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Objective: The impact of cervical cancer treatment on the quality of life of long-term survivors compared with the general female population is controversial, and no studies have been conducted comparing patients with benign gynecological diseases. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life of cervical cancer survivors with that of healthy controls., Study Design: A case-control study was conducted to compare the quality of life of 106 cervical cancer survivors from a tertiary hospital and 185 women admitted to a gynecological outpatient clinic from the same health area for a healthy woman check-up (n 46) or for a benign gynecological disorder (symptomatic, n 113; asymptomatic, n 26). To measure quality of life, self-administered questionnaires, such as the Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy-cervix and World Health Organization quality of life-brief version, were employed. Baseline scores were collected when patients first reported, and further evaluations were completed at 0-6, 7-12, 13-24, 25-60, and more than 60 months. For the contrastive analysis hypothesis, we employed R statistical software., Results: Except for the environment domain at 0-6, 7-12, and 13-24 months (51.52 vs. 60.73, p < 0.0001; 52 vs. 60.73, p < 0.0001; 49.81 vs. 60.73, p < 0.0001, respectively), we found no statistically significant differences in the quality of life between cervical cancer survivors and controls. We did find differences in the physical health domain scores at 0-6 months (60.22 vs. 72.42, p = 0.039) and the social relationships domain scores at 13-24 months (54 vs. 71.42, p = 0.017) between cases and asymptomatic controls., Conclusion: Except for physical well-being, environment and social relationships, which were substantially better for controls, especially in the asymptomatic, long-term cervical cancer survivorśquality of life did not vary from that of controls., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A protocol study was designed to examine cutaneous behavior after continuous application of a peloid in the dry mineral residue of Lanjarón-Capuchina natural mineral water. This study aims to analyze the biomechanical behavior of normal skin using various non-invasive bioengineering techniques after the application of this peloid. We determine the effects of its application for 3 months on 38 healthy volunteers (41.4 ± 5.9 years, range 32-58) without a previous history of skin diseases by courtmetry, sebumetry, pH-metry, reviscometry, and tewametry. It was shown that the production of cutaneous sebum is significantly reduced by 6%, trans epidermal skin loss (TEWL) by 21%, skin fatigue by 30%, elasticity increased by 19%, firmness by 5%, and a skin redensification by 6% was obtained under these experimental conditions. Disparate and non-significant results were obtained concerning pH and viscoelasticity. Continuous skin care with the Lanjarón-Capuchina natural peloid modifies skin behavior, normalizing sebaceous secretion, favoring the biomechanical properties of the skin and the skin barrier function without modifying skin homeostasis., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

Balneotherapy comprises the use of natural mineral waters for health and/or well-being purposes. When balneotherapy is offered by the public health system, some countries with Latin-based languages call it social thermalism. The aim of this study is to compare balneotherapy in health systems of Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal. The study involves a qualitative systematic review of the literature using the systematic search flow method. Twenty-two documents, from 2000 to 2022, were included and its findings were described in seven categories: the first outlines the historical characterization of social thermalism in the systems analyzed and the others outline the components of the health systems: coverage/access, health financing, workforce, inputs and techniques, organization and regulation, and network provision of services. The models of insurance and social security that cover part of the thermal treatment are highlighted. Doctors with competence in medical hydrology constitute the majority of the workforce. Similarities regarding inputs and techniques are observed, with variation in the number of days of the balneotherapy treatment cycle. In the regulation of services, the Ministry of Health of each country is prominent. The provision of services is mainly performed in specialized care in accredited balneotherapy establishments. Despite the limitations of the method, the comparisons made may serve to support public policies for balneotherapy., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

We sought to determine the prevalence of female sexual dysfunction (FSD) and to examine the influence of age, menopausal state and quality of life (QoL) on the female sexual function (FSF) of healthy women and those with benign gynaecological disease. With this purpose, we conducted a cross-sectional study, based on self-report questionnaires (sociodemographic, WHOQOL-BREF and FSFI), enrolling 107 women. Some 51.6% ( n  = 55) were diagnosed with FSD. We found no statistical significant differences between grouped reason for consultation and FSFI total score ( p  = .72) and its domains ( p  > .05). The results showed a negative strong correlation between age and FSFI total score (S= -0.71) and a positive moderate correlation between WHOQOL-BREF and FSFI total scores (S = 0.39). We observed statistically significant differences between menopausal state and FSFI total score ( p  = .001). In conclusion, the prevalence of FSD in our population was 51.6%. Our study results reveal that a reduction in FSFI scores has a negative impact on QoL and vice versa, regardless of the reason for consultation. Elderly age and postmenopausal state have deleterious effects on FSF.Impact statement What is already known on this subject? Poor QoL can adversely affect FSF and vice versa. The study of FSF is relatively recent and there is controversy regarding the deleterious effects of elderly age and menopause on FSF. The prevalence of FSD is difficult to precisely determine, given the studies' use of different definitions for FSD and the highly heterogeneous study populations, as well as the types of tests and questionnaires employed. Sexual difficulties are problems seldom discussed between patients and their physicians. Lack of time, misconceptions, shame and frustration, considering sexuality as too intimate to discuss in the doctor's office, uncertainty regarding therapeutic options and insufficient training of health professionals are just some of the reasons mentioned for not addressing sexual dysfunction in a general consultation. What do the results of this study add? Our study is the first research in Spain on the impact of age, menopause and QoL on gynaecological patients´ FSF. Our results indicate that an impaired FSF could be related to poorer well-being and QoL; however, benign gynaecological disease does not appear to affect FSF. Elderly age and postmenopausal state can have deleterious effects on FSF. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? Sexuality is an important aspect of QoL. Therefore, gynaecologists should discuss issues of sexuality with their patients in routine visits, especially in case of elderly and postmenopausal women. In addition, gynaecologists should train in the diagnosis and treatment of the female sexual dysfunction.