Health news, tips and features: Healia Health Blog
July 2009
Air Quality During Pregnancy May Lower Your Child's IQ
Health News posted 4 months ago by The Healia Team
The air quality in and around your home may have negative effects on your child’s intelligence, according to a study by Columbia University Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH).
The study, released a week ago by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), found that children exposed to chemical pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in the air, water, and soil scored lower on IQ tests than children with lower exposure.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are chemical pollutants that can be found in the air, water, and soil. PAHs are typically released from the burning of fossil fuels (coal, diesel, oil, gas, etc.), tobacco and other natural substances. Auto emissions are a major source of PAHs in the United States, especially in heavily trafficked urban areas.
Doctor Frederica Perera, lead author and professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, compares the exposure to such pollutants to low-level lead exposure. “These findings are of concern because these decreases in IQ could be educationally meaningful in terms of school performance,” she says. “IQ is an important predictor of future academic performance.”
A child’s developing fetal and nervous system is more vulnerable than an adult’s, and PAHs have been associated with higher cancer risk, asthma, allergies, low birth weight, and a reduced head circumference. Reduced head circumference, according to CCCEH, is connected with lower cognitive functioning and academic performance. In this study, the first of its kind, researchers hoped to study the relationship of in utero PAH exposure on a child’s intelligence.
Participants were non-smoking black and Dominican-American women, aged 18-35, residing in Washington Heights, Harlem and South Bronx, N.Y.—areas with higher pollutant exposure. During pregnancy participants regularly completed questionnaires and were asked to wear monitors that measured PAH levels.
Researchers followed the children, measuring IQ levels at age three and again at age five using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of the Intelligence. Of the 249 children, 140 had higher than the average 2.26 n/m3 level of exposure. The mean score for all children was 98.72, with a mean score of 96.6 for children whose exposure was classified as “high” and 101.6 for children with lower exposure. Scores differed by 4.67 on the verbal and 4.31 points on the full-scale test.
Researchers will continue to follow children to age 11 to learn more about the effects of PAHs on intelligence and child development. “It should serve as a warning bell to us all,” says Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of NIEHS. “We need to do more to prevent environmental exposures from harming our children.”
Want more information about health during pregnancy? Visit Healia's Pregnancy Community or take the Healia Pregnancy Quiz!
The study, released a week ago by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), found that children exposed to chemical pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in the air, water, and soil scored lower on IQ tests than children with lower exposure.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, are chemical pollutants that can be found in the air, water, and soil. PAHs are typically released from the burning of fossil fuels (coal, diesel, oil, gas, etc.), tobacco and other natural substances. Auto emissions are a major source of PAHs in the United States, especially in heavily trafficked urban areas.
Doctor Frederica Perera, lead author and professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, compares the exposure to such pollutants to low-level lead exposure. “These findings are of concern because these decreases in IQ could be educationally meaningful in terms of school performance,” she says. “IQ is an important predictor of future academic performance.”
A child’s developing fetal and nervous system is more vulnerable than an adult’s, and PAHs have been associated with higher cancer risk, asthma, allergies, low birth weight, and a reduced head circumference. Reduced head circumference, according to CCCEH, is connected with lower cognitive functioning and academic performance. In this study, the first of its kind, researchers hoped to study the relationship of in utero PAH exposure on a child’s intelligence.
Participants were non-smoking black and Dominican-American women, aged 18-35, residing in Washington Heights, Harlem and South Bronx, N.Y.—areas with higher pollutant exposure. During pregnancy participants regularly completed questionnaires and were asked to wear monitors that measured PAH levels.
Researchers followed the children, measuring IQ levels at age three and again at age five using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of the Intelligence. Of the 249 children, 140 had higher than the average 2.26 n/m3 level of exposure. The mean score for all children was 98.72, with a mean score of 96.6 for children whose exposure was classified as “high” and 101.6 for children with lower exposure. Scores differed by 4.67 on the verbal and 4.31 points on the full-scale test.
Researchers will continue to follow children to age 11 to learn more about the effects of PAHs on intelligence and child development. “It should serve as a warning bell to us all,” says Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D., director of NIEHS. “We need to do more to prevent environmental exposures from harming our children.”
Want more information about health during pregnancy? Visit Healia's Pregnancy Community or take the Healia Pregnancy Quiz!
Pain That Pays: Migraines Cut Breast Cancer Risk
Health News posted 4 months ago by The Healia Team
A follow-up study in Washington shows that although migraines are a real pain, they may spell relief for women at risk for developing breast cancer.
Dr. Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash. originally conducted this study with colleagues in 2008. Their original study linked clinically diagnosed migraines with a lower risk for both invasive ductal and invasive lobular breast cancer.
Breast cancer and migraines are both hormonally related conditions—migraines often resulting from unstable or changing hormone levels, especially estrogen. For women, who are 2-3 times more likely to experience migraines than men, this time is typically during the early days of menstruation.
The study found that postmenopausal women with a history of migraines had 32-33% reduced chance of developing breast cancer. These statistics proved to be even more consistent in subtypes of breast cancer that are estrogen-receptor and progesterone-receptor positive.
When the original study results were released last fall, the sample group consisted of roughly 3,500 postmenopausal Seattle women between the ages of 55-74. This time, however, Dr. Li and his colleagues were able to paint a much better picture. “Having a larger and more diverse study in its underlying population helps in replicating the findings,” Li says.
By more than doubling the sample size, expanding testing to women of different menopausal stages (this time including ages 35-64), and adding four locations in Detroit, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, researchers were able to define breast cancer’s connection to migraines more clearly.
In addition to age and menopausal status, many breast cancer risk factors also trigger migraines. Such factors include smoking, alcohol consumption and use of exogenous hormones (such as birth control). These risk factors, however, did not increase the likelihood of women with a history of migraines.
According to the second study, rates among the control and case groups were relatively unchanged, despite differences in use of prescription migraine medications and age at migraine diagnosis. Even among those who did not avoid these triggers, women with a history of migraines were still 26% less likely to develop breast cancer than those without.
It is not clear how migraines “protect” against breast cancer, but researchers hope to further examine the role of hormones, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and other medications in the development of breast cancer.
The best way to reduce breast cancer risk is to check regularly. For more information on breast cancer and how to do a self-examination, visit NationalBreastCancer.org.
You can also check out Helia's Breast Cancer Community!
Want more information about migraines? Click here .
Dr. Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash. originally conducted this study with colleagues in 2008. Their original study linked clinically diagnosed migraines with a lower risk for both invasive ductal and invasive lobular breast cancer.
Breast cancer and migraines are both hormonally related conditions—migraines often resulting from unstable or changing hormone levels, especially estrogen. For women, who are 2-3 times more likely to experience migraines than men, this time is typically during the early days of menstruation.
The study found that postmenopausal women with a history of migraines had 32-33% reduced chance of developing breast cancer. These statistics proved to be even more consistent in subtypes of breast cancer that are estrogen-receptor and progesterone-receptor positive.
When the original study results were released last fall, the sample group consisted of roughly 3,500 postmenopausal Seattle women between the ages of 55-74. This time, however, Dr. Li and his colleagues were able to paint a much better picture. “Having a larger and more diverse study in its underlying population helps in replicating the findings,” Li says.
By more than doubling the sample size, expanding testing to women of different menopausal stages (this time including ages 35-64), and adding four locations in Detroit, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Philadelphia, researchers were able to define breast cancer’s connection to migraines more clearly.
In addition to age and menopausal status, many breast cancer risk factors also trigger migraines. Such factors include smoking, alcohol consumption and use of exogenous hormones (such as birth control). These risk factors, however, did not increase the likelihood of women with a history of migraines.
According to the second study, rates among the control and case groups were relatively unchanged, despite differences in use of prescription migraine medications and age at migraine diagnosis. Even among those who did not avoid these triggers, women with a history of migraines were still 26% less likely to develop breast cancer than those without.
It is not clear how migraines “protect” against breast cancer, but researchers hope to further examine the role of hormones, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and other medications in the development of breast cancer.
The best way to reduce breast cancer risk is to check regularly. For more information on breast cancer and how to do a self-examination, visit NationalBreastCancer.org.
You can also check out Helia's Breast Cancer Community!
Want more information about migraines? Click here .
Is Your Child With Asthma Ready to Self-Manage an Inhaler?
Health News posted 4 months ago by The Healia Team
New laws in Louisiana, Connecticut, Georgia and Pennsylvania give students the right to carry and self-administer their own medications, including an asthma inhaler.
At this back-to-school time, find out how to tell if your child with asthma is ready to carry and use an inhaler on his or her own. Age and grade-level matter less than individual readiness, according to the Allergy&Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA).
Parent/Child Asthma Inhaler Quiz
See how your answers to the following questions match up with your child’s answers. These are the best clues to determining your child’s readiness to self-manage asthma symptoms at school:
Asthma self-management begins at home. Parental instruction should be backed up by plenty of low-pressure practice. At school, teachers should be aware of the condition and supportive of the process.
Students who self-manage symptoms must be willing to notify teachers, the school nurse or designated administrator when they need to use their inhalers to treat symptom. They must be willing to tell their parents about all medication use or symptoms experienced while away from home.
Back-to-School Asthma To-Do List for Parents
Ensure that backup medication is available in the school clinic should the child become separated from his medication at any time.
Complete required forms and keep them updated during the school year if contact information or emergency treatment plans change.
Not yet time for self-use of an inhaler? School personnel will need to ensure that the student’s medication travels with him from one classroom to the next to prevent treatment delays in times of need. Your child’s allergy or asthma management plan should specify this.
• For answers to common asthma questions, check the Healia Health Guide to Asthma.
• Test your knowledge of asthma—take this informative asthma quiz.
• Student-athletes with asthma and allergies can thrive on the playing field as long as they’re careful and follow these tips.
At this back-to-school time, find out how to tell if your child with asthma is ready to carry and use an inhaler on his or her own. Age and grade-level matter less than individual readiness, according to the Allergy&Asthma Network Mothers of Asthmatics (AANMA).
Parent/Child Asthma Inhaler Quiz
See how your answers to the following questions match up with your child’s answers. These are the best clues to determining your child’s readiness to self-manage asthma symptoms at school:
- Does your child use an inhaler (preferably with a holding chamber) correctly at home?
- Does she know the name of her medication and when to use it?
- Does he stay calm when having asthma symptoms?
- Does she tell you when she is having symptoms or when she has used the inhaler?
- Does he use a peak flow meter?
- Does your child carry the inhaler at all times?
- Does he understand that the inhaler is not a toy and should not be shared with friends?
Asthma self-management begins at home. Parental instruction should be backed up by plenty of low-pressure practice. At school, teachers should be aware of the condition and supportive of the process.
Students who self-manage symptoms must be willing to notify teachers, the school nurse or designated administrator when they need to use their inhalers to treat symptom. They must be willing to tell their parents about all medication use or symptoms experienced while away from home.
Back-to-School Asthma To-Do List for Parents
Ensure that backup medication is available in the school clinic should the child become separated from his medication at any time.
Complete required forms and keep them updated during the school year if contact information or emergency treatment plans change.
Not yet time for self-use of an inhaler? School personnel will need to ensure that the student’s medication travels with him from one classroom to the next to prevent treatment delays in times of need. Your child’s allergy or asthma management plan should specify this.
• For answers to common asthma questions, check the Healia Health Guide to Asthma.
• Test your knowledge of asthma—take this informative asthma quiz.
• Student-athletes with asthma and allergies can thrive on the playing field as long as they’re careful and follow these tips.
Popular Pain Reliever Precautions: Avoiding Acetaminophen Overdose
Healia News posted 4 months ago by The Healia Team
You may not realize that you’re taking too much of a popular pain reliever. The most widely used medication in the United States, acetaminophen (Tylenol), is effective in relieving mild to moderate pain and reducing fever—when used at the recommended dosage. When more than 4,000 milligrams of acetaminophen are used a day, however, it can harm the liver. Acetaminophen overdosage causes an estimated 56,000 visits to emergency facilities each year and is the most frequent cause of liver failure.
Although the problems have been recognized for years, they recently gained more scrutiny. The Federal Drug Administration has taken a closer look at the safety of over-the-counter and prescription medication containing acetaminophen. Last week, an FDA joint advisory committee gathered to discuss safety questions surrounding acetaminophen. They made several recommendations, such as lowering the maximum daily dosage and strengthening the labeling.
And, manufacturers may be asked to play a bigger role in helping prevent overdoses. One issue: many remedies contain acetaminophen along with other medications. Consumers may not be aware they are swallowing acetaminophen along with both prescription and over-the-counter remedies. A majority of acetaminophen-related deaths have involved opioid/acetaminophen combination products, such as acetaminophen/oxycodone (Percocet) and acetaminophen/hydrocodone (Vicodin). Typically, the package warning labels concentrate on the more potent opioid drug.
Although the FDA is not required to accept the recommendations of its advisory committees, it usually does so.
To help protect yourself from overdosing on acetaminophen, Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Remington Professor of Pharmacy at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, offers these tips:
Although the problems have been recognized for years, they recently gained more scrutiny. The Federal Drug Administration has taken a closer look at the safety of over-the-counter and prescription medication containing acetaminophen. Last week, an FDA joint advisory committee gathered to discuss safety questions surrounding acetaminophen. They made several recommendations, such as lowering the maximum daily dosage and strengthening the labeling.
And, manufacturers may be asked to play a bigger role in helping prevent overdoses. One issue: many remedies contain acetaminophen along with other medications. Consumers may not be aware they are swallowing acetaminophen along with both prescription and over-the-counter remedies. A majority of acetaminophen-related deaths have involved opioid/acetaminophen combination products, such as acetaminophen/oxycodone (Percocet) and acetaminophen/hydrocodone (Vicodin). Typically, the package warning labels concentrate on the more potent opioid drug.
Although the FDA is not required to accept the recommendations of its advisory committees, it usually does so.
To help protect yourself from overdosing on acetaminophen, Daniel A. Hussar, PhD, Remington Professor of Pharmacy at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, offers these tips:
- Know that APAP is the abbreviation for the chemical name of acetaminophen and, if found on the list of ingredients, means the product contains acetaminophen.
- For occasional, modest pain, consider starting with a dose of 500 mg (rather than 1000 mg).
- Be aware there are two concentrations of nonprescription acetaminophen for children. The infant formulation is more concentrated than the formulation for older children. Make sure you understand the concentration level before giving medication to a child.
- Check the dose of acetaminophen that is included in any combination medication. Ask your pharmacist if you are uncertain.
- For over-the-counter cold and flu remedies, seek products that treat just the symptoms you have. For sneezing and a runny nose, for example, a product containing an antihistamine and a decongestant would be sufficient.
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