The Vietnamese are a quickly growing, important part of the Texas population. Breast cancer is known to have different biologic characteristics in Vietnamese women. In order to develop appropriate intervention and screening strategies, we conducted a study of barriers to cervical and breast screening in Vietnamese women in Harris County, Tex. Our objective was to characterize the demographic factors, beliefs, and barriers to cervical and breast cancer screening in our study population and test the effect of these on Papanicolaou test, breast self-examination (BSE), medical breast examination (MBE), and mammography use. The Health Belief Model Scales for Measuring Beliefs Related to Breast Cancer (Champion VL, Nursing Research 1993;42:139-143) was the framework used to assess attitudes regarding risk of breast cancer and to design a component assessing risk of cervical cancer. The questionnaire addressed susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers, and health about screening for breast and cervical cancer. It was translated into Vietnamese and back-translated into English prior to use. The questionnaire was mailed to Harris County residents. Those returned were entered into a database. The data were analyzed for validity using Chronbach's alpha. Simple descriptive analyses and nominal logistic regression identified predictors of Papanicolaou test, BSE, MBE, and mammography use. Twelve hundred surveys were mailed out to Vietnamese women using the telephone directory and the church directories in Harris County; 209 were returned and entered into the database. Of the respondents, 67% had ever received a Papanicolaou test; of these, 89% had received a Papanicolaou test within the past year; 55% of respondents had performed a BSE, 45% of patients received an MBE, and 45% of respondents had ever received a mammogram (15% of respondents had a mammogram during the previous year). The most significant predictors of Papanicolaou test, BSE, MBE, and mammography use were marital status (being married), high educational level, lack of barriers, a family history of the cancer, older age, and increased perception of seriousness. Compared to other studies of Vietnamese women, the women in Texas are among the highest users of the Papanicolaou test, BSE, MBE, and mammography. Barriers and incentives to breast and cervical screening were similar to those in other studies.

No abstract

OBJECTIVE-To estimate whether women who deliver small babies due to preterm birth or growth restriction have excess risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes later in life.METHODS-Eight years after pregnancy, we estimated the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components in a cohort study of women with prior preterm (preterm birth before 37 weeks, n=181) or small for gestational age ([SGA], less than the tenth percentile, n=192) births, compared with women with term births (37 or more weeks, n=306). Women delivered at Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and those with preeclampsia or prepregnancy diabetes or hypertension were excluded. Women underwent a structured interview and fasting blood sampling.RESULTS-Women were, on average, 8 years postpartum and 39 years old at evaluation. Women with a prior preterm birth had higher blood pressure, triglycerides, and LDL-cholesterol compared with those in a term control group. Women with prior SGA births were leaner and more likely to smoke compared with those with term births. Women with prior preterm birth had elevated risk of metabolic syndrome, adjusted for demographic, smoking and body size factors (23% preterm compared with 17% control group; odds ratio [OR] 1.76 [1.06, 2.80]). In women with a prior preterm birth, low HDL (11% preterm compared with 5% control group; OR 2.6 [1.2, 5.2]), hypertriglyceridemia (22% compared with 14%; OR 1.9 [1.2, 2.9]), and elevated glucose (24% compared with 19%; OR 1.5 [1.0, 2.3]) accounted for this excess metabolic syndrome. In women with SGA, the only element of metabolic syndrome that was aberrant was glucose metabolism.CONCLUSION-Eight years after pregnancy, women with prior preterm or SGA births had evidence of metabolic syndrome compared with women with term births. Screening and intervention in these women after pregnancy may delay or prevent disease.Women who deliver small babies due to preterm birth or growth restriction have excess risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. 1-6 Several years after delivery, infant birth weight is inversely related to blood pressure, insulin resistance, and low-grade inflammation in Financial DisclosureThe authors did not report any potential conflicts of interest. [7][8][9][10] These data suggest that dysregulated metabolic factors may link preterm or small for gestational age deliveries to later life maternal disease. NIH Public AccessThe metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus including hyperglycemia, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and central adiposity. Presence of MetS is associated with a 2-fold increased risk for cardiovascular disease over 5-10 years compared with absence of the syndrome. 11 The MetS is common, has rising prevalence worldwide, and is both a public health and clinical problem. Our goal was to estimate the presence of MetS among women who had preterm or SGA births 4 to 12 years in the past. A secondary and thu...