Research briefs
May 16, 2006
<b>Breastfeed more</b><br>ALCOHOLISM – Weaning a child early is one of the factors that predispose the child to alcohol abuse in adult life, according to data from the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort.
Breastfeed more
ALCOHOLISM – Weaning a child early is one of the factors that predispose the child to alcohol abuse in adult life, according to data from the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort. Previous research demonstrated a link between short duration of breast-feeding and alcoholism in men. Dr. Holger J. Sorenson and colleagues at Copenhagen University examined this relationship in 3,245 men and 3,317 women and took into account other environmental and familial factors. 34% of alcoholics had been breast-fed for no more than a month. Dr. Sorenson’s group attributes this to decreased physical and psychological contact between the mother and the infant. Low intelligence and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are also associated with short duration of breast-feeding, and may increase the risk of alcoholism.
Women risk a lot
HIV – Women with AIDS get less benefit from ARVs if they smoke, according to a new study. The study of 924 women in America found those who smoked while taking a cocktail of ARVs were 53% more likely to die than non-smokers during the nearly eight-year study. Smokers had a higher viral load and a lower CD4 count, both of which indicate poorer health and the outcome was similar regardless of how much the women smoked, the study found. Women who smoked were also 36% more likely to be diagnosed with ailments associated with AIDS, such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Watch your child
SUICIDE – Sleep loss or disturbances are likely to signal an increased risk of future suicidal action in adolescents. Research of the complex relationship between sleep, psychopathology and youth suicidal behaviour shows that suicidal psychiatric patients had more sleep disturbances including lack of sleep (insomnia), sleep insufficiency, sleeping for an excessively long time (hypersomnia), or nightmares than non-suicidal patients. Suicide is rare in childhood, increases markedly in the late teens and continues to rise until the early twenties.
More of Vitamin D
TB – Research that shows how lack of vitamin D can increase people’s susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) could explain why people in Africa are particularly prone to the disease. The findings, published by Science, suggest that a successful immune response to TB depends on the conversion of vitamin D into a hormone that white blood cells use to kill the invading bacteria. Although foods such as milk and salmon contain the vitamin, larger amounts are produced in people’s skin after exposure to sunlight. However, the darker the skin is, the less vitamin D they produce. The researchers in Tunisia found that nearly half the study population were vitamin D deficient.
ALCOHOLISM – Weaning a child early is one of the factors that predispose the child to alcohol abuse in adult life, according to data from the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort. Previous research demonstrated a link between short duration of breast-feeding and alcoholism in men. Dr. Holger J. Sorenson and colleagues at Copenhagen University examined this relationship in 3,245 men and 3,317 women and took into account other environmental and familial factors. 34% of alcoholics had been breast-fed for no more than a month. Dr. Sorenson’s group attributes this to decreased physical and psychological contact between the mother and the infant. Low intelligence and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are also associated with short duration of breast-feeding, and may increase the risk of alcoholism.
Women risk a lot
HIV – Women with AIDS get less benefit from ARVs if they smoke, according to a new study. The study of 924 women in America found those who smoked while taking a cocktail of ARVs were 53% more likely to die than non-smokers during the nearly eight-year study. Smokers had a higher viral load and a lower CD4 count, both of which indicate poorer health and the outcome was similar regardless of how much the women smoked, the study found. Women who smoked were also 36% more likely to be diagnosed with ailments associated with AIDS, such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Watch your child
SUICIDE – Sleep loss or disturbances are likely to signal an increased risk of future suicidal action in adolescents. Research of the complex relationship between sleep, psychopathology and youth suicidal behaviour shows that suicidal psychiatric patients had more sleep disturbances including lack of sleep (insomnia), sleep insufficiency, sleeping for an excessively long time (hypersomnia), or nightmares than non-suicidal patients. Suicide is rare in childhood, increases markedly in the late teens and continues to rise until the early twenties.
More of Vitamin D
TB – Research that shows how lack of vitamin D can increase people’s susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) could explain why people in Africa are particularly prone to the disease. The findings, published by Science, suggest that a successful immune response to TB depends on the conversion of vitamin D into a hormone that white blood cells use to kill the invading bacteria. Although foods such as milk and salmon contain the vitamin, larger amounts are produced in people’s skin after exposure to sunlight. However, the darker the skin is, the less vitamin D they produce. The researchers in Tunisia found that nearly half the study population were vitamin D deficient.