The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health [Paperback]

Librarians will breathe a sigh of relief at the release of this new edition. There is so much good information in the 1996 version, but eight years is a long time in the area of medical guides, and many of us have likely withdrawn the previous edition.

As before, the guide's major focus is on diseases and disorders of the female reproductive system and how diseases common to both sexes may manifest themselves differently in women. The most important change is the updated information on estrogen replacement therapy. In 1996 ERT was viewed as an ideal treatment for women. The 2002 findings of the Women's Health Initiative changed that thinking completely. The research results and the current position of medical professionals are reflected in this edition. Medical advances in the treatment of other diseases and disorders are also covered. The growing acceptance of alternative medicine is reflected in revised articles on the topic. Among the new entries are Airbags, Dissociative identity disorder,^B Lyme disease, and Lymphedema.

This edition is 30 pages shorter than the previous one but contains more entries and a center "blue pages" section with bodily systems diagrams, nutrition charts, and more. The page reduction has been accomplished by the use of smaller type. Information on diseases and disorders is presented as questions and answers addressing definitions, symptoms, treatments, and prevention. A topical resource list gives organizations to be contacted for additional information. Many labeled medical drawings appear throughout the book.

The guide is an outstanding source for public and professional libraries. It is aimed at an educated readership. Given the recent publicity on the literacy problem in consumer health information materials (most of which are written at a tenth-grade reading level and above), libraries should be sure to provide other sources on the topic. Marlene Kuhl
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

More detailed and in-depth than most books in the field, with more than 300 A-Z entries on diseases, domestic violence and eating disorders. (Women's Health Supplement, New York Times 20040801)

For anyone who has a burning health query, The Harvard Guide to Women's Health is, quite simply, the book buy of the decade. It looks like a heavyweight, medical-school textbook, but it's actually an easy-to-follow, Q & A health manual that covers everything from alcohol abuse and breast care to cosmetic surgery and depression. It's the next best thing to having your own at-home GP. (Cosmopolitan 20040801)

Almost anything you need to know about women's health--from breast-feeding to wrinkles--can be found in The Harvard Guide to Women's Health. This encyclopedic guide covers women's health concerns at every stage of life and is a superb resource for those who want to be active in their own health care. (Living Fit 20040701)

A remarkably navigable virtual encyclopedia...The guide is more than a laundry list of diseases. It covers a host of psychosocial issues, from rape and domestic violence to sexual harassment and sexual preference...A good gauge of any medical book purporting to be the definitive one for women is how well it covers gender issues in heart disease, a field that has historically neglected women. Here the guide gets high marks.
--Leslie Laurence (Houston Chronicle 20041101)

This exhaustive resource offers information on everything from adolescent acne to menopause in the belief that better-informed women can have better partnerships with their physicians. (Chicago Tribune )

From A to Z, [The Harvard Guide to Women's Heath] skillfully traverses topics from abdominal pain, through cytolytic vaginitis, interstitial cystitis, onward to occupational hazards, and, ultimately, zinc...In both the book and on the CD-ROM, finding information is easy...One patient commented, 'In my house this book would be brought out a lot--for myself, when talking to my sisters, mother or close friends. It's practically a coffee-table book.'
--Charlea, T. Maisson, MD (JAMA )

An invaluable guide for every stage of a woman's life.
--Aline McKenzie (Dallas Morning News )

The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health is your everything-from-A-to-Z resource when you need to address a health concern. (Complete Woman )

'Comprehensive' is definitely the first word that comes to mind to describe The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health. This hefty volume, an updated version of the first guide, published in 1996, covers almost every imaginable women's health concern, from face-lifts to fibromyalgia. Incorporating new findings from the Women's Health Initiative, the authors (two Harvard doctors and a medical writer) delve into such hot topics as estrogen replacement therapy and perimenopause. The text is detailed, but presented in a way that's understandable for the lay reader. Helpful charts and illustrations explain anatomical references. Appropriate for readers of any age, The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health can help ensure that women are informed partners in their own medical care. (BookPage )

The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health combines the expertise of physicians from three of the world's most prestigious medical institutions: Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. This A to Z reference book contains complete information on women's health concerns from physical to behavioral issues. Featuring over 300 entries, with helpful charts, illustrations, cross references to other sections, and a comprehensive Index at the back of the book, the subjects cover everything from common ailments and diseases to new and broader categories, such as body image, cosmetic surgery, domestic abuse and patients' rights. (New Living )

An indispensable guide to nearly every female health concern.
--Hillary Wright (Environmental Nutrition )

With the publication in 1996 of The Harvard Guide to Women's Health, women seeking answers to questions about their health had access to the combined expertise of physicians from three of the world's most prestigious medical institutions: Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham and Women's Hospital. With complete information on women's health concerns, physical and behavioral, this A to Z reference quickly became a definitive resource, praised especially for its coverage of topics not previously considered under the umbrella of women's health. The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health reunites the authors to bring a valued health reference up to date for a new generation--and for those women who have come to rely on the Harvard Guide and are now wondering what to do about their health as they enter a new stage of life, asking questions like the following:

• I've been on hormone replacement therapy. Should I stop? How?


• Could this rash be lupus?


• I've been on the Pill. What is my risk for stroke?


• Fat is bad, fat is good: What should I believe? And what's left to eat?


• When does ordinary worry become chronic anxiety?


• What screening tests do I need now?

In addition to revised recommendations reflecting the current medical thinking on menopause and hormone replacement therapy, the New Harvard Guide includes

• updated recommendations about cardiac health and heart disease--the #1 killer of women in the United States


• entries reflecting recent advances in the understanding and treatment of autoimmune diseases


• better coverage of health concerns throughout a woman's life span, from her first period to menopause and beyond, with a new entry on perimenopause


• expanded nutritional recommendations, including a unique chart of the U.S. government's Daily Reference Intakes for micronutrients, broken down for teens and women whose needs may differ because they are pregnant, breastfeeding, or postmenopausal


• updated information on over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs, procedures, screenings, and diagnostic tests


(20040423)

Dr. Karen J. Carlson is a pioneer in the field of primary care for women. More than fifteen years ago she founded Women's Health Associates at Massachusetts General Hospital and is currently Director of this innovative center, which
has been widely emulated in other medical centers throughout the country.
Dr. Carlson is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Deputy Director of the
Center of Excellence in Women's Health at Harvard Medical School. Her research and academic publications focus on hysterectomy, ovarian cancer screening, and communication between doctors and patients. She lectures frequently to thousands of physicians in continuing education courses at Harvard and other major medical schools.

Dr. Stephanie A. Eisenstat is an internist with Women's Health Associates at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Medicine and Scholar at The Academy, Harvard Medical School. She directs a course for physicians in training, Trauma and Injury Control, and is co-editor with Dr. Carlson of Primary Care of Women, one of the first medical textbooks devoted to the emerging specialty of women's primary care.

Terra Ziporyn, Ph.D. is a historian of science and medicine, a medical journalist, and a former associate editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The author of numerous books, including Nameless Diseases, she has written widely about topics in women's health, including heart disease, behavioral health, autoimmune disorders, and alternative medicine.