For African American patients undergoing mastectomy, the risk of complications and the postoperative appearance of the breast are among the important drivers of preferences about breast reconstruction, reports a study in the September issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

Metabolic health before and during pregnancy may have a bigger influence on risks for mother and baby than simply controlling weight gain. Data from a recent paper by Pennington Biomedical researchers indicates that pregnant women with metabolically unhealthy obesity were more likely to develop gestational diabetes than those who were metabolically healthy. The paper, “Metabolic Health and Heterogenous Outcomes of Prenatal Interventions: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial,” was published in the Journal of American Medical Association.

A groundbreaking human study has found that ultra-processed foods lead to increased weight, disrupt hormones and introduce harmful substances linked to declining sperm quality.  The findings indicate that it is the processed nature of these foods that makes them harmful to cardiometabolic and reproductive health.