Women suffer from family living

Thursday December 11th, 2008

Living with the in-laws may be harmful for a woman, researchers warn today.

Women who share their home with their parents - or their partners' parents - face a three times increased risk of developing heart disease, according to the Japanese study.

Researchers studied nearly 91,000 Japanese adults for the research, published in the journal Heart.

The research found family life placed strains on the hearts of women.

Having children in a household doubled the risk of developing heart disease - even when in-laws were not present, according to the study.

The study showed that once a woman developed heart disease, family pressures caused no more damage. The prospects were similar for all women.

Researcher Professor Hiroyasu Iso, of Osaka University, Japan, said: "The stress of fulfilling multiple roles as daughter or daughter in law, mother and partner probably has a deleterious effect on heart health."

A second piece of research from Manchester University, UK, warns that women who are having babies should not take statin drugs to reduce their cholesterol levels.

Researchers warned that statins could damage the baby, according to the report in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

Researcher Dr Melissa Westwood said: "Health care professionals should continue to advise women to avoid the use of any type of statin once they plan to start a family or when a pregnancy is suspected or confirmed."

Heart 2008; doi 10.1136/hrt.2008.149575

Tags: Asia | Child Health | Heart Health | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology

Printer friendly page