Our weekly round up of the latest news in the world of health. This week we look at why heart attacks are riskier for people with diabetes, at how early nutrition advice sticks with kids, and at the risks of the abortion pill compared to surgery. We also look at new warnings about giving cough and cold medicine to young children and at new guidelines for weight gain during pregnancy.
Stay well.
This Issue:
Heart Attacks and Diabetes Healthy Eaters Start Young Medical Abortions As Safe As Surgical Cough, Cold Medicine Warnings Pregnancy Weight Guidelines to Be Revised In the News:
Heart Attacks and Diabetes People with diabetes have a higher risk of dying after a heart attack than non-diabetics, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study analyzed results of 11 clinical trials between 1997 and 2006, involving some 62,0000 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). ACS includes conditions ranging from unstable angina to mild or severe heart attack, USA Today reports. During a year of follow up, the researchers found that diabetic patients had the same risk of dying from a mild heart attack as non-diabetics had of dying from a severe heart attack. The researchers say the results should encourage people with diabetes and their doctors to work harder to prevent heart attacks in the first place.
Healthy Eaters Start Young
What young kids learn about good and bad fats can affect their cholesterol levels years later. A Finnish study, published in the journal Circulation, found that children who were taught to avoid artery-clogging saturated fats at a very early age had lower cholesterol levels in their teens than kids whose diets weren't restricted. The study involved over 1,000 children, who were followed starting when they were 7 months old. Half the children and their families were given nutritional advice to switch from animal-based saturated fats to unsaturated fats, to drink skim milk starting at age 1, and to keep daily cholesterol and fat intake low. By the time the children were 7, the diet information was aimed a them rather than their parents. The other half of the children got no specific advice. The children kept food journal several days each year. The journals showed that the kids who'd gotten dietary advice consumed less total fat and more protein and carbohydrates than the other kids. By age 14, the counseled kids had slightly lower cholesterol readings -- 5% for boys and a statistically insignificant 2-4% for girls -- than the others. The Associated Press quotes other experts who say that lowering cholesterol by just a few points can make a difference to health. The researchers also found no adverse effects on development in children who ate a lower-fat diet early on.
Medical Abortions As Safe As Surgical
Taking an abortion pill does not raise a woman's risk of a later tubal pregnancy or miscarriage. A Danish study involving some 12,000 women compared surgical abortions with medical abortions using mifespristone and misoprostol pills. Doctors had been concerned that medical abortions might leave behind may leave bits of placenta or embryonic material that could interfere with later pregnancies. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, used Denmark's national abortion registry to identify all the women in the country who had abortions between 1999 and 2004. The researchers then compared that with information on later pregnancies. The rates of tubal pregnancies, miscarriage, early delivery and low birth weight babies were similar in women who had surgical abortions and women who took the abortion pills, The Associated Press reports.
Cough, Cold Medicine Warnings
Parents should not give cough and cold medicines to children under 2 unless a doctor specifically says to do so. That's the new warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is in the process of revising its guidelines on the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines in young children. The public health advisory from the FDA warned about adverse effects on children age 2 and younger who were given too large a dose of the medications. The FDA said children should not be given medicine packaged and made for adults. The agency also recommends checking with a health care provider about which strength medicines are safe for children; having a health care provider review all medications being given to a child to be sure they can be safely taken in combination; reading all the information on active ingredients and warnings on the drug label; and using the measuring device that comes with each medicine to portion out doses, The Associated Press reports.
Pregnancy Weight Guidelines to Be Revised
The U.S. Institute of Medicine is set to review guidelines on weight gain during pregnancy, taking into account the higher percentage of Americans who are overweight or obese. The institute's 1990 guidelines recommend that women with a normal body mass index gain 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy, while women with a higher BMI gain only 15 pounds and those with a lower BMI gain up to 40 pounds. But a study published earlier this year found that women who followed those guidelines had a four times greater risk of having a child who was overweight at age 3, compared to women who gained less than the recommended number of pounds, The Associated Press reports. Women should stick to the existing guidelines until the Institute of Medicine completes its studies, the AP said.
Used with the permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved. The above summaries are not intended to provide advice on personal medical matters, nor are they intended to be a substitute for consultation with a physician.
