A Life Course Approach to Women's Health (Life Course Approach to Adult Health, No. 1)

How far is the health of middle aged and older women shaped by biological, social, and psychological processes that begin in pre-natal development, in childhood, adolescence, or early adult life? Do health risks gradually accumulate over the life course or do mentioned factors as a child and young adult have interactive effects on health in midlife and beyond? Are women now reaching middle age in better health than previous generations? A group of international experts critically review the latest scientific evidence on biological and social factors at each stage of life that have long-term effects on reproductive outcomes, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal ageing, depression, body weights and body dissatisfaction. There is growing evidence that the sources of risk to physical and mental health occur across the course of life, not just in adult life, and in some instances reach right back to pre-natal development, or the previous generation. Contributors draw on their varied expertise in epidemiology, endocrinology, physiology, developmental psychology, sociology, and anthropology to identify the pathways that link early life experiences, reproductive events, adult lifestyle and lifetime socio-economic circumstances to later health. A Life Course Approach looks for connections between development and ageing, and between the childhood and adult social environment. It is scientifically interesting, conceptually and methodologically challenging, inherently interdisciplinary, and policy relevant. This thoughtful book will appeal to all with a professional or personnal interest in understanding the origins of women's health. A life course approach to women's health : does the past predict the present? / Diana Kuh and Rebecca Hardy A life course approach to women's reproductive health / Janet Rich-Edwards Commentary / Susan Morton Breast cancer aetiology : where do we go from here? / Isabel dos Santos Silva and Bianca L. De Stavola Commentary / Nancy Potischman Menopause and gynaecological disorders : a life course perspective / Rebecca Hardy and Diana Kuh Commentary / Sybil Crawford and Catherine Johannes A life course approach to coronary heart disease and stroke / Debbie A. Lawlor, Shah Ebrahim, and George Davey Smith Commentary / Catherine Law A life course approach to diabetes / Helen M. Colhoun and Nish Chaturvedi Commentary / Janet Rich-Edwards A life course approach to musculoskeletal ageing : muscle strength, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis / Joan Bassey, Avan Aihie Sayer, and Cyrus Cooper Commentary / Jane Cauley Depression and psychological distress : a life course perspective / Barbara Maughan Commentary / Bryan Rodgers Body image : a life course perspective / Lindsay McLaren and Jane Wardle Commentary / J. Kevin Thompson Endocrine pathways in differential well-being across the life course / Carol M. Worthman Commentary / Elizabeth Barrett-Connor Social and economic trajectories and women's health / Mel Bartley, Amanda Sacker, and Ingrid Schoon Commentary / Kate Hunt Life course influences on women's social relationships at midlife / Nadine F. Marks and Kristy Ashleman Commentary / Stephen Stansfeld and Rebecca Fuhrer A life course perspective on women's health behaviours / Mary Schooling and Diana Kuh Commentary / Hilary Graham Overweight and obesity from a life course perspective / Chris Power and Tessa Parsons Commentary / William H. Dietz Sexually transmitted infections and health through the life course / Ronald H. Gray, Maria J. Wawer, and David Serwadda Commentary / Andrew J. Hall Disease trends in women living in established market economies : evidence of cohort effects during the epidemiological transition / Diana Kuh, Isabel dos Santos Silva, and Elizabeth Barrett-Connor Commentary / David A. Leon The life course of Black women in South Africa in the 1990s : generation, age, and period in the decade of HIV and political liberation / Zena Stein, Quarraisha Abdool Karim, and Mervyn Susser Commentary / Yoav Ben-Shlomo and George Davey Smith A life course approach to women's health : linking the past, present, and future / Diana Kuh and Rebecca Hardy. Contents......Page 12 List of contributors......Page 15 Part I INTRODUCTION......Page 18 1 A life course approach to women’s health: does the past predict the present?......Page 20 Part II HEALTH, AGEING, AND DISEASE......Page 38 2 A life course approach to women’s reproductive health......Page 40 Commentary......Page 52 3 Breast cancer aetiology: where do we go from here?......Page 61 Commentary......Page 74 4 Menopause and gynaecological disorders: a life course perspective......Page 81 Commentary......Page 93 5 A life course approach to coronary heart disease and stroke......Page 103 Commentary......Page 125 6 A life course approach to diabetes......Page 138 Commentary......Page 151 7 A life course approach to musculoskeletal ageing: muscle strength, osteoporosis, and osteoarthritis......Page 158 Commentary......Page 171 8 Depression and psychological distress: a life course perspective......Page 178 Commentary......Page 188 9 Body image: a life course perspective......Page 194 Commentary......Page 205 Part III BIOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL PATHWAYS......Page 212 10 Endocrine pathways in differential well-being across the life course......Page 214 Commentary......Page 234 11 Social and economic trajectories and women’s health......Page 250 Commentary......Page 266 12 Life course influences on women’s social relationships at midlife......Page 272 Commentary......Page 286 13 A life course perspective on women’s health behaviours......Page 296 Commentary......Page 309 14 Overweight and obesity from a life course perspective......Page 321 Commentary......Page 336 15 Sexually transmitted infections and health through the life course......Page 346 Commentary......Page 356 Part IV EXPLAINING HEALTH AND DISEASE PATTERNS......Page 362 16 Disease trends in women living in established market economies: evidence of cohort effects during the epidemiological transition......Page 364 Commentary......Page 383 17 The life course of Black women in South Africa in the 1990s: generation, age, and period in the decade of HIV and political Liberation......Page 391 Commentary......Page 406 Part V CONCLUSIONS......Page 412 18 A life course approach to women’s health: linking the past, present, and future......Page 414 B......Page 430 D......Page 431 H......Page 432 M......Page 433 P......Page 434 T......Page 435 W......Page 436

This text for health care professionals and interested lay readers describes how the health of middle aged and older women is shaped by biological, social, and psychosocial processes operating throughout life. Seventeen contributions from international researchers and clinicians identify the factors at each stage of life that affect the likelihood of a woman developing conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, and osteoporosis. The editors are with Royal Free and University College London Medical School. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Donald R. Frey, MD(Creighton University Medical Center)
Description:This manual presents the numerous aspects of women's health from a life-course perspective. The work draws heavily from epidemiologic sources in detailing its approach to women's healthcare.
Purpose:The book is intended to present women's healthcare as a continuum of experiences throughout a woman's lifelong growth and development. Given the testing and monitoring bias that has existed in the past with respect to how disease entities affect women, this work presents comprehensive women's health information in a most welcome fashion.
Audience:The book is intended for all practitioners who care for women on an ongoing basis. Those readers with an interest in the epidemiology of disease will find the book particularly interesting. The editors are both members of the prestigious London School of Public Health.
Features:Women's health and disease, with an emphasis on lifelong prevention and risk factors, are underscored throughout the book. Genetic, cultural, family, and environmental factors are thoroughly discussed methods of intervention to improve outcomes are discussed. Charts, algorithms, and graphs are used extensively. Some readers not well versed in the language of epidemiology may find the book a bit difficult.
Assessment:This is a comprehensive review of how lifelong risk factors affect women's health in a host of positive and negative ways. Practitioners with a strong interest in epidemiology will find the book quite fascinating.

How far is the health of middle-aged and older women shaped by biological, social, and psychological processes that begin in pre-natal development, childhood, adolescence, or early adult life? In this book, a group of international experts critically review the latest scientific evidence.