Higher education and high-wage gender inequality

Obesity-Related Traits Mediate the Effects of Educational Attainment on the Risk of Varicose Veins, Venous Thromboembolism, and Phlebitis

BACKGROUND

 The extent to which educational attainment (EA) influences the risk of varicose veins (VVs), venous thromboembolism (VTE), and phlebitis occurrence, whether this pathway is mediated by obesity-related traits, and the proportion of their mediation is unknown.

METHODS

 A Mendelian randomization (MR) design was used to genetically investigate the causal effects of EA on the risk of VV, VTE, and phlebitis and to assess the mediating effect of obesity-related traits. Causal effects were estimated using primarily the multiplicative random-effects inverse variance-weighted method. This was supplemented by Cochran's Q-statistic, MR-Egger regression, MR funnel plots, and leave-one-out test to evaluate the reliability of the results. For the individual mediation effect, the coefficient product method was mainly utilized to estimate.

RESULTS

 An increase in genetically predicted EA was associated with a lower risk of VV, VTE, and phlebitis, as well as lower body mass index, basal metabolic rate, hip circumference, and waist circumference. As genetically predicted body mass index, basal metabolic rate, hip circumference, and waist circumference increased, the risk of developing VV, VTE, and phlebitis increased, respectively. Body mass index, basal metabolic rate, hip circumference, and waist circumference were identified as mediators of the protective effects of EA on VV, VTE, and phlebitis.

CONCLUSION

 The findings support a causal relationship between higher EA and lower risk of VV, VTE, and phlebitis. Obesity-related traits play a significant mediating role in these pathways, and there are interactions between them, with hip circumference mediating these pathways relatively independently from the other three.

Addressing Psychosocial Care Needs in Women with Peripheral Artery Disease

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is a growing global epidemic. Women with PAD are at elevated risk of experiencing psychosocial stressors that influence the diagnosis, management, and course of their illness due to unique sex- and gender-based factors.

RECENT FINDINGS

We review existing evidence for increased psychosocial risk in women with PAD with a focus on mood disorders, chronic stress, pain experiences, substance use disorders, health behaviors and illness perceptions, and healthcare access. We discuss how these factors exacerbate PAD symptomatology and lead to adverse outcomes. Existing gaps in women's vascular care are reviewed and potential solutions to bridge these gaps through psychosocial care integration are proposed. Current care paradigms for women's vascular care do not adequately screen for and address psychosocial comorbidities. Clinician education, integration of evidence-based psychological care strategies, implementation of workflows for the management of individuals with PAD and mental health comorbidities, reform to reimbursement structures, and further advocacy are needed in this space. This review provides a construct for integrated behavioral health care for women with PAD and advocates for further integration of care.

Sex differences in frailty among older adults

By definition, aging is a natural, gradual and continuous process. On the other hand, frailty reflects the increase in vulnerability to stressors and shortens the time without disease (health span) while longevity refers to the length of life (lifespan). The average life expectancy has significantly increased during the last few decades. A longer lifespan has been accompanied by an increase in frailty and decreased independence in older adults, with major differences existing between men and women. For example, women tend to live longer than men but also experience higher rates of frailty and disability. Sex differences prevent optimization of lifestyle interventions and therapies to effectively prevent frailty. Sex differences in frailty and aging are rooted in a complex interplay between uncontrollable (genetic, epigenetic, physiological), and controllable factors (psychosocial and lifestyle factors). Thus, understanding the underlying causes of sex differences in frailty and aging is essential for developing personalized interventions to promote healthy aging and improve quality of life in older men and women. In this review, we have discussed the key contributors and knowledge gaps related to sex differences in aging and frailty.

Factors shaping the gender wage gap among college-educated computer science workers

Encouraging women to pursue STEM employment is frequently touted as a means of reducing the gender wage gap. We examine whether the attributes of computer science workers-who account for nearly half of those working in STEM jobs-explain the persistent gender wage gap in computer science, using American Community Survey (ACS) data from 2009 to 2019. Our analysis focuses on working-age respondents between the ages of 22 and 60 who had a college degree and were employed full-time. We use ordinary least squares (OLS) regression of logged wages on observed characteristics, before turning to regression decomposition techniques to estimate what proportion of the gender wage gap would remain if men and women were equally rewarded for the same attributes-such as parenthood or marital status, degree field, or occupation. Women employed in computer science jobs earned about 86.6 cents for every dollar that men earned-a raw gender gap that is smaller than it is for the overall labor force (where it was 82 percent). Controlling for compositional effects (family attributes, degree field and occupation) narrows the gender wage gap, though women continue to earn 9.1 cents per dollar less than their male counterparts. But differential returns to family characteristics and human capital measures account for almost two-thirds of the gender wage gap in computer science jobs. Women working in computer science receive both a marriage and parenthood premium relative to unmarried or childless women, but these are significantly smaller than the bonus that married men and fathers receive over their childless and unmarried peers. Men also receive sizable wage premiums for having STEM degrees in computer science and engineering when they work in computer science jobs, advantages that do not accrue to women. Closing the gender wage gap in computer science requires treating women more like men, not just increasing their representation.