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This study demonstrates that a sequential screening program that provides patients with first-trimester results and offers the option for early invasive testing or additional serum screening in the second trimester can detect 98% of trisomy 21-affected pregnancies. However, such an approach will result in 17% of patients being considered at risk and, hence, potentially having an invasive test.
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Abdominal fat increases with advancing age and has been linked to increased risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. While insufficient exercise and overeating certainly contribute to age-related acquisition of abdominal fat, hormonal and metabolic factors also have been implicated. Even thin individuals who exercise regularly display increased abdominal fat as they age.
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Should a woman who is obese and continues to gain weight on Depo-Provera [depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), Pfizer, New York City] be allowed to continue its use if she so desires? Are providers contributing to the health risk of obesity by allowing a woman to do so?
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What is the policy for providing emergency contraception (EC) at your facility? About 81% of respondents to the 2004 Contraceptive Technology Update Contraception Survey say their facilities prescribe EC on site and provide emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) at any time, which continues a trend of strong support for the method.
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Promising advances are being made on the microbicide front: U.S. funding appears imminent for microbicide research and development, a new corporate partnership has been struck with an international research group to step up testing of antiviral AIDS gels, and a number of potential candidates are moving through the research pipeline.
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Did the office telephone lines start buzzing when the media broadcasted reports of adverse events linked to use of the transdermal contraceptive Ortho Evra? Theres no doubt that clinicians have, since those reports, fielded many questions about the safety of the patch, which has been used by about 4 million women since its November 2001 approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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Good news for family planning providers: Salary levels are reflecting a modest increase in 2004, according to the results of the annual Contraceptive Technology Update salary survey. The survey was mailed in July 2004 to 1,247 subscribers and had a response of 229, for a response rate of 18.36%.
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The increasing federal investment in abstinence-only education is one of the more notable social policy trends of the past decade. Programs must exclusively promote abstinence and therefore cannot discuss the positive benefits of contraception or condoms, because doing so would purportedly undermine the abstinence message.
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What do you cover when you conduct a teens first gynecologic exam? Understand that an adolescents initial visit may not necessarily include a pelvic examination or a Pap test, but that it should cover a wide spectrum of issues facing a young woman of reproductive age.
