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Karen Gordon
Freelance Journalist
NCTJ
Karen is an NCTJ-qualified freelance journalist with a special interest in health.
She has written extensively on women’s and men’s health, sexual health and mental health.
She has also worked for a variety of different publications, including NetDoctor, Good Housekeeping, Prima, Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar and others.
Recently contributed to:
Pelvic (lower abdominal) pain is a dull, constant ache in bottom of your stomach. Lots of women get it and it can affect your quality of life. Here are some of the most common causes of pelvic pain in women.
You may have heard of lupus, but if someone asked you about this poorly understood condition, would you know enough to answer? It's estimated that lupus affects approximately one in 1,000 people in the UK and 5 million people worldwide. And many more cases remain undiagnosed due to poor awareness of the condition and a lack of specialist referrals.
In the UK, there are approximately 13.9 million people living with a disability. But only a small percentage have illnesses that can actually be seen. Those living with an invisible disability, like Crohn's disease or multiple sclerosis, suffer from symptoms every day and, because these aren't visible, they're often subjected to discrimination and misunderstanding when they use disabled bathrooms, parking spaces or priority seats.
Despite immunisation being one of the most effective public health measures ever introduced - currently preventing 2-3 million deaths a year - there’s still a growing number of parents who are hesitant to vaccinate their child. We look at the misconceptions that parents should stop believing.
Whether it's moving from work into retirement or dealing with the loss of a loved one, it's evident that the stresses and feelings of isolation in later life can take their toll. And it may come as little surprise that nearly half of all adults aged 55 and over said they had experienced depression, according to a recent survey by Age UK.