Common Corpus No. 3
For all women, for life
Welcome back to Common Corpus, our weekly curation of the best evidence-based women’s health content designed to help you navigate, optimize, and advocate for your well-being at every stage of life.
This week, we cover a wide range of topics, including cardiovascular disease in women from several angles, the potential protective effect of the shingles vaccine against dementia, and the perhaps unexpectedly disproportionate impact of climate change on women’s health.
We hope you find this week’s resources insightful, useful, and empowering as you navigate your own health journey.
And if you want to learn more about what Common Corpus is, and why we do what we do, please visit our About page.
News & Noteworthy
What’s making the news in women’s health
Why heart disease needs a pink ribbon moment
Heart disease is the leading—and increasingly deadly—killer of women in many countries, yet awareness is shrinking and medical misdiagnoses remain alarmingly common.
Cardiovascular disease rates are steadily climbing, with some of the most concerning increases occurring among younger women (ages 20 to 44) who often lack traditional lifestyle risk factors.
Despite heart disease being the number one cause of death for women, general awareness of cardiovascular risk has sharply declined over the last decade, as many mistakenly believe breast cancer is their greatest health threat.
Women frequently experience heart attack symptoms that differ from the “classic” male presentation—such as extreme fatigue, nausea, shortness of breath, and jaw or back pain—contributing to a high rate of medical misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.
Female-specific life events and conditions, including irregular periods, pregnancy complications (like gestational diabetes or pre-eclampsia), and the transition through menopause, significantly elevate a woman’s risk of developing heart issues later in life.
The takeaway: Experts argue cardiovascular disease needs to borrow from breast cancer awareness campaigns and create its own pink ribbon moment in public education. Heart disease must be recognized as a women’s health issue, and public education is needed to raise awareness of women’s unique physiological risk factors and often “atypical” symptoms.
Does the shingles vaccine protect against dementia? Emerging data suggests it might.
The shingles vaccine may not just prevent the agonizing pain of shingles. Emerging data suggests it might also significantly reduce your risk of developing dementia, and the protective effect may be greater for women than men.
Recent large-scale studies reveal that older adults who received the recombinant shingles vaccine (Shingrix) had a roughly 20% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who were unvaccinated.
This cognitive protection appears remarkably robust, offering significantly more defence against dementia than other routine adult immunizations (like the flu or Tdap shots) and far outperforming the older, discontinued Zostavax shingles vaccine.
The data indicate that this neurological benefit is notably stronger in women, which is highly significant given that women face a much greater lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than men.
The mechanism linking the shingles vaccine and dementia is still unclear, and these findings are currently observational, meaning the dementia-prevention link is more of a “definite maybe” rather than an established causal link. But the size and consistency of the data make the connection incredibly compelling.
The takeaway: For adults 50 and older, and especially for women, this research offers an evidence-based incentive to prioritize the Shingrix vaccine, potentially providing a highly effective, two-for-one shield against both shingles and Alzheimer’s.
The Latest Research
The latest in academic research in women’s health
Childbirth and breastfeeding leave a lasting protective shield against breast cancer
A new study reveals that pregnancy and breastfeeding generate specific immune T-cells that remain in breast tissue for years, acting as “local guards” against cancer, particularly an aggressive type that tends to affect younger women. This finding fundamentally shifts our understanding of breast cancer prevention from purely hormonal to immunological. It offers hope that future treatments could mimic this natural immune “memory” to protect all women, regardless of their reproductive choices.
Inflammation and cardiovascular risk in women
Inflammation, not traditional risk factors, may explain why some otherwise healthy women have heart attacks and strokes. A new study analyzing 30 years of data from more than 12,000 women found that women with elevated levels of the inflammatory marker hsCRP had a significantly increased lifetime risk of heart disease, even without other common risk factors, like smoking, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure. A simple blood test can measure hsCRP inflammation, but is not part of routine care in many countries. There is evidence that women who do not have other common risk factors, but do have high inflammation can benefit from treatment with statins, but without testing for inflammation, these women would not currently be prescribed statins. Including screening for inflammation as part of routine heart disease screening could help identify at-risk women who are currently being missed. Another reminder that risk factors for disease in women often look different to those in men and the need for research and standards of care to reflect these differences.
Listen & Learn
The latest in women’s health audio content worth your time
Female Hormone Health, PCOS, Endometriosis, Fertility & Breast Cancer with Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi
OB/GYN Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi joins the Huberman Lab to unpack the realities of PCOS and endometriosis, two highly common yet frequently undiagnosed drivers of female infertility and chronic pain. This episode is essential listening for women of all ages, especially those who have ever had severe period pain, stubborn acne, or irregular cycles dismissed as "normal" by their healthcare providers. Dr. Aliabadi breaks down exactly why these conditions are routinely missed by the medical system, leaving women to suffer needlessly from systemic inflammation, metabolic issues, and preventable fertility challenges. She provides a comprehensive roadmap for self-advocacy, detailing the hormone tests (like AMH to check egg reserves), early pelvic ultrasounds, and breast cancer risk calculators women should be actively requesting from their healthcare providers. This is an incredibly detailed, comprehensive explanation of female reproductive and hormonal health aimed at empowering women with the information they need to better advocate for themselves.
Testicles outrank ovaries - and other reasons women wait so long for gynecologic surgery
In this eye-opening episode of White Coat, Black Art, the systemic biases behind the unacceptable wait times women face for gynecologic surgery in Canada are brought sharply into focus. The conversation reveals a stark medical hierarchy where, as experts explain, "testicles literally outrank ovaries," resulting in severely limited operating room access for gynecologists and dangerous delays for patients experiencing critical issues like post-menopausal bleeding. This episode is crucial listening for any woman navigating the healthcare system, laying bare how institutional bias shapes hospital resource allocation. Ultimately, the discussion provides both a validating look at the realities of modern medical misogyny and a hopeful glimpse into the structural changes needed to finally prioritize female anatomy.
The Global Perspective
Women’s health around the world
How rising sea-levels pose a risk to women’s health
Rising sea levels pose a major risk to global health and global health infrastructure. Women and girls stand to be disproportionately impacted.
A new Lancet Commission is investigating the profound health impacts of sea-level rise, which threatens up to 1 billion people in low-lying areas and small island nations, with displaced populations and ruined health infrastructure.
Rising seas contaminate freshwater drinking supplies with salt and sewage, dramatically increasing the spread of waterborne illnesses like cholera and leading to hypertension and cardiovascular damage.
Climate-driven displacement and saltwater intrusion destroy local agriculture, leading to widespread food insecurity, malnutrition, and profound mental health tolls as communities lose their ancestral lands.
The crisis disproportionately affects women and girls, who often must travel further for clean water or face dangerous, overcrowded emergency shelters, increasing their vulnerability to sexual violence, exploitation, and poor maternal health outcomes.
The takeaway: This isn’t just an environmental issue. Climate change is fundamentally a public and women’s health emergency that is hitting vulnerable populations hardest.
Common Interest
Quick hits that we found interesting, thought-provoking, or useful this week
BBC’s Lyse Doucet follows Hind Kabawat, Syria’s only female cabinet minister, pushing to put women at the centre of the country’s transition from conflict to peace. LINK
‘Nonnamaxxing’ may be the latest wellness trend making the rounds on social media, but these life lessons for longevity from Italian grandmothers are actually pretty sensible. LINK
OBGYN, Reproductive Endocrinologist and Fertility Physician, Dr. Natalie Crawford, has released a new book, The Fertility Formula, aimed not only at women trying to conceive but also those who wants to better understand and take charge of their fertility. She covers everything from inflammation and the impact on hormones, menstrual cycles, what the biological clock really is, how to get pregnant, fertility treatments, and lifestyle. LINK