Women's Patterns Research Articles

THE RELATIONS OF RE-INFECTION OF COVID-19 WITH CHANGES IN MENSTRUAL PATTERNS IN WOMEN OF CHILDBEARING AGE AT THE HEALTH POLYTECHNIC OF THE BENGKULU MINISTRY OF HEALTH IN 2022

Coronavirus Disease 2019 or better known as COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). It is known that this virus can attack the reproductive organs and cause changes in the menstrual cycle in the form of a longer menstrual cycle, heavier blood flow, longer duration and increased pain levels. This study aims to determine the relationship between positive history of COVID-19 and changes in menstrual patterns in women of childbearing age at Poltekkes Kemenkes Bengkulu in 2022. The research design used was observational analytic with a retrospective approach. The research population was all female lecturers and students of the Bengkulu Ministry of Health Poltekkes, totaling 2696 people. The sample in this study was 155 people who were taken by purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed using chi square test. The results showed that 125 people (80.6%) had a positive history of COVID-19 and most people (54.2%) experienced changes in menstrual patterns. A total of 40 people (25.8%) experienced re-infection with COVID-19. Based on the results of the bivariate analysis using the chi square test, the p value = 0.000 (p-value < 0.05), it means that there is a significant effect for a positive history reinfection with changes in menstrual patterns at the Health Polytechnic of the Ministry of Health Bengkulu.
 

Peran Literasi Keuangan, Perbedaan Gender dan Inklusi Keuangan terhadap Kapabilitas Pemasaran UMKM

MSMEs as an economic sector which very vulnerable to financial problems and are dominated by home industries that are attributable to gender stereotypes in their management. Consequently, the dynamics of its management become quite complex in enhancing their marketing capabilities. The purpose of this study to investigate the impact of financial literacy, gender differences, and financial inclusion on leveraging the marketing capabilities of MSMEs. Collecting data using a survey questionnaire on 168 MSMEs in Gorontalo City with a merge of accidental and snowball sampling techniques. Data analysis using binary logistic regression. The results reveal that the existence of financial knowledge has a significant impact on the creation of financial inclusion in micro, small and medium enterprises. Furthermore, there are different patterns for women and men in obtaining access to credit. The role of gender differences in men who are more likely to access inclusive financial services than women. On the other hand, the creation of financial inclusion further enhances the marketing capabilities of MSMEs.

Ghrelin-Reactive Autoantibodies as Potential Modulators of Dysfunctional Eating Patterns in Women: An Exploratory Study.

Dysfunctional eating patterns include alterations in experiencing and expressing hunger, appetite, and satiety, which may lead to eating disorders or obesity in the long term. Alterations in hormones such as ghrelin have been suggested to influence emotional eating in women with obesity. Ghrelin-reactive autoantibodies (autoAbs) are present both in healthy individuals and those with eating disorders and have been suggested to protect the hormone from degradation and preserve its functional activity. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between IgG ghrelin-reactive autoAbs with dysfunctional eating patterns, subjective perception of stress, and body composition parameters in young women. This cross-sectional study included 82 women (age 21±2 years) classified according to body fat percentage. Dysfunctional eating patterns were measured with the Spanish version of the Three-factor Eating Questionnaire-R18, and perceived stress was measured with the Spanish version of the Perceived Stress Scale-10. A validated in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to measure IgG ghrelin-reactive autoAbs in its free, total, and immune complex fractions. Free IgG ghrelin-reactive autoAbs were positively correlated with weight, BMI, body fat percentage, waist, and hip circumference in women with very high body fat percentage. In this group, a negative correlation was observed between ghrelin immune complexes and uncontrolled eating. This exploratory research shows that IgG ghrelin-reactive autoAbs have a potential role in altered body composition parameters and appetite expression, such as uncontrolled eating in women with very high body fat. Further studies are required to clarify the role of IgG autoAbs in eating behavior.

Sober Curiosity: A Qualitative Study Exploring Women's Preparedness to Reduce Alcohol by Social Class.

Urgent action is required to identify socially acceptable alcohol reduction options for heavy-drinking midlife Australian women. This study represents innovation in public health research to explore how current trends in popular wellness culture toward 'sober curiosity' (i.e., an interest in what reducing alcohol consumption would or could be like) and normalising non-drinking could increase women's preparedness to reduce alcohol consumption. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with 27 midlife Australian women (aged 45-64) living in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney in different social class groups (working, middle and affluent-class) to explore their perceptions of sober curiosity. Women were unequally distributed across social-classes and accordingly the social-class analysis considered proportionally the volume of data at particular codes. Regardless, social-class patterns in women's preparedness to reduce alcohol consumption were generated through data analysis. Affluent women's preparedness to reduce alcohol consumption stemmed from a desire for self-regulation and to retain control; middle-class women's preparedness to reduce alcohol was part of performing civility and respectability and working-class women's preparedness to reduce alcohol was highly challenging. Options are provided for alcohol reduction targeting the social contexts of consumption (the things that lead midlife women to feel prepared to reduce drinking) according to levels of disadvantage. Our findings reinstate the importance of recognising social class in public health disease prevention; validating that socially determined factors which shape daily living also shape health outcomes and this results in inequities for women in the lowest class positions to reduce alcohol and related risks.

Family formation trends and patterns of women's work trajectories in South Korea: determinants and cohort differences

ABSTRACT We use sequence analysis on data from the Korean Labor & Income Panel Study (1998–2019) to investigate trajectories of women’s labour market participation in the eight years after first childbirth. We pay special attention to the type of employment through which mothers participate in the labour market, distinguishing between regular full-time employment, non-regular employment, self-employment, and non-employment. After creating employment sequences, we use cluster analysis to reveal patterns of employment trajectories and average marginal effects derived from multinomial logistic regression to identify women’s characteristics on the distinct trajectories. We find that women of younger cohorts are less likely to solely focus on family and childcare in the years after childbirth. However, their chances of steady work in regular jobs did not increase. Instead, they are more likely to be on unsteady pathways, combining childcare with regular or non-regular jobs. Our results suggest that increases in females’ employment might be partly attributed to mothers’ higher probability to obtain precarious non-regular work.

The effects of hormonal contraceptive use on sleep in women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Hormonal contraceptives are some of the most widely used medications worldwide, but studies on their effects on sleep are contradictory, with some reporting a sleep-promoting effect, while others a sleep-inhibiting effect. Our objective was, therefore, to undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature on this subject to try to clarify their effects. A search was conducted in three databases (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science). Only studies evaluating hormonal contraception use were considered eligible, and both objective and subjective sleep-related outcomes were considered. Individual effect size was calculated for each article, and meta-analyses were performed using a DerSimonian and Laird random effects method. The initial search identified 2076 articles, of which 13 met the criteria for the study after full text evaluation. A total of 33 meta-analyses were performed, three of them related to subjective measures and 30 considering data from polysomnography. The only statistically significant result between contraceptive users and non-contraceptive users was observed in respect of wake after sleep onset, which was 7min shorter among contraceptive users (-7.12 [-12.80; -1.44]; I2 = 65%; p=0.01). In conclusion, hormonal contraceptives are not associated with clinically relevant changes in sleep patterns in women.

Cardiac vagal activity is associated with gut-microbiome patterns in women-An exploratory pilot study.

IntroductionA functional reciprocity between the gut microbiome and vagal nerve activity has been suggested, however, human studies addressing this phenomenon are limited.MethodsTwenty-four-hour cardiac vagal activity (CVA) was assessed from 73 female participants (aged 24.5 ± 4.3 years). Additionally, stool samples were subjected to 16SrRNA gene analysis (V1–V2). Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) was used to analyse microbiome data. Additionally, inflammatory parameters (such as CRP and IL-6) were derived from serum samples.ResultsDaytime CVA correlated significantly with gut microbiota diversity (rsp = 0.254, p = 0.030), CRP (rsp = −0.348, p = 0.003), and IL-6 (rsp = −0.320, p = 0.006). When the group was divided at the median of 24 h CVA (Mdn = 1.322), the following features were more abundant in the high CVA group: Clostridia (Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LDA) = 4.195, p = 0.029), Clostridiales (LDA = 4.195, p = 0.029), Lachnospira (LDA = 3.489, p = 0.004), Ruminococcaceae (LDA = 4.073, p = 0.010), Faecalibacterium (LDA = 3.982, p = 0.042), Lactobacillales (LDA = 3.317, p = 0.029), Bacilli (LDA = 3.294, p = 0.0350), Streptococcaceae (LDA = 3.353, p = 0.006), Streptococcus (LDA = 3.332, p = 0.011). Based on Dirichlet multinomial mixtures two enterotypes could be detected, which differed significantly in CVA, age, BMI, CRP, IL-6, and diversity.ConclusionsAs an indicator of gut-brain communication, gut microbiome analysis could be extended by measurements of CVA to enhance our understanding of signalling via microbiota-gut-brain-axis and its alterations through psychobiotics.

Dietary pattern as a predictor of multimorbidity patterns: A population-based cross-sectional study with women.

Multimorbidity is a common health condition, and the relationship between different patterns of multimorbidity and food consumption through dietary patterns needs to be determined. This study aimed to investigate the association between dietary patterns and multimorbidity patterns in women. This population-based cross-sectional study included 1128 women (aged 20-69 years) living in southern Brazil. We identified multimorbidity patterns using principal component analysis, and the main exposure of the study was three dietary patterns, as derived in a previous study: healthy, risk, and Brazilian patterns. Using Poisson regression with robust variance, the scores of multimorbidity patterns (high/low) were evaluated using different adjustment models. Three patterns of multimorbidity were derived: cardiometabolic (dyslipidemia, circulatory disorders, hypertension, diabetes), endocrine-articular (thyroid diseases, osteoporosis/osteopenia, rheumatic diseases), and psychosomatic (chronic pain, common mental disorders, acid-related digestive disorders). In the relationship between the dietary patterns and multimorbidity patterns, after adjustment, it was observed that a greater adherence to the Brazilian dietary pattern was associated with a lower probability of a high score for the cardiometabolic pattern (PR=0.68; 95% CI: 0.51-0.89) and psychosomatic pattern (PR=0.63; 95% CI: 0.47-0.84). Greater adherence to the healthy dietary pattern was associated with a higher probability of a high score for the cardiometabolic pattern (PR=1.69; 95% CI: 1.27-2.25) and endocrine-articular pattern (PR=2.05; 95% CI: 1.39-3.02). The risk dietary pattern did not demonstrate an association after adjustment was implemented. This study provides the first evidence of an association between dietary patterns and multimorbidity patterns. Greater adherence to the Brazilian dietary pattern was a protective factor for a high score for the cardiometabolic and psychosomatic pattern in women. Dietary orientation should be considered in guidelines related to multimorbidity, constituting part of the prevention and management strategies for this condition.

Effect of probiotics combined with metformin on improvement of menstrual and metabolic patterns in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized clinical trial

Objectives: The aim of this study was to access the efficacy of probiotics combined with metformin on improvement of menstrual and metabolic patterns in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: In this single-centre, controlled, randomized clinical trial (NCT03336840), 60 non-obese women with PCOS were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive probiotics (4 g daily), metformin (1.5 g daily) or their combination for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the improvement of menstrual patterns. The secondary outcomes included changes in anthropometric, metabolic profiles and hormonal levels. Results: After 12-week treatment, the recovery rate of menstrual cycle was 40% in probiotics group, 55% in metformin group and 80% in combination group (p = 0.035). Meanwhile, the ovulation rate was 30% in probiotics group, 55% in metformin group and 75% in combination group (p = 0.017). Serum anti-Müllerian hormone, testosterone, free androgen index, BMI, fasting blood glucose, HOMA-IR, lipid profiles were decreased after probiotics or metformin treatment in non-obese women with PCOS. Conclusion: In the present trial, probiotics combined with metformin was superior to probiotics or metformin alone to improve menstrual patterns in women with PCOS. Metabolic and hormonal profiles were also improved after probiotics or metformin treatment.

Grotesque Touch: Women, Violence, and Contemporary Circum-Caribbean Narratives by Amy K. King

Reviewed by: Grotesque Touch: Women, Violence, and Contemporary Circum-Caribbean Narratives by Amy K. King Tanya L. Shields GROTESQUE TOUCH: WOMEN, VIOLENCE, AND CONTEMPORARY CIRCUM-CARIBBEAN NARRATIVES, by Amy K. King. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2021. 248 pp. $95.00 hardback; $32.95 paperback; $25.99 ebook. Amy K. King's Grotesque Touch: Women, Violence, and Contemporary Circum-Caribbean Narratives is a deeply researched, historically contextualized, and effectively argued work that takes seriously women's violence in a range of texts—fictional, visual, and audiovisual. King's interdisciplinary effort extends the work of several scholars to provide a rich, intersectional analysis of creative texts from the Caribbean and the United States that span the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. For her, the grotesque "focus[es] on bodily performances of violence and how these performances mirror a corrupt sense of self formation in the legacies of slavery" (p. 12). In using the grotesque as a mode, King hopes "to uncover what was frequently present, yet somehow ignored . . . what we frequently take for granted in terms of identity and representation" (p. 12). She contends that the grotesque is made legible primarily through touch, and she interrogates how the absence and presence of physical touch creates and undermines the forced intimacies that are entrenched in plantation logics. This strategy allows King to study issues of power, violence, and complicity among women. By exploring the legacies of plantation slavery in this way, King scrutinizes active participation and investment in the patriarchal order, [End Page 369] particularly by white women who use a system of grotesque violence in reality and fiction. Additionally, she indicates how the uncritical repetition of such grotesque violence impacts contemporary perceptions particularly as it relates to the limitations of interracial "sisterhood." King's work uses a variety of tropes that I could not always keep track of, including jealousy, social prestige, rivalries that threaten social stability, and talking back to probe what patterns of women's violence reveal in wide-ranging and fruitful contexts in work by United States and Caribbean cultural creators. Each chapter explores multiple historical periods, genres, and geographies to interrogate these patterns of complicity. For instance, using the trope of jealousy, she discusses the iconography of plantation logics and desires in nineteenth century woodcuts and book covers of plantation pulp fiction. Chapter two analyzes how scripts of sadism are rendered by enslaved and enslaver alike in texts as diverse as Gayl Jones's poem "The Machete Woman" (1983), Madison Smartt Bell's All Souls' Rising (1995), and the Dutch film Hoe Duur Was de Suiker (2013; The Price of Sugar) by Jean Van de Velde. In chapter five, King uses the horror genre to interrogate rivalries that threaten social stability using Barbara Creed's conception of "the monstrous-feminine" (p. 143). King extends Creed's ideas to discuss how monstrous women destabilize society but are disciplined, reaffirming the social order (p. 143). To do this, she examines texts such as the anthology television show American Horror Story (2011) and the novels Unburnable (2006) by Marie-Elena John and Memory Mambo (1996) by Achy Obejas. One of the most interesting explorations is King's argument, in chapter three, about the continuum of sexual violence in the 2016 version of Roots, Valerie Martin's novel Property (2003), and several short stories from Ann Allen Shockley's The Black and White of It (1980) (p. 76). In this chapter, King considers coercion, desire, power, and the ways in which false notions of intimacy impact women's sexual experiences—particularly forced and violent ones. The chapter forecasts her analysis of sexual violence in lesbian relationships that appears in the chapter on horror, specifically her reading of Obejas's story. King's work may also have benefitted from engagment with recent novels, including John R. Gordon's Drapetomania: Or, the Narrative of Cyrus Tyler and Abednego Tyler, Lovers (2018), Robert Jones Jr.'s The Prophets (2021), and Nathan Harris's The Sweetness of Water (2021), and short stories like Kei Miller's "The Business of Tea" (2014), as they also explore same gender desire in plantation settings. Nonetheless, the aforementioned chapters confront these intimate and challenging topics to...

Physical Activity Patterns In Women With Breast Cancer

Physical Activity Patterns In Women With Breast Cancer

X-chromosomal inactivation patterns in women with Fabrydisease.

BackgroundAlthough Fabry disease (FD) is an X‐linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the α‐galactosidase A gene (GLA), women may develop severe symptoms. We investigated X‐chromosomal inactivation patterns (XCI) as a potential determinant of symptom severity in FD women.Patients and MethodsWe included 95 women with mutations in GLA (n = 18 with variants of unknown pathogenicity) and 50 related men, and collected mouth epithelial cells, venous blood, and skin fibroblasts for XCI analysis using the methylation status of the androgen receptor gene. The mutated X‐chromosome was identified by comparison of samples from relatives. Patients underwent genotype categorization and deep clinical phenotyping of symptom severity.Results43/95 (45%) women carried mutations categorized as classic. The XCI pattern was skewed (i.e., ≥75:25% distribution) in 6/87 (7%) mouth epithelial cell samples, 31/88 (35%) blood samples, and 9/27 (33%) skin fibroblast samples. Clinical phenotype, α‐galactosidase A (GAL) activity, and lyso‐Gb3 levels did not show intergroup differences when stratified for X‐chromosomal skewing and activity status of the mutated X‐chromosome.ConclusionsX‐inactivation patterns alone do not reliably reflect the clinical phenotype of women with FD when investigated in biomaterial not directly affected by FD. However, while XCI patterns may vary between tissues, blood frequently shows skewing of XCI patterns.

Women's contraceptive profiles in Burundi: Knowledge, attitudes, and interactions with media and health services.

Reproductive health program managers seek information about existing and potential clients’ motivations, behaviors, and barriers to services. Using sequence and cluster analysis of contraceptive calendar data from the 2016–17 Burundi Demographic and Health Survey, we identified discrete clusters characterizing patterns in women’s contraceptive and pregnancy behaviors over the previous 5 years. This study pairs these clusters with data on factors typically targeted in social behavior change interventions: knowledge, attitudes, and women’s interactions with media and health services, to create composite profiles of women in these clusters. Of six clusters, three are characterized by contraceptive use and three are characterized by its absence. Media exposure and attitudes regarding sex preference, wife beating, and self-efficacy largely do not explain cluster membership. Contraceptive knowledge is positively associated with two clusters (Family Builder 1 and Traditional Mother) and negatively associated with a third (Quiet Calendar). Clusters also differ in their members’ fertility desires, contraceptive intentions, and interactions with health services. Two “Family Builder” clusters are both characterized by the presence (but not timing) of multiple pregnancies in their calendar histories, but differ in that women with high contraceptive knowledge, intentions to use contraception, and well-articulated family size ideals are characteristic of one cluster (Family Builder 1), and low contraceptive knowledge, no use of contraception, and vague family size preferences are characteristic of the other (Family Builder 2). These results can guide reproductive health programs as they target social and behavioral change and other interventions to the unique subpopulations they seek to serve.

Women's Orgasms Determined by Autodetection of Pelvic Floor Muscle Contractions Using the Lioness “Smart” Vibrator

ABSTRACT Introduction Bluetooth biofeedback devices have become popular for the detection of physiological responses by individuals. In the past, pelvic floor contractions during sexual self-stimulation in women have been detected using electrodes placed on the surface of the skin. The Lioness biofeedback unit is a new “smart vibrator” self-stimulation device that detects the force of pelvic floor contractions in two sensors at either side of the instrument that collect continuous pressure (in grams force), temperature, accelerometer, and gyroscope measurements at a sampling rate of 12 Hz. It connects by Bluetooth to a secure internet server from which women can download their pelvic floor output during periods of self-stimulation. Objective To validate the ability of the Lioness vibrator to detect the orgasm patterns of individual women reliably relative to a control condition (Lioness inside the vagina but without self-stimulation). Methods A sample of 54 women who use the Lioness Vibrator 2.0 were obtained after informed consent for their participation in the Lioness Sex Research Platform. Women were asked to provide outputs from one control condition and several orgasm conditions. For the orgasm conditions, women were instructed to self-stimulate to one orgasm and then turn the unit off 2 min after orgasm was attained. This allowed a blind rater to determine when orgasms occurred in the outputs and to observe the type of changes in pelvic floor contractions that preceded and followed each orgasm. Results Each woman had a predominant pattern of pelvic floor contractions at orgasm that followed generally one of three patterns or types: A “wave” (a short burst of pelvic contractions that were preceded by an entraining rhythm of pelvic floor tension and release), a “volcano” (orgasm preceded by increasing upward pelvic floor tensions), and an “avalanche” (higher pelvic floor basal contractions maintained throughout self-stimulation, but a downward contraction profile during and after orgasm). In many cases, women's subjective perception of orgasm termination occurred after the cessation of pelvic floor contractions, although prior to smaller contractions (aftershocks) that occurred as the pelvic floor muscles returned to a basal state. These patterns of orgasm are consistent with early reports by Masters and Johnson of three distinct orgasm patterns in women. Conclusions The Lioness allows researchers a new opportunity to examine orgasm patterns in women within more ecologically valid environments that are conducive to sexual responding (e.g., one's home). The device has good test-retest reliability and should be able to detect differences in orgasm patterns in response to treatments for sexual arousal, desire, and orgasm disorders. Disclosure Yes, this is sponsored by industry/sponsor: SmartBod Incorporated DBA Lioness, Oakland CA Clarification Industry funding only - investigator initiated and executed study Any of the authors act as a consultant, employee or shareholder of an industry for: SmartBod Incorporated DBA Lioness

The effects of hormonal contraceptive use on sleep patterns in women of reproductive age

PurposeHormonal contraceptives alter hormone levels in women and have been linked to alterations in sleep patterns; however, previous studies yielded inconsistent results and lacked generalizability. This study examines hormonal contraceptive use and its impact on sleep outcomes, including sleep duration and sleep disturbances. MethodsWomen self-reported their sleep patterns and use of contraceptives in the 2017 population-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey (n=1,970). Participants were categorized by use of hormonal or non-hormonal contraceptives for the purpose of pregnancy prevention. Sleep duration was defined as having met the recommended sleep levels of 7-9 hours per 24 hours. Sleep disturbances were defined as trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much ≥ 6 days within a 14-day period. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to examine the association between contraceptive use and each sleep outcome. SAS-callable SUDAAN was used for analyses to account for the complex sampling design. ResultsWomen who used hormonal contraceptives had 6% higher prevalence of sleep disturbances (PR: 1.06, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.14) and 17% lower prevalence of not meeting sleep duration recommendations (PR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.71, 0.98) compared to those who used non-hormonal contraceptives after adjustment for age. ConclusionThese findings suggest the use of hormonal contraceptives may have negative impacts on sleep disturbances, and positive effects on sleep duration among women using contraceptives for preventing pregnancy. Future studies should be conducted in diverse populations utilizing objective measurements of sleep patterns.

Dietary Patterns of 479 Indonesian Adults and Their Associations with Sodium and Potassium Intakes Estimated by Two 24-h Urine Collections.

The excess sodium (Na) intake and insufficient potassium (K) intake are frequently observed all over the world, including Indonesia. This study explored the dietary patterns of Indonesian people and evaluated their associations with Na and K intakes. Na and K intakes were assessed by repeated 24-h urine collection. The dietary patterns of the previous month were extracted by factor analysis using the Indonesian Food Frequency Questionnaire. The participants were community-dwelling Indonesian men and women (n = 479) aged 20 years and over. We identified four dietary patterns in each sex. After controlling for confounding factors, the high quantile of ‘Noodle, oil, and salty sea products’ pattern was associated with the high Na intake in both men and women (p = 0.02 and <0.001, respectively). The ‘Meat, vegetable, oil, and fruit’ pattern statistically significantly contributed to the high K intake in men (p = 0.04), but not in women (p = 0.26). The ‘Vegetable, non-oil, and milk’ pattern in men and ‘Meat, vegetable, and fruit’ pattern in women were associated with low Na:K ratios (p = 0.03 and 0.01, respectively). Neither ‘bread’ nor ‘fish’ appeared as a major determinant of any dietary patterns in this population. The ‘Noodle, oil, and salty sea products’ pattern should be avoided to reduce sodium intake.

Gender and mobility: enhancing the Egyptian working women’s travel pattern

PurposeWomen's travel pattern is different from those of men. Women who have both paid employment and unpaid care work have more complex travel patterns. However, land-use policies and urban mobility strategies in the Egyptian context do not consider these differences. This paper analyzes and discusses the travel patterns of the Egyptian working women with children. It examines the difference between men's and women's travel behavior in different income levels. The paper aims at determining the main factors that affect working women's travel patterns within the care economy framework and suggesting recommendations for enhancing women's travel patterns in Greater Cairo Region (GCR).Design/methodology/approachThe methodology relies on conducting a quantitative and qualitative analysis using questionnaires and interviews with working women and men from different social/economic levels in two different workplaces in GCR.FindingsThe results demonstrate that income level, workplace locations, schools locations, and schools typologies greatly affect working women's travel patterns in GCR.Originality/valueThe study findings will help urban planners and decision-makers to improve working women's mobility to make their daily trips shorter and more accessible to achieve equitable cities through understanding the conducted affecting factors and considering the suggested recommendations.

Precarious employment Measurement in Central America: psychometric properties based on the II Central American Survey of Working Conditions and Health

Identify the psychometric properties of a measure of Employment Precariousness (EP) in six Central American Spanish-speaking countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) through the items of the EPRES scale (Employment Precariousness Scale) included in the II Central American Survey of Working Conditions and Health (II ECCTS) of 2018. The sample was 3,782 salaried persons, aged 18 and older, formal and informal, who participated in the II ECCTS. An EP measure of 10 items was constructed, grouped in the dimensions of temporality, salary, labor rights, and exercise of these rights. The sample was composed mostly of men, with a permanent contract, with a working age of between 2 to 5 years, a salary between $301 and $500s, who have labor rights and who exercise them. The factorial structure could not be verified. However, nine of the ten articles showed a high factorial load with their dimensions. A high acceptability of the EP measure was observed, and the Cronbach's Alpha coefficients of the dimensions were between 0.59 and 0.72, except for temporality (0.30). The reliability of the total scale was 0.68 and the EP patterns in women, youth, temporary and lower income countries were as expected. The EP measure constructed from the items available from the EPRES scale in the II ECCTS questionnaire shows acceptable psychometric properties to approximate the epidemiological quantification of job insecurity in Central America.

Attentional processing of body images in women with overweight and obesity

PurposeDespite the claim to integrate body image interventions in obesity treatment, little is known about the mechanisms involved in maintaining body dissatisfaction in persons with overweight and obesity. Therefore, the present study sought to investigate attentional processing of body stimuli in women with overweight and obesity (OW).MethodsWomen with OW (n = 82) and normal weight controls (NW; n = 44) conducted two eye-tracking paradigms. In the first paradigm, fixation duration on the subjectively most beautiful and ugliest body part of one’s own and a weight-matched control body were analyzed. In the second paradigm, picture pairs including the own and a control body or object were presented and initial fixation orientation was measured. Automatic and intentional processing of the body pictures was manipulated by either indicating on which side which stimuli would appear or not.ResultsWomen with OW displayed a bias towards the ugliest as opposed to the most beautiful body part, whereas women with NW showed a balanced viewing pattern. Furthermore, both groups showed a preference for bodies relative to the object. However, only women with OW preferred their own relative to the control body during intentional processing.ConclusionTaken together, results point towards a self-focused and deficit-oriented gaze pattern in women with overweight and obesity. Targeting these processes might help to improve obesity treatment outcomes.Level of evidenceLevel I, experimental study.

Evaluation of Preconception Dietary Patterns in Women Enrolled in a Multisite Study

Diet indices are widely used in nutritional research across communities but do not "capture" the full extent of diet variability across multiple countries. Empirically derived dietary patterns can provide additional information because they reflect combinations of foods potentially associated with health outcomes. Limited studies have evaluated preconception dietary patterns in heterogeneous populations. In the multisite Nutritional Intervention Preconception and During Pregnancy to Maintain Healthy Glucose Metabolism and Offspring Health (NiPPeR) study, the secondary aims included: 1) derive pooled and site-specific preconception dietary patterns, and 2) evaluate these patterns using anthropometric measures and metabolic biomarkers. Women planning pregnancy (n=1720) in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and New Zealand completed interviewer-administered harmonized FFQs and lifestyle questionnaires at recruitment. Across-cohort ("pooled") and site-specific dietary patterns were derived, and associations between dietary pattern scores and BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, plasma lipids, and glycemia assessed using multivariable linear regression, expressing results as SD change in outcome per SD change in dietary pattern score. The pooled analysis identified 3 dietary patterns: "Vegetables/Fruits/Nuts" ("Healthy"), "Fried potatoes/Processed meat/Sweetened beverages" ("Less Healthy"), and "Fish/Poultry/Noodles/Rice" ("Mixed"). The "Healthy" and "Less Healthy" pooled pattern scores were highly correlated with their corresponding site-specific dietary pattern scores ("Healthy": ρ = 0.87-0.93; "Less Healthy": ρ = 0.65-0.88). Women with higher scores for the "Healthy" pooled pattern had a lower waist-to-hip ratio (standardized β: -0.10; 95% CI: -0.18, -0.01); those with higher scores for the "Less Healthy" pooled pattern had a higher BMI (standardized β: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.24), higher LDL cholesterol (standardized β: 0.10; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.19), and less optimal glucose profiles. However, we noted higher adherence to the "Healthy" pooled pattern with higher BMI. The "Healthy" and "Less Healthy" pooled patterns were comparable to the corresponding site-specific patterns. Although the associations between these patterns and objective anthropometric/metabolic measures were largely in the expected directions, future studies are required to confirm these findings.This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02509988).