Cartoons help patients cope up
Researchers from the University of Southampton have shown that cartoons could be a beneficial way of educating patients and empowering them to cope better with their long term conditions. “Humour is frequently and naturally used by people with chronic illnesses to help them adjust and understand what is happening to them,” explains Associate Professor Dr Anne Kennedy, who led the study. “Our study has shown that cartoons could provide clarity to patients and be a way to engage with them. It is an untapped resource and could be a potential approach to support self-management.” Cartoons are already used in patient information but the content is sourced from health professionals rather than directly from patient experience, a unique aspect of the Southampton study.
Being underweight as risky as obesity
Being underweight puts people at highest risk of dying, just as obesity does, new research has found. The connection between being underweight and the higher risk of dying is true for both adults and fetuses. This is so even when factors such as smoking, alcohol use or lung disease are considered, or adults with a chronic or terminal illness are excluded, the study found. The study, led by Dr Joel Ray was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Dr Ray's meta-analysis looked at 51 studies on the links between BMI and deaths from any cause, plus data on newborn weight and stillbirths in Ontario. He found that adults who are underweight — with a BMI under 18.5 or less — have a 1.8 times higher risk of dying than those with a “normal” BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. The risk of dying is 1.2 times higher for people who are obese (BMI of 30-34.9) and 1.3 times higher for those who are severely obese (a BMI of 35 or higher).
too many Babies Affects Heart health
Women who give birth to four or more children are much more likely to have evidence of plaque in their heart or thickening of their arteries — early signs of cardiovascular disease — compared with those having fewer pregnancies, according to research to be presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session. While earlier studies have shown an association between several aspects of pregnancy — physiological changes, complications, number of pregnancies — and future heart disease risk, many questions remain about how pregnancy might affect cardiovascular risk. To better understand the potential link, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center set out to determine whether the number of live births is associated with early signs of cardiovascular disease.
autism begins during pregnancy
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Allen Institute for Brain Science have published a study that gives clear and direct new evidence that autism begins during pregnancy. The researchers analysed 25 genes in post-mortem brain tissue of children with and without autism. These included genes that serve as biomarkers for brain cell types in different layers of the cortex, genes implicated in autism and several control genes. “Building a baby's brain during pregnancy involves creating a cortex that contains six layers,” a researcher said. “We discovered focal patches of disrupted development of these cortical layers in the majority of children with autism.” The researchers created the first three-dimensional model visualising brain locations where patches of cortex had failed to develop the normal cell-layering pattern.
kids who sleep less overeat
Young children who sleep less eat more, which can lead to obesity and related health problems later in life, reports a new study by UCl researchers. The study found that 16 month-old children who slept for less than 10 hours each day consumed on average 105kcal more per day than children who slept for more than 13 hours. This is an increase of around 10 per cent from 982kcal to 1087kcal. Associations between eating, weight and sleep have been reported previously in older children and adults, but the study is the first to directly link sleep to energy intake in children under the age of three years. The association was observed before differences in weight emerged, strongly suggesting that energy intake is a key pathway through which sleep contributes to weight gain in early childhood.