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S Zierler

Publications and source records attributed to S Zierler.

56 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Is a history of depressive symptoms associated with an increased risk of infertility in women?

Researchers have reported an association between self-reported antidepressant use and increased risk of ovulatory infertility but could not control for confounding by the drug indication. We evaluated the role of depressive symptoms in the development of infertility. We recontacted a population-based sample of Pawtucket Heart Health Program (PHHP) health survey respondents to perform this case-control study. Self-reported infertility was defined as an inability to conceive after 12 months of unprotected intercourse. Controls were women who reported at least one pregnancy. The index age for infertile women was the age at which they first experienced fertility problems, and for the fertile women it was the age of their first pregnancy. History of depressive symptoms was based on self-report before the index age. Women with a history of depressive symptoms were nearly twice as likely to report infertility relative to women without a history of depressive symptoms before the index age after controlling for potential confounders (90% confidence interval: 0.9-3.2). Our data suggest that depressive symptoms as well as the drugs used to treat these conditions may play an important role in the pathogenesis of infertility. The association between depressive symptoms and infertility should be explored further.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sexual violence against women living with or at risk for HIV infection.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates factors associated with sexual violence against adult women living with and at risk for HIV infection. METHODS: Women at least 18 years old and living in Rhode Island or southeast Massachusetts enrolled from 1987 to 1992 in a cohort study of heterosexual HIV risk. A total of 408 women provided interviews on lifetime experiences of rape and HIV-related risk exposures. Data are presented on 96 women reporting experiences with rape as adults, and 231 women who reported never experiencing rape or forced sex. RESULTS: Lifetime prevalence of sexual abuse was 43%. Over half occurred during adulthood. Thirty-five percent of women with HIV were raped as adults. Among women with HIV, adult rape experiences were associated with earlier age of first sex, more sexual partners, unprotected sex involving drugs, earlier age of injection drug use, teen pregnancy, STDs, and serious gynecologic surgery than those reporting they were never raped (prevalence odds ratios ranged from 2.8 to 11.2). Among women without HIV, adult rape was associated with similar experiences, although with some exception, the relative odds estimates were less pronounced. Women engaged in sex work were more likely to report rape. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of rape reported in this cohort of mostly economically poor women living with and at risk for HIV infection is consistent with other studies. Economic and social vulnerability that frames HIV risk and subsequent infection in women includes rape. Clinicians caring for women with HIV and counseling women at risk for infection need to screen routinely for sexual abuse.

Adolescent↗