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.

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.

Cover Series A Life Course Approach to Women’s Health Copyright Dedication Contents Contributors PART I Introduction 1 A Life Course Approach to Women’s Health PART II Reproductive health 2 A Life Course Approach to Women’s Reproductive Health 3 A Life Course Approach to Endometriosis 4 Menopause and Hysterectomy: A Life Course Perspective PART III Health, ageing, and disease 5 A Life Course Approach to Cardiovascular Disease 6 A Life Course Approach to Diabetes 7 A Life Course Approach to Musculoskeletal Ageing 8 A Life Course Approach to Lung Function Impairment and COPD 9 Depression and Psychological Distress 10 Cognition Function and Dementia: A Life Course Perspective 11 The Life Course Epidemiology of Breast Cancer 12 Gynaecological Cancers: A Life Course Perspective PART IV Biological and behavioural pathways 13 Integrative Omics for Women’s Health 14 Endocrine Pathways Across the Life Course 15 A Life Course Perspective on Women’s Health Behaviours 16 A Life Course Approach to Body Weight PART V Social issues impacting women’s health 17 Life Course Socioeconomic Trajectories and Health 18 Women’s Social Relationships and Links with Health and Well-​being over the Life Course 19 Structural Sexism Across the Life Course: How Social Inequality Shapes Women’s Later-​Life Health 20 The Influence of Gender-​Based Violence Across the Life Course PART VI From evidence to practice 21 A Life Course Approach to Women’s Health Care 22 Translating Women’s Health Research into Policy and Practice PART VII Conclusion 23 A Life Course Approach to Women’s Health: Linking the Past, Present, and Future Index 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.