June 2009

Sleep disturbances, weight gain and creeping blood pressure are common complaints of women in mid-life.  I’ve learned through experience and research that there’s  a connection between sleep deprivation and weight gain as well as between weight gain and high blood pressure. Now, a new study, published just last week, is making a direct connection between sleep duration and blood pressure.  It concluded that “early middle-aged adults who sleep fewer hours appear more likely to have high blood pressure and to experience adverse changes in blood pressure over time.” [click to continue...]

After writing about the possible connection between hormones and heartburn (or gastric reflux) earlier this week, I discovered another research report, involving nearly 40,000 patients, that concluded that even short-term use of popular acid-reducing drugs such as Prevacid, Zantac and Tagament may raise the risk of hip fractures. The increased risks appeared two years after patients started taking prescription or over-the-counter anti-reflux medications. Other brands in this category of drugs include; Nexium, Prilosec, Protonix and Aciphex. [click to continue...]

If TV commercials for pharmaceuticals are a true reflection of what ails our population, then I have to conclude that a good percentage of people – men and women – suffer from Gerd, often called acid reflux or heartburn.   It has been commonly believed that lifestyle factors such as BMI (body mass index), diet, smoking status, alcohol consumption and the use of certain medications are the culprits.  But recent research has shown that if a post-menopausal women is complaining of Gerd-like symptoms, it’s very possible that her use of hormone therapies, or raloxifene (prescribed for osteoporosis prevention) or even over-the-counter soy estrogen products are to blame. [click to continue...]

Your claims of brain fog, senior moments, or whatever you want to call the small but frequent memory lapses you experience during the menopause transition are real, according to the findings of a new study just published in Neurology journal.

Researchers spent four years investigating the effects of the menopause transition and hormone use on three areas of cognitive function; processing speed, verbal memory and working memory.  They concluded that mid-life women, particularly those in the late-perimenopause stage (they haven’t have a period in three to 11 months) were not able to learn as well as they had during pre-menopause.  The good news is that their test scores eventually improved and rebounded to pre-menopause levels once they hit post-menopause (no period for 12 months), indicating that “menopause related cognitive difficulties may be time-limited.” [click to continue...]