News

It's been a bit of a rollercoaster: Australian women share their coping strategies

10/23/2020

Women talked about difficulties relating to health issues, including pregnancy and birth experiences, relationship problems, financial problems, and work or study problems. They used four types of coping strategies, including using their money or other resources to get help, getting help and support from others, using lifestyle strategies like exercise or hobbies, and using cognitive…

$8.5 million to continue long-term women's health study

10/18/2020

Joint media release by Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, with the Minister for Women, Senator Marise Payne, announcing the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health would continue for another three years.

Researching women’s doctor visits could boost health budgets

09/08/2020

Knowing more about why some people visited their doctors more often than others with similar health conditions could save us all money.

Recognising the hazardous effects of ‘pre-loading’ with alcohol

08/14/2020

Currently, the national guidelines cover the risks associated with binge drinking but don’t specify pre-loading as an additional risk behaviour.

Vegies are best for baby's first solids

07/03/2020

Children aged 2-12 years who were given fruit or vegetables instead of cereal as their first semi-solid food in infancy ate fruit and vegetables more frequently in childhood, and ate a wider variety of vegetables.

Hot flushes and night sweats linked to 70% increase in cardiovascular disease

07/02/2020

Women who have hot flushes and night sweats after menopause are 70 per cent more likely to have heart attacks, angina and strokes. Women who experience hot flushes and night sweats, also known as vasomotor symptoms or VMS, are more likely to experience non-fatal cardiovascular events.

Maternal depression: seeking help sooner is better for mums and kids

06/15/2020

Mothers may worry that if they’ve been depressed during pregnancy then it’s too late to do anything about it, but reducing depressive symptoms at any stage is better for them and their children.

High-risk mothers missing out on mental health checks

06/11/2020

Analysing data from more than 7,500 women in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health, researchers mapped mental health screening rates between 2000 and 2017, and compared these figures to policy initiatives and clinical practice guidelines.

‘Breast is best’ push out of touch

06/04/2020

Using data from the Mothers and their Children's Health (MatCH) substudy, researchers have discovered why only 34 per cent of mothers exclusively breastfeed to six months, despite the global push to increase rates to 50 per cent.

Traditional vegetable diet lowers the risk of premature birth

04/14/2020

High consumption of carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, pumpkin, cabbage, green beans and potatoes before conception helped women reach full term pregnancy.

Premature menopause increases risk of chronic health issues

01/20/2020

Women who experience premature menopause are significantly more likely to develop multiple chronic conditions, according to a new study.

What is perimenopause and how does it affect women’s health in midlife?

10/18/2019

All women know to expect the time in life when their periods finish and they reach menopause. What many women don’t know, however, is they will also experience symptoms in the time leading up to menopause. This is known as perimenopause.

Play equipment that gets kids moving

09/17/2019

Parents will be pleased to know that more is not always better when it comes to play equipment for their children.It's not about having the most play equipment; it's about having the right equipment.

Caring for grandchildren: a joy or a burden?

10/15/2018

Grandmothers deserve more recognition for their role as caregivers and some are at risk of being overburdened, according to a report from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health.

Bullying takes toll on young women’s health

06/15/2017

Almost one in five 18-23 year old women was bullied recently and more than half had been bullied in the past, resulting in serious physical and mental health issues.

Domestic violence impact lasts a lifetime

06/13/2017

Women who experience intimate partner violence have significant, long-term physical and mental health problems according to researchers from the University of Newcastle who tracked three generations of women for 16 years.

Abused caregivers have double chance of poor health

05/23/2017

Women who become caregivers after experiencing intimate partner violence have twice the normal odds of experiencing depressive symptoms and stress and they also had worse physical health than other women.

Having babies doesn’t make you fat

05/21/2017

“There is a long-held perception that having babies contributes to women’s weight gain leading to overweight and obesity." Researchers at the University of Canberra have found that pregnancy is not a trigger for significant weight gain in Australian women.

Healthy habits during pregnancy not enough

04/17/2017

Changing diet and lifestyle during pregnancy is too little and too late to reduce the risk of major complications, according to a University of Queensland researcher. “The evidence overwhelmingly showed healthier pregnancies when women were able to make positive lifestyle changes before conception, such as eating well, being more active or quitting smoking,”.

Even ‘healthy’ weight gain raises pregnancy diabetes risk

04/05/2017

Mothers who gain weight in the years leading up to pregnancy have an increased risk of gestational diabetes, even if their weight remains within the healthy body mass index (BMI) range.

Older women taking statins face higher risk of diabetes

03/15/2017

Older Australian women taking cholesterol-lowering statins face a significantly increased risk of developing diabetes. UQ School of Public Health researcher Dr Mark Jones said women over 75 faced a 33 per cent higher chance of developing diabetes if they were taking statins.

Early periods associated with risk of gestational diabetes

03/06/2017

The age at which girls start menstruating could flag a later risk of diabetes during pregnancy. Research into this topic is of particular public health importance due to global trends of girls starting their menstrual cycles at a younger age.

December Study Newsletter

12/23/2020

We're counting down 12 months of research outcomes at ALSWH.