years. These were sequentially analyzed by title, abstract and full-text to identify 87 articles publishing results on the toxicity of Fe-containing PM by inhalation or instillation to the respiratory system. The remaining 87 papers were examined to summarize research dealing with in vitro, in vivo and epidemiological studies involving PM containing Fe or iron oxide following inhalation or instillation. The major findings from these investigations are summarized and tabulated. Epidemiological studies showed that exposure to Fe oxide is correlated with an increased incidence of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and several respiratory diseases. Iron PM was found to induce inflammatory effects in vitro and in vivo and to translocate to remote locations including the brain following inhalation. A potential pathway for the PM-containing Fe-mediated toxicity by inhalation is via the generation of ROS which leads to lipid peroxidation and DNA and protein oxidation. Our recommendations include an expansion of epidemiological, in vivo and in vitro studies, integrating research improvements outlined in this review, such as the method of particle preparation, cell line type, and animal model, to enhance our understanding of the complex biological interactions of these particles.

Objective To elicit informed views from Australian women aged 70-74 regarding the acceptability of ceasing to invite women their age to participate in government-funded mammography screening (BreastScreen). Design Two community juries held in 2017. Setting Greater Sydney, a metropolis of 4.5 million people in New South Wales, Australia. Participants 34 women aged 70-74 with no personal history of breast cancer, recruited by random digit dialling and previously randomly recruited list-based samples. Main outcomes and measures Jury verdict and rationale in response to structured questions. We transcribed audio-recorded jury proceedings and identified central reasons for the jury's decision. Results The women's average age was 71.5 years. Participants were of diverse sociocultural backgrounds, with the sample designed to include women of lower levels of educational attainment. Both juries concluded by majority verdict (16-2 and 10-6) that BreastScreen should continue to send invitations and promote screening to their age group. Reasons given for the majority position include: (1) sending the invitations shows that society still cares about older women, empowers them to access preventive health services and recognises increasing and varied life expectancy; (2) screening provides women with information that enables choice and (3) if experts cannot agree, the conservative approach is to maintain the status quo until the evidence is clear. Reasons for the minority position were the potential for harms through overdiagnosis and misallocation of scarce health resources. Conclusions Preventive programmes such as mammography screening are likely to have significant symbolic value once they are socially embedded. Arguments for programme de-implementation emphasising declining benefit because of limited life expectancy and the risks of overdiagnosis seem unlikely to resonate with healthy older women. In situations where there is no consensus among experts on the value of establi

Objective To elicit informed views from Australian women aged 70-74 regarding the acceptability of ceasing to invite women their age to participate in government-funded mammography screening (BreastScreen). Design Two community juries held in 2017. Setting Greater Sydney, a metropolis of 4.5 million people in New South Wales, Australia. Participants 34 women aged 70-74 with no personal history of breast cancer, recruited by random digit dialling and previously randomly recruited list-based samples. Main outcomes and measures Jury verdict and rationale in response to structured questions. We transcribed audio-recorded jury proceedings and identified central reasons for the jury's decision. Results The women's average age was 71.5 years. Participants were of diverse sociocultural backgrounds, with the sample designed to include women of lower levels of educational attainment. Both juries concluded by majority verdict (16-2 and 10-6) that BreastScreen should continue to send invitations and promote screening to their age group. Reasons given for the majority position include: (1) sending the invitations shows that society still cares about older women, empowers them to access preventive health services and recognises increasing and varied life expectancy; (2) screening provides women with information that enables choice and (3) if experts cannot agree, the conservative approach is to maintain the status quo until the evidence is clear. Reasons for the minority position were the potential for harms through overdiagnosis and misallocation of scarce health resources. Conclusions Preventive programmes such as mammography screening are likely to have significant symbolic value once they are socially embedded. Arguments for programme de-implementation emphasising declining benefit because of limited life expectancy and the risks of overdiagnosis seem unlikely to resonate with healthy older women. In situations where there is no consensus among experts on the value of establi

Background Although previous studies have investigated beliefs about back pain in clinical and employed populations, there is a paucity of data examining the beliefs of the broader community. We aimed to characterize the beliefs that community-dwelling women have about back pain and its consequences, and to determine whether those with varying levels of pain intensity and disability differ in their beliefs. Methods 542 community-dwelling women, aged 24 to 80 years, were recruited from a research database. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire that included detailed demographic information, the Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire (CPG) and the Back Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ). The CPG examined individuals' levels of pain intensity and disability, and the BBQ investigated their beliefs about back pain and its consequences. Results 506 (93.4%) women returned the study questionnaire. The mean (SD) BBQ score for the cohort was 30.7 (6.0), indicating generally positive beliefs about back pain. However, those women with high intensity pain and high level disability had a mean (SD) score of 28.5 (5.7) and 24.8 (5.7) respectively, which reflects greater negativity about back pain and its consequences. There was an association between negative beliefs and high pain intensity (OR = 0.94 (95% CI: 0.90, 0.99), p = 0.01) and high level disability (OR = 0.93 (95% CI: 0.89, 0.97), p = 0.001), after adjusting for confounders. Conclusion This study highlights that although women living in the community were generally positive about back pain, subgroups of women with high pain intensity and high level disability were identified who had more pessimistic views. While a causal relationship cannot be inferred from these cross-sectional data, the results suggest that negative beliefs individuals have about back pain may be predictive of chronic, disabling spinal pain.