Top 10 women’s health news stories in 2022

This year, women’s health care providers have faced challenges that developed throughout the year, from the lingering COVID-19 pandemic to a changing legal landscape.

In particular, the overturn of Roe v. Wade has had important implications for reproductive health care and education. It was the subject of several top stories in women’s health this year.

Read these and more top stories about women’s health below:

Multiple studies show COVID-19’s impact on pregnancy, yet some question it

Numerous studies have shown that COVID-19 poses significant health risks to pregnant women and their offspring — with increased rates of preeclampsia, preterm birth and even perinatal death, for example. Read more.

Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to uphold the Mississippi law limiting abortion access in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case on Friday, overturning the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. Read more.

Daily prune consumption preserves, protects bones in postmenopausal women

In postmenopausal women, eating prunes every day prevented loss of hip bone mineral density and protected against hip fractures, according to a randomized controlled trial published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Read more.

VIDEO: Overturning Roe v. Wade could be ‘catastrophic’ for OB/GYN training, practice

Gabrielle R. Magalski, BS, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Queensland-Ochsner Clinical School, and peers recently wrote a perspective about the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Watch here.

Q&A: Even asymptomatic COVID-19 may increase pregnancy risks, study finds

Regardless of disease severity, COVID-19 elicited immune responses in pregnant women, which in turn caused inflammation in the placenta, according to data published in Cell Reports. Read more.

Q&A: As Supreme Court weighs abortion rights, OB/GYN recalls practice before Roe v. Wade

The Supreme Court decision on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization abortion case is expected at the end of June, although a leaked draft opinion indicated that the justices intend to overturn the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. Read more.

Study shows certain reproductive factors increase dementia risk in women

Younger or older age at menarche, younger age at first birth, and hysterectomy — all of which affect lifetime exposure to endogenous estrogen — were associated with a higher risk for dementia in women, researchers found. Read more.

At least one symptom present in 72% of high-risk, early epithelial ovarian cancer cases

Among patients with high-risk early-stage epithelial ovarian cancer, 72% had at least one symptom, the most common of which was abdominal or pelvic pain, according to a retrospective study in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Read more.

Kisspeptin may effectively treat hypoactive sexual desire disorder

Intravenous kisspeptin was associated with brain processing of erotic stimuli and facial attractiveness and was well tolerated by premenopausal women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder, according to study data. Read more.

Study reveals neurodevelopmental differences in babies exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in utero

Infants born to mothers who had COVID-19 during pregnancy had differences in behavior and movement compared with infants who were unexposed to SARS-CoV-2, preliminary data presented at the European Congress of Psychiatry showed. Read more.