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On July 21, Reps. Jan Schakowsky (IL), Ed Markey (MA) and Tammy Baldwin (WI) introduced legislation (HR.5786) that would toughen safety standards for cosmetics and give the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to check personal care products for harmful ingredients.  Current law allows the FDA to defer decisions about ingredient safety to the cosmetic industry.  In other words, the cosmetic industry is regulating itself.  According to the Campaign for Safe cosmetics,  provisions in the legislation will:

• Phase out ingredients linked to cancer, birth defects and developmental harm;
• Create a health-based safety standard that includes protections for vulnerable populations, like children;
• Close labeling loopholes by requiring full ingredient disclosure on product labels, web sites;
• Give workers access to information about unsafe chemicals in personal care products;
• Require data-sharing to avoid duplicative testing;
• Provide funding to the FDA so it has the resources it needs to provided effective oversight; and
• Level the playing field so small businesses can compete fairly.

To review the entire text of the bill, click here.

I just received a FDA email about the safety of color additives in food.   What caught my eye was the subheading:  “Without color additives, colas wouldn’t be brown, margarine wouldn’t be yellow and mint ice cream wouldn’t be green.”   I  wonder if colorless food could help reduce the obesity epidemic!!!   Seriously, to read the article, click here.

Recent publications in Nature and Women’s Health by Institute Director Teresa K. Woodruff and her post docs have seemed to hit a nerve among other science writers who are beginning to explore issue raised by Dr. Woodruff.    A few days ago an interesting article appeared in Slate, a daily magazine that has won numerous awards for excellence in online publishing.  An article posted by Melinda Wenner Moyer further explores issues raised by Woodruff including why the study of sex differences is critical to advancing science and why scientists often do not include males and females in their studies.  Moyer cites several reports that include data that shows how male centric science continues to be conducted despite mandates that require equal inclusion.
To learn what the Institute for Women’s Health Research at Northwestern University is doing to advance research in women’s health, check our website.

CHICAGO — Wrist fractures have an important personal and public health impact and may play a role in the development of disability in older people, according to a Northwestern University study published by the British Medical Journal.   Beatrice Edwards, M.D., associate professor of geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, was the lead author of the study.

Wrist fractures are the most common upper extremity fractures in older adults and can affect everyday tasks like carrying heavy objects, opening doors, cutting food, pouring liquid, turning the key and getting out of a chair. But their precise impact on ability to carry out usual daily activities has not been well studied, until now.
Edwards and a team of researchers set out to quantify the clinical impact of wrist fractures in a group of older women.They identified 6,107 healthy women, aged 65 years and older, without prior wrist or hip fracture. Five activities of daily living were used as a measure of functional decline (meal preparation, heavy housekeeping, ability to climb 10 stairs, shopping and getting out of a car). Participants were examined approximately every two years for an average of 7.6 years.
During the study period, 268 women had a wrist fracture. These women were approximately 50 percent more likely to experience clinically important functional decline compared to women without a wrist fracture, even after accounting for demographic, health and lifestyle factors.  In fact, the effect of a wrist fracture on functional decline was clinically as significant as other established risk factors such as falls, diabetes and arthritis.
“Our findings highlight the personal, public health and policy implications of wrist fractures,” said Edwards, who is also the director of the bone health and osteoporosis program at Northwestern.   They call for greater public health awareness of the impact of wrist fractures, including measures such as bone density screening and treatment of women with osteoporosis, to prevent wrist fractures and prompt rehabilitation after a wrist fracture to help improve recovery.

By  Erin White. Contact her at ewhite@northwestern.edu