Depressive symptoms, physical activity, and weight gain in premenopausal Latina and White women.

Objectives: Describe changes and examine the association between depressive symptoms, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), and perceived health among Latina (n=81) and White (n=151) women in the first year of the late-premenopausal stage.

Methods: Longitudinal study focused on the biopsychosocial health of midlife women (ages 40-50 years) with regular menstrual cycles and not taking hormones. Frequency of depressive symptoms, BMI, waist to hip ratios, and self-reported physical activity levels were obtained at 6-month intervals and perceived health at 12 months.

From sunrise to sunset: an ethnography of rural Ecuadorian women's perceived health needs and resources.

In this ethnographic study, we describe the perceived health needs and resources of women in two rural Ecuadorian communities. Nineteen women participated in semistructured interviews. Women worked 3 to 30 hours outside the home each week but described their financial resources as insufficient.

Depressive symptoms among women with an abnormal mammogram.

An abnormal mammography finding constitutes a stressful event that may increase vulnerability by developing or intensifying pre-existing psychological morbidity. We evaluated depressive symptoms using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview among women of four ethnic groups who had an abnormal mammography result controlling for the effect of demographic, psychosocial and medical factors on recent onset of depressive symptoms. Telephone surveys were conducted among women aged 40-80 years recruited from four clinical sites in the San Francisco Bay Area after receiving a screening mammography result that was classified as abnormal but probably benign, suspicious or highly suspicious, or indeterminate using standard criteria.

Physical activity beliefs, behaviors, and cardiovascular fitness of Mexican immigrant women.

This descriptive study examined physical activity beliefs, behaviors, and cardiovascular fitness of a convenience sample of 51 married Mexican immigrant women (MIW) with children in Northern California. Standardized tools/procedures were used to measure the variables of interest and to determine cardiovascular fitness levels. The majority (78%) was not involved in regular physical activity and had below average or poor cardiovascular fitness (76%).