PMID- 16313206
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20060228
LR  - 20051129
IS  - 1540-9996 (Print)
IS  - 1540-9996 (Linking)
VI  - 14
IP  - 9
DP  - 2005 Nov
TI  - Biomedical research on health and performance of military women: accomplishments 
      of the Defense Women's Health Research Program (DWHRP).
PG  - 764-802
AB  - In 1994, Congress provided dollar 40 M for biomedical research on issues of 
      importance for military women. This supported 104 intramural and 30 extramural 
      studies and launched an era of research to narrow the knowledge gap on protection 
      and enhancement of health and performance of military women. Projects addressed 
      issues specific to female physiology (e.g., gynecological health in the field, 
      maternal malaria), problems with higher prevalence for women (e.g., marginal iron 
      deficiency, stress fracture), and issues of drug and materiel safety that had 
      only been extrapolated from studies of men (e.g., chemical agent prophylaxis, 
      fatigue countermeasures). Several important assumptions about female physiology 
      and occupational risks were found to be astoundingly wrong. Hormonal changes 
      through the menstrual cycle were less important to acute health risks and 
      performance than predicted, exercise did not increase risk for amenorrhea and 
      consequent bone mineral loss, and women tolerated G-forces and could be as safe 
      as men in the cockpit if their equipment was designed for normal size and 
      strength ranges. Data on personal readiness issues, such as body fat, physical 
      fitness, nutrition, and postpartum return to duty, allowed reconsideration of 
      standards that were gender appropriate and not simply disconnected adjustments to 
      existing male standards. Other discoveries directly benefited men as well as 
      women, including development of medical surveillance databases, identification of 
      task strength demands jeopardizing safety and performance, and greater 
      understanding of the effects of psychosocial stress on health and performance. 
      This surge of research has translated into advances for the welfare of service 
      women and the readiness of the entire force; relevant gender issues are now 
      routine considerations for researchers and equipment developers, and some key 
      remaining research gaps of special importance to military women continue to be 
      investigated.
FAU - Friedl, Karl E
AU  - Friedl KE
AD  - US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, Massachusetts 
      01760-5007, USA. karl.friedl@us.army.mil
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Review
PL  - United States
TA  - J Womens Health (Larchmt)
JT  - Journal of women's health (2002)
JID - 101159262
SB  - IM
CIN - J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2005 Nov;14(9):861-2. PMID: 16313215
MH  - Attitude to Health
MH  - Biomedical Research/*organization & administration
MH  - Combat Disorders/etiology/prevention & control
MH  - Female
MH  - Government Programs/organization & administration
MH  - *Health Status
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Military Personnel
MH  - Occupational Diseases/etiology/*prevention & control
MH  - Physical Fitness
MH  - Primary Prevention/*organization & administration
MH  - Sex Factors
MH  - Stress, Psychological/etiology/prevention & control
MH  - United States
MH  - *Women's Health
MH  - *Women, Working
RF  - 162
EDAT- 2005/11/30 09:00
MHDA- 2006/03/01 09:00
CRDT- 2005/11/30 09:00
PHST- 2005/11/30 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2006/03/01 09:00 [medline]
PHST- 2005/11/30 09:00 [entrez]
AID - 10.1089/jwh.2005.14.764 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2005 Nov;14(9):764-802. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2005.14.764.