{"title":"Efficacy and acceptability of a self-collected medical grade tampon as a novel vaginal sample collection tool for the detection of HPV and STIs.","authors":"Valentina Milanova, Iva Lazarova, Kalina Mihaylova, Michelle Gomes, Teodora Georgieva, Jan Multmeier","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03652-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03652-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Cervical cancer remains a significant health concern, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aims to compare the efficacy and suitability of a self-collected tampon for the detection of human papillomavirus (HPV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) using qualitative TMA-based assays (Transcription Mediated Amplification; APTIMA® HPV, APTIMA® Combo 2 (CT/NG; AC2 from now on) and APTIMA®Bacterial Vaginosis (BV from now on). Additionally, we assess the acceptability of tampons as a self-collection tool.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cohort of 75 female participants aged 18-54 years was recruited through female-focused social networks. Participants provided informed consent and underwent both Health Care Workers (HCW-collected) and self-collected sample collection using the Daye Diagnostic Tampon. Samples were stored in ThinPrep Vials (TP Vial) or Aptima® Multitest Swab Collection Kit (APTIMA®) solutions. HPV and STI testing were performed using TMA-based assay on the fully automated Panther® Platform. Acceptability was assessed through a questionnaire with Likert-scale responses.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The study involved 60 participants who completed the study (80% of recruited participants). The self-collected tampons showed sensitivity and specificity of 66.67% and 90.74% (when rinsed in TP Vial) and 83.33% and 85.42% (when rinsed in APTIMA®) for HPV detection, respectively. For bacterial vaginosis (BV) detection, the tampons exhibited sensitivity and specificity of 100.0% and 96.43% (TP Vial) and 88.89% and 98.04% (APTIMA), respectively. For detection of chlamydia and gonorrhoea (AC2), the sensitivity and specificity were 100.00% and 100.0% (TP Vial) and 100.00% and 98.31% (APTIMA), respectively. Participants expressed a preference for tampon self-collection over HCW-collected swabs (90%).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Self-collected tampons demonstrated promising diagnostic accuracy to HCW-collected swabs for HPV and STI detection. The tampon self-collection method was well-accepted and preferred by participants, suggesting its potential as an alternative screening tool, particularly in low-resource settings. Further research with larger and more diverse populations is recommended to validate these findings and inform tampon-based self-collection programs for cervical cancer screening. Randomised controlled trials and comparisons with gold standard methods would enhance validation.</p>","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"141"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11938752/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143708590","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Expression of inflammatory states in response to psychological distress in breast cancer survivors and its relationship to subjective memory function complaints.","authors":"Chen Gan, Senbang Yao, Jingjing Zhao, Huangyuxin Shi, Jian Xu, Mingjun Zhang, Huaidong Cheng","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03674-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03674-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Breast cancer (BC) survivors frequently endure psychological distress following chemotherapy, with subjective memory decline being a prevalent aspect of chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment (CRCI). This study aimed to assess the influence of psychological distress on subjective memory decline in BC survivors with CRCI and investigate potential underlying mechanisms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 104 BC survivors who had completed chemotherapy were categorized based on the distress thermometer (DT) score into a no-psychological distress group (NPD group, n = 51) and a psychological distress group (PD group, n = 53). The groups were compared using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Prospective and Retrospective Memory (PM and RM) Questionnaire (PRMQ), cytokine levels (of interleukin-1β [IL-1β], tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α], and IL-4), and inflammatory markers (neutrophil-to- lymphocyte ratio [NLR], platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio [PLR], monocyte count-to-lymphocyte ratio [MLR], granulocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio [GLR], and systemic immune-inflammation index [SII]). Mediation analysis was performed to explore whether cytokine and inflammatory marker levels mediate the effect of psychological distress on subjective memory function complaints.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The NPD group performed significantly better in the PD group both RM (z = -3.370, p = 0.001) and PM (z = -1.967, p = 0.049). The IL-1β levels were substantially higher in the PD group than in the NPD group (z = -2.920, p = 0.004). Similarly, NLR (z = -2.585, p = 0.010), GLR (z = -2.858, p = 0.004), and SII (z = -2.747, p = 0.006) were higher in the PD group. Mediation analysis revealed that IL-1β partially mediated the relationship between DT and RM (β = 0.019, p = 0.007), while SII fully mediated the relationship between DT and PM (β = 0.003, p = 0.017).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>BC survivors experiencing psychological distress exhibited worse subjective memory and elevated levels of IL-1β, NLR, GLR, and SII. These findings suggest that inflammation may be a cause of subjective memory function complaints in BC survivors with psychological distress.</p>","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"140"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11934799/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143708591","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Comparison of factors associated with the occurrence of menstruation-related symptoms in Japanese women without exercise habits and female soccer players: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Risa Mitsuhashi, Ryoko Mizushima, Hiroaki Natsui, Shuichi Machida, Yoshio Nakata","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03655-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03655-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The aims of this study were to identify factors associated with menstruation-related symptoms and compare them between female soccer players and women without exercise habits.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study was conducted between June and August 2022. Participants were healthy Japanese women aged 18-29 years, divided into two groups for comparison by exercise habits: women without exercise habits and female college soccer players. Participants responded to a self-administered questionnaire pertaining to their physical and menstrual characteristics, menstruation-related symptoms, and lifestyle habits. For menstruation-related symptoms, the Andersch and Milsom Scale was used to assess the severity of each of the 16 symptoms before and during menstruation. Lifestyle habits included stress, sleep, diet, and physical activity, which were assessed using Perceived Stress Scale, Japanese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Food Frequency Questionnaire, and International Physical Activity Questionnaire, respectively. Data were analyzed using the t-test and multiple logistic regression analysis. All analyses were performed with a statistical significance of 5%.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 428 women (192 without exercise habits; 236 soccer players) participated in the study, and 244 women (99 without exercise habits; 125 soccer players) were analyzed. For women without exercise habits, long menstrual days (OR = 5.627; 95% CI, 1.046-30.259) and high levels of stress (1.082; 1.011-1.157) were factors before menstruation, and stress (1.131; 1.045-1.225) was a factor during menstruation were significantly associated with severe menstruation-related symptoms. Contrastingly, for soccer players, high body mass index (BMI) (1.460; 1.080-1.973), late bedtime (0.288; 0.110-0.753) before menstruation, older age (1.662; 1.073-2.575), high BMI (1.468; 1.089-1.980), family history of menstruation-related symptoms (3.090; 1.179-8.098), late bedtime (0.358; 0.133-0.958), caffeine consumption ( 0.359; 0.139-0.930), and less frequent breakfast intake (0.807; 0.653-0.997) were significant factors. Additionally, the factors associated with the occurrence of menstruation-related symptoms differed according to the symptom type. The most frequently associated factor in women without exercise habits was stress (13 symptoms). In female soccer players, the most frequently associated factor was BMI (8 symptoms).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Women presented different factors for menstruation-related symptoms depending on the presence or absence of exercise habits in their routine.</p>","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"139"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11931817/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143699732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jone G Lurgain, Paula Peremiquel-Trillas, Hakima Ouaarab-Essadek, Khadija Mellouki, Andleed Sarif, Guy Harling
{"title":"Social influences on Moroccan and Pakistani immigrant women's access and use of cervical cancer screening in Catalonia, Spain: a social network analysis.","authors":"Jone G Lurgain, Paula Peremiquel-Trillas, Hakima Ouaarab-Essadek, Khadija Mellouki, Andleed Sarif, Guy Harling","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03657-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03657-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Participation in cervical cancer (CC) screening programs is lower among immigrants compared to native women in many Western countries, in substantial due to lower knowledge and culturally influenced attitudes regarding self-care and prevention. Education and information programs alone have limited impact on individuals' attitudes and behaviours, but may be bolstered by social influence methods such as peer support.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this study, we combined self-reported quantitative structural social network data with qualitative narratives and graphs to describe the social context of 12 Moroccan and 10 Pakistani immigrant women living in Catalonia, Spain. We used a survey protocol and semi-structured interviews to explore how women's contacts influence their CC screening behaviours.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identified strong gender and ethnic homophily in these women's social networks. Despite maintaining frequent remote contact with their family ties, their immigrant peers were more influential in providing health information and advice. Furthermore, the women's husbands played two conflicting roles as health promoters and as a barrier to the use of health prevention services.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our findings highlight the need to incorporate tailored social influence approaches in the design of behaviour change interventions. In this case, the use of peer-based programs to increase CC screening uptake among these two immigrant communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"136"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11931830/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143691243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alphonce Bere, Innocent Maposa, Zvifadzo Matsena-Zingoni, Halima S Twabi, Jesca M Batidzirai, Geoffrey C Singini, Nobuhle Mchunu, Justine B Nasejje, Maureen Moyo-Chilufya, Oludoyinmola Ojifinni, Portia Nevhungoni, Alfred Musekiwa
{"title":"Modeling timing of sexual debut among women in Zimbabwe using a Geoadditive Discrete-Time survival approach.","authors":"Alphonce Bere, Innocent Maposa, Zvifadzo Matsena-Zingoni, Halima S Twabi, Jesca M Batidzirai, Geoffrey C Singini, Nobuhle Mchunu, Justine B Nasejje, Maureen Moyo-Chilufya, Oludoyinmola Ojifinni, Portia Nevhungoni, Alfred Musekiwa","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03590-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03590-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Early sexual debut has undesirable health consequences such as an increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, mental health problems, pregnancy-related complications and death including abortion-related deaths. Despite a global decline in adolescent birth rates, Zimbabwe continues to face a high prevalence of underage pregnancies, highlighting significant early sexual debut among Zimbabwean adolescents. This study examined the spatial variation and the demographic and socio-economic determinants of the timing of early sexual debut among Zimbabwean women.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data for 9,882 Zimbabwean women of reproductive age were drawn from the 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS). We defined early sexual debut as having first sexual intercourse before the 18 years of age. A fully Bayesian geoadditive discrete-time survival model was used. Adjustments for unequal sampling probabilities were done using the provided survey weights.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Our findings show that women with primary education (aOR = 0.62,95% Crl:0.47-0.81), secondary education (aOR = 0.25,95% Crl:0.19-0.33) and higher education (aOR = 0.06,95% Crl:0.04-0.09) had lower odds of early sexual debut than those with no education. In comparison to those with middle household wealth index, women with higher household wealth index (aOR = 0.83, 95% CrI: 0.71-0.98) had lower odds of early sexual initiation. On the other hand, women with lower household wealth index had higher likelihood of early sexual debut (aOR = 1.13, 95% CrI: 1.03-1.26) than those with middle household wealth index. The type of place of residence and birth year cohort did not have a significant association with the odds of early sexual debut. The hotspots of early sexual debut were in Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>To mitigate early sexual debut in Zimbabwe, targeted interventions are essential in Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South provinces as well as in the identified high-risk groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"137"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11931742/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143699738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhi-Ming Ouyang, Yao-Wei Zou, Ye Lu, Jie Pan, Tao Wu, Pei-Wen Jia, Hu-Wei Zheng, Yun Su, Le-Feng Chen, Jian-Zi Lin, Kui-Min Yang, Pei-Yu Lin, Jin-Yuan Han, Jian-Da Ma, Lie Dai
{"title":"Early menopause is associated with higher disease activity independent of inflammation in postmenopausal-onset rheumatoid arthritis.","authors":"Zhi-Ming Ouyang, Yao-Wei Zou, Ye Lu, Jie Pan, Tao Wu, Pei-Wen Jia, Hu-Wei Zheng, Yun Su, Le-Feng Chen, Jian-Zi Lin, Kui-Min Yang, Pei-Yu Lin, Jin-Yuan Han, Jian-Da Ma, Lie Dai","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03670-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03670-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Early menopause (EM, age ≤ 45 years) is associated with an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We aimed to investigate its impact on disease characteristics in RA patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This cross-sectional study included natural post-menopausal RA patients from an observational RA cohort recruited between January 2015 and October 2023. Demographic characteristics and clinical data were collected. Patients were divided into EM and usual menopause (UM, menopause age > 45 years) groups. Patients-reported outcomes (PROs, included patient global assessment of disease activity [PtGA], pain visual analogue scale [VAS] and Stanford health assessment questionnaire disability index [HAQ-DI]), and PROs-associated indicators (included 28-joint tender joint count [TJC28] and provider global assessment of disease activity [PrGA]) were assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 1427 female RA patients, 557 natural post-menopausal RA patients were enrolled. The peak menopause age was between 46 and 50 years, with RA incidence peaking 5 years post-menopause. Compared with UM patients, RA patients with natural EM (n = 98,17.6%) exhibited more serious disease, including worse PROs and PROs-associated indicators, as well as higher C-reactive protein (CRP, all P < 0.05). Among 344 (61.8%) patients with RA onset after menopause, EM patients (n = 62, 18.0%) were characterized with worse PROs and PROs-associated indicators than those with UM patients (all P < 0.05), but no difference in inflammatory makers. Multivariate linear regression showed that menopause age was independently and negatively associated with PROs, including PtGA (β = -0.872, 95% CI -1.619, -0.125), HAQ-DI (β = -0.646, 95% CI -1.059, -0.233) in RA patients especially in those onset after menopause (PtGA [β = -1.028, 95% CI -2.022, -0.034]; HAQ-DI [β = -0.916, 95% CI -1.461, -0.370]).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Early menopause impacts on PROs independent of inflammation in patients with RA especially in those with postmenopausal-onset RA, which imply the importance of differentiation of non-inflammatory disease activity.</p>","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"138"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11931845/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143699734","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Working ability, Location, Intensity, Days of Pain, Dysmenorrhea (WaLIDD): cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the Turkish version.","authors":"Halime Arikan, Erkan Erol","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03673-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03673-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Dysmenorrhea is a gynecological condition that causes painful menstrual cramps in the uterus, most commonly seen in women of reproductive age. The aim was to perform the reliability and validity of the Turkish Working Ability, Location, Intensity, Days of Pain, Dysmenorrhea (WaLIDD) score for evaluating individuals with dysmenorrhea. The evaluation of the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the WaLIDD tool in the Turkish population is essential to ensure its accuracy, consistency, and cultural relevance in assessing the impact of dysmenorrhea.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Cross-sectional, psychometric questionnaire research. 113 individuals with dysmenorrhea were included in the study. The reliability of the WaLIDD was evaluated using internal consistency and test-retest analyses, while its validity (both convergent and divergent) was assessed through correlation analysis. For correlation analysis WaLIDD, Premenstrual Syndrome Impact Questionnaire (PMS-IQ), Pain Disability Index (PDI), and Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10) were used.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The reliability analysis indicated that the questionnaire demonstrated an internal consistency value of 0.875 and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) value of 0.778. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that the WaLIDD had a very well correlation with the PMS-IQ (0.726) and well correlation with the PDI (0.413). WaLIDD had a negligible correlation with the BFI-10 (0.088). There were no floor or ceiling effects observed in the Turkish version of the WaLIDD.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>WaLIDD was found to be a well-structured, valid, and reliable instrument that can be used to evaluate women with dysmenorrhea. The Turkish version of WaLIDD can be used in Turkish women in clinical practices and research.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>This study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05829512).</p>","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"133"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11929168/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143691265","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The life experiences of Chinese women after late-life remarriage.","authors":"Qiong Li, Jianyuan Huang, Jiayun Liu, Pei Zhao","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03665-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03665-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although late-life remarriage is not a rare phenomenon, it remains a controversial topic in China. Late-life remarriage involves many challenges and crises, especially for elderly women, who are often in weaker positions in remarriage relationships and face more difficulties. Currently, research on the life experiences of Chinese women after late-life remarriage is still limited. The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the life experiences of Chinese women who remarried later in life and to explore and describe their feelings about these experiences.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A phenomenological qualitative research design involving in-depth semistructured interviews was selected. Data analysis was performed via Colaizzi's methodology.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sixteen women participated in this study. Four themes and 8 subthemes emerged: (1) companionship and support attainment (daily companionship and economic support), (2) nanny-like treatment (undertaking most household chores and care work alone, suspected and guarded in terms of money), (3) degradation of social ties (decreased interaction with the original family, reduced contact with friends), and (4) concerns about the future (treatment costs after illness, housing issues after their new husband's death).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our results reveal the complexity and vulnerability of the life experiences of Chinese women after late-life remarriage, which are the result of a combination of sociocultural and structural factors and reflect the pressure and injustice that women endure in a patriarchal society. Moreover, the study reveals the inadequacy of basic medical insurance and basic pension insurance systems. The results of this study will not only help society at large better understand the life experiences of Chinese women in stepfamilies after late-life remarriage but also help to provide numerous important recommendations for professionals who provide support to stepfamilies, as well as for policymakers.</p>","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"131"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11929301/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143691247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xinyuan Xie, Jinbin Song, Yue Wu, Mei Li, Wenfeng Guo, Shuang Li, Yanwu Li
{"title":"Correction: Study on gut microbiota and metabolomics in postmenopausal women.","authors":"Xinyuan Xie, Jinbin Song, Yue Wu, Mei Li, Wenfeng Guo, Shuang Li, Yanwu Li","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03676-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03676-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"135"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11929218/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143691264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhen-Dong Sun, Yan Zhang, Yu-Shen Yang, Chu-Yun Liu, Meng-Qin Pei, Wei-Dong Fu, He-Han He
{"title":"Construction and validation of a novel nomogram for prediction of lymph node metastasis in HER2-positive breast cancer: based on the optimal number of examined lymph nodes for accurate nodal staging.","authors":"Zhen-Dong Sun, Yan Zhang, Yu-Shen Yang, Chu-Yun Liu, Meng-Qin Pei, Wei-Dong Fu, He-Han He","doi":"10.1186/s12905-025-03663-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12905-025-03663-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study aimed to construct and validate a novel nomogram for prediction of lymph node metastasis in HER2-positive breast cancer based on the optimal number of examined lymph nodes (ELNs) for accurate nodal staging.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We included 4,040 patients diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer from the SEER database, randomly allocating them into training and validation cohorts in a 7:3 ratio. The optimal number of ELNs was identified via piecewise linear regression. The association of ELNs count with nodal migration was evaluated through Logistic Regression (LR) analysis and Random Forest (RF). The nomogram was constructed, and its' performance was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curves, calibration curve and Decision curve analysis curves.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The optimal number of ELNs was 13. LR and RF identified the optimal number of ELNs, radiotherapy status, chemotherapy status, T stage, and grade as independent predictive variables for node metastasis, which were used in the nomogram's construction. And the area under the curve values for the nomogram were 0.829 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.813-0.845) and 0.833 (95% CI:0.808-0.858) in the training and test split respectively, surpassing those of the optimal number of ELNs (0.649, 95% CI: 0.631-0.667 and 0.676, 95% CI:0.648-0.704). Calibration plots exhibited low Brier scores (0.150 for training split, 0.145 for test split).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study developed a novel nomogram that integrates the optimal number of ELNs with other independent risk factors, facilitating individualized prediction of lymph node metastasis in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":9204,"journal":{"name":"BMC Women's Health","volume":"25 1","pages":"132"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11929165/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143691261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}