Alcohol, tobacco and breast cancer--collaborative reanalysis of individual data from 53 epidemiological studies, including 58,515 women with breast cancer and 95,067 women without the disease.

Alcohol and tobacco consumption are closely correlated and published results on their association with breast cancer have not always allowed adequately for confounding between these exposures. Over 80% of the relevant information worldwide on alcohol and tobacco consumption and breast cancer were collated, checked and analysed centrally. Analyses included 58,515 women with invasive breast cancer and 95,067 controls from 53 studies.

Timing of postpartum tubal sterilization using the Filshie clips: an analysis of data from two developing-country centers.

Two-hundred-ninety-seven women at a Panamanian center and 148 women at a Philippine center had their tubal sterilization performed during their postpartum hospital stay after an uncomplicated vaginal delivery of a live birth. The sterilizations were all performed with the use of the Filshie clip via minilaparotomy. The timing of the sterilization varied from two hours to six days after delivery.

The reliability of menses to indicate the return of ovulation in breastfeeding women in Manila, The Philippines.

Demographic studies generally use menses to indicate the return of fertility during breastfeeding. In a prospective study of 40 breastfeeding women in Manila, the resumption of ovarian activity was monitored by urinary hormone assays, and menstrual status was determined by weekly interview. For the women who menstruated before six months postpartum, first menses was not a good indicator of ovulation because there was a high proportion of anovular menses (67 percent), and the lag between anovular first menses and subsequent ovulation was 15.

Risk of ovulation during lactation.

60 breastfeeding mothers in Baltimore and 41 in Manila recorded their infant feeding patterns daily, and gave additional information at weekly interviews. Ovarian activity was monitored by assays for hormone metabolites in daily urine samples. On average, women in Baltimore breastfed less often but for longer at each feed than women in Manila, and the mean times until ovulation were 27 and 38 weeks post partum.

A 3-year evaluation of the TCu380Ag and the Cu-7.

The TCu380Ag and the Cu-7 intrauterine devices (IUDs) were evaluated in a randomized comparative clinical trial. A total of 198 women who had not recently been pregnant entered the trial in Manila, Philippines and were followed-up through 3 years postinsertion. The 36-month follow-up rates were impressively high at 80.