Women’s Reproductive, Heart, and Brain Health - W♥MB
The primary goal of the University of Utah’s Women’s Reproductive, Heart, and Brain Health - W♥MB initiative is to better understand how a woman’s early and mid-life reproductive health is connected to her later heart and brain health. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States, with 1 in 3 women dying from heart disease and stroke.1 Women are also disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia, with lifetime risk being 1 in 5 for women compared to 1 in 10 for men.2 Studies show that women’s longer life span only partially explains this risk difference. Variation in exposures throughout the life course also contribute, including a women’s menstrual cycle function, ability to achieve and maintain a healthy pregnancy, and menopausal transition experience. Our initiative includes research, community engagement, and education.
(1.) Xu J, Murphy SL, Kochanek KD, Bastian B, Arias E. Deaths: Final Data for 2016. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2018 Jul;67(5):1-76.
(2.) Chêne G, Beiser A, Au R, et al. Gender and incidence of dementia in the Framingham Heart Study from mid-adult life. Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(3):310-320. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2013.10.005
- Community Engagement
- Publications and Presentations
- Publications
- Karen C Schliep, Women’s reproductive lifespan and subsequent inflammatory profile, how to best measure reproductive lifespan and the need for baseline assessments, American Journal of Epidemiology, kwz266
- Cannon-Albright LA, Foster NL, Schliep K, Farnham JM, Teerlink CC, Kaddas H, Tschanz J, Corcoran C, Kauwe JSK (2019). Relative risk for Alzheimer disease based on complete family history. Neurology. 9;92(15):e1745-e1753.
- Schliep K, Ju Shinyoung, Varner M, VanDerslice J, Smith K (2018). How good are electronic health records and death certificates for identifying Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia? International Journal of Population Data Science. Vol 3 No 4.
- NIH NIA, 1K01AG058781-01A1, Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Subsequent Risk of Vascular Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, or Related Dementia: A Retrospective Cohort Study Taking into Account Mid-Life Mediating Factors. 2020-2025. Schliep (PI)
- Presentations
- Schliep K, Ju Shinyoung, Smith K, Ostbye T, Tschanz J, Foster N, Varner M. Association between Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Dementia: A Systematic Review. Poster presentation at UU Sex & Gender in Women’s Health Research Symposium, May 17th, 2019
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Karen Schliep, *Lily Gu, Fares Qeadan. Sex Differences in Subjective Cognitive Decline: Finding from the BRFSS national survey (2015-2018) Presentation at Sex, Gender and Women’s Health Across the Lifespan Virtual Symposium, May 14th, 2020. University of Utah Center of Excellence in Women’s Health and the Eccles Health Sciences Library
- Publications
- Grants