Air Pollution Tied to Stillbirth in Small Study

WEDNESDAY, May 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — “Suggestive evidence” of a link between air pollution and increased risk of stillbirth is growing, according to a new review.

Wide regional variations in the world’s stillbirth rates suggest most of last year’s 2.6 million stillbirths were preventable, the research team said.

“If the evidence of an association between ambient air population and stillbirth is confirmed in future studies, it would be of major public health importance,” said Marie Pedersen, of the Center for Epidemiology and Screening at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. She was not involved in the study.

Previous examinations of available research indicated a connection between air pollution and stillbirth risk, but the association was weak. But new evidence has become available, so researchers from the University of Oulu in Finland analyzed three studies from the United States and Asia published up to 2015.

The new review found an association between exposure to air pollution, particularly during the third term of pregnancy, and an increased risk of stillbirth. However, the review doesn’t establish a cause-and-effect relationship, and further research is needed to learn more about this link, the researchers said.

Their findings were published online May 24 in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

“Stillbirth is one of the most neglected tragedies in global health today, and the existing evidence summarized by [the authors] deserves additional investigation,” Pedersen wrote in an accompanying journal editorial.

Other factors potentially linked to increased risk of stillbirth include obesity, infections, alcohol, occupation and stress, the researchers said.

More information

The March of Dimes has more about stillbirth.

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Doctors Spot New Vision Problems in Babies Struck by Zika

WEDNESDAY, May 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — New eye problems in babies born with a Zika-related birth defect have been identified by researchers.

The virus is known to cause microcephaly, in which infants are born with a smaller-than-normal head and brain.

And previous research has found that one-third of Brazilian babies with microcephaly have eye problems such as ocular lesions, optic nerve abnormalities and chorioretinal atrophy, a withering of the retina and choroid. The choroid provides oxygen and nutrients to the retina.

Now, this new report on three Brazilian infants with microcephaly identified three new eye problems: retinal lesions, bleeding in the retina and abnormal blood vessel development in the retina. The three infants also had the eye problems found in previous research.

Since last spring, Brazil has been the epicenter of a Zika outbreak, and nearly 5,000 babies have been diagnosed with microcephaly.

In the United States, a total of 279 Zika-infected pregnant women are being monitored, according to two registries that have been created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The virus is expected to become active in the United States in at least some Southern coastal areas this summer, as it typically passes from person to person via the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, U.S. health officials have said.

The latest vision findings, published online May 25 in the journal Ophthalmology, add to a growing body of evidence about how Zika may affect children’s eye development and vision, the researchers said.

It’s not known if the virus itself causes eye problems or if the problems are a consequence of Zika-associated microcephaly.

“To my knowledge, the eye problems we found have not been associated with Zika virus before,” said study senior author Dr. Darius Moshfeghi, a professor of ophthalmology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, in Stanford, Calif.

“The next step is to differentiate what findings are related to the Zika virus itself versus microcephaly caused by the virus, in order to better understand which infants will need screening,” he said in a journal news release.

The researchers said all babies with microcephaly in geographic areas affected by Zika should be examined by an ophthalmologist, advice that echoes screening recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Such examinations “can contribute significantly to our understanding of the infection,” the study authors wrote.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the Zika virus.

This Q&A will tell you what you need to know about Zika.

To see the CDC list of sites where the Zika virus is active and may pose a threat to pregnant women, click here.

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Pot While Pregnant May Raise Premature Birth Risk: Study

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, May 25, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Smoking pot while pregnant may increase the risk of premature delivery, a new study suggests.

Women who continue using marijuana up to 20 weeks’ gestation have a five times greater increase in the risk of preterm birth, independent of other risk factors, the researchers report.

“Not only did continued use of marijuana increase risk for preterm birth, but it also made these births 5 weeks earlier, on average, with a greater number of women delivering very preterm,” said senior researcher Claire Roberts, a professor at the University of Adelaide School of Pediatrics and Reproductive Health in Australia.

“That is much more dangerous for the baby, who inevitably would require admission to a neonatal intensive care unit,” Roberts continued. “Earlier delivery would be expected to increase the baby’s risk for dying and having long-term disabilities.”

The more often an expecting mother used marijuana, the earlier her baby was born, the researchers also found.

The findings don’t establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship. But the results suggest that more than 6 percent of preterm births could have been prevented if women did not use marijuana during pregnancy, Roberts said.

Roberts and her colleagues warn that increasing use of marijuana among young women of reproductive age is a major public health concern, especially in light of increased marijuana legalization, for both medicinal and recreational purposes, in the United States.

Another expert agreed.

“If somebody’s thinking ‘I only smoke a small joint in the morning to help with my morning sickness’ — that’s not safe,” said Dr. Nathaniel DeNicola, a clinical scholar at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

For the study, Roberts and her colleagues evaluated data from more than 5,500 pregnant women in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom. About 5.6 percent of those women reported smoking marijuana before or during pregnancy.

The survey only asked women about smoking marijuana, Roberts said. “It is possible they used it in different ways, although since they were recruited between 2005 and 2011 it is unlikely that they were using vaporized marijuana,” she said.

The researchers found that mothers who still smoked marijuana 20 weeks into pregnancy were more than five times likelier to suffer a spontaneous preterm birth, after adjusting for age, cigarette smoking, alcohol and their social and economic status.

The harmful effects of smoking pot are one suspected explanation for these results, Roberts said.

“We know that smoking can cause hypoxia — oxygen starvation –and this would not be a good thing in pregnancy since the baby gets all its oxygen from the mother,” she said.

But chemical components contained in marijuana, such as THC or cannabidiol, also might play a role, said DeNicola, who is also a clinical associate at Penn Obstetrics & Gynecology Associates.

THC is the chemical in pot that causes intoxication. Cannabidiol, or CBD, does not cause intoxication but does appear to interact with receptors in the human body, experts say.

These chemicals could interact with systems involved in the developing fetus, such as those that provide metabolic support or help the fetal nervous system develop, DeNicola said.

Given that cannabinoid receptors are present in nearly all the body’s major systems, “it’s not hard to imagine [marijuana] would be related to preterm delivery,” he said.

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s advice on marijuana use is similar to that for alcohol and tobacco, DeNicola said — namely, that expecting mothers should discontinue use during pregnancy.

“Some people may think vaporized or edible products are different, but in terms of pregnancy, we have no reason to believe there’s any difference,” he said.

The study results were published online recently in the journal Reproductive Toxicology prior to print publication in July.

More information

For more on marijuana use during pregnancy, visit the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

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The Surprising Way Arguing With Your Partner Affects Your Health

The Worst Things to Feed Your Kids on a Road Trip

Photo: Getty Images

If you’ve ever found yourself huddled in the backseat of a car with bags of Goldfish crackers, Cheerios, and a squirmy toddler strapped in a carseat, you know the mess kids can make on road trips. And boy, do I mean mess!

Now I don’t have any kids of my own, but I do have my friends’ kids, so I’ve seen the chaos a single two-hour road trip can do to the nerves of parents and kids alike. (I’m the person waiting at the other end of the road trip to gleefully sweep up the kid so mom and dad can have a breather.) But maybe what’s worse (and less easily recovered) is the carpet and fabric of the backseat after that lengthy trip. You know what I’m talking about. That sticky, icky, gooey mess that’s left behind when soggy cereal pieces or half-eaten gummies go for a roll through all the dirt and hair of the backseat. It’s just the best, right?

Since I don’t have any kids, I had to seek out the advice of some experts: parents. Specifically, I asked for advice from my circle of friends and read the sage words of Christopher Elliott, a dad who traveled for 300 days with his kids. If anyone is going to have some insight on keeping your flock of offspring fed without flipping your lid, I’m guessing it’s him.

Here, the two main rules for feeding your kids, plus a few ideas for helping you keep their tummies full while you’re covering miles on the open road.

Avoid sticky and crumbly things.

Gummy bears come to mind here. They’re not providing any real nutritional value anyway. Opt for wrapped pieces of fruit leather. One piece is easier to pick up than 20. They’re also shorter and more manageable than foot-long fruit leather options.

Baobites are a great gummy alternative. They’ve still got the bite and squish of a chewy fruit snack, but they’re not sticky on the outside. If they tumble, nothing will stick to them. Plus, they’re made from superfood juices like blood orange, peach, and mango. Cooking Light editors are partial to pomegranate.

Skip super-processed cereals and puffed snacks.

They’re just an endless supply of carbs with little in terms of nutrition. They also are excellent at getting lost between car seats and disappearing into dust when stepped on.

Instead, pack fruits and vegetables. Cutting them into bite-sized pieces will encourage little ones to gobble them up. If your kids like their carrots, grapes, and other fruit and veg a little on the chilled side, pack a small cooler with individual serving bags of favorite snacks so you can easily grab one from your seat or the tot can reach one from theirs. Cooler bags are especially great because they can be squeezed to fit just about anywhere. A hard-sided cooler isn’t so forgiving.

Stock up on squeezables.

Apple sauce and fruit-veg purees in pouches are all the rage in kid dining these days. They are also handy because you don’t need a set of silverware or an extra set of hands to help the kid eat. They can just grab and eat. We at Cooking Light are fans of Peter Rabbit Organics and Happy Family Organics. They even have SHINE Organics, a line of squeezable fruit and superfood purees for adults and older kids!

Roll up some snacks.

If you’ve got your cooler bag, make a few simple rolls-ups with your kids favorite sandwich foods. Think low-sodium deli meats, cheese, spinach, and hummus on a whole-wheat tortilla. Or how about a little marinara sauce, sliced chicken breast, and a sprinkle of mozzarella on whole-grain naan? Roll these cup, slice in half, and plop them into your cooler for a quick bite.

Make your own bars and bites.

Lots of snack bars on the market today have less than impressive ingredient lists. If you make bars and snack bites yourself, you’ll know exactly what’s in them. Pick from our list of DIY Snack Bars, make a batch, cut into manageable bite-size pieces (less likely to crumble and fall apart), and drop them in a zip-top bag for the road. Our Chocolate-Peanut Butter Energy Balls are already bite size.

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Kids may be quick to snack when really they’re just thirsty. (Hey, adults do this, too.) Keep a fresh water bottle beside your kiddo at all times. If they like their water chilled, look for insulated bottles, like Takeya’s 14-ounce Thermoflask Bottle.

This article originally appeared on CookingLight.com.

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Drink Spiking a Problem on U.S. Campuses

TUESDAY, May 24, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Drink spiking may be prevalent on U.S. college campuses, and women are at much greater risk than men, new research finds.

Women were also more likely than men to cite sexual assault as a motive for drink spiking — where someone secretly adds alcohol or drugs to another person’s drink.

Men were more likely to say the motive was “to have fun,” according to the study of more than 6,000 students at three U.S. universities.

These findings show it “is more than simply an urban legend,” said study leader Suzanne Swan, an associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of South Carolina.

The researchers found that almost 8 percent of the students said they’d had drugs put into their drinks. Also, 1.4 percent said they had either spiked another person’s drink or knew someone who had.

While spiking drinks is often linked to “date rape,” some students said it was done for amusement, to calm someone down or to make them go to sleep.

The study results were published May 23 in the journal Psychology of Violence.

“Even if a person is drugging someone else simply ‘for fun’ with no intent of taking advantage of the drugged person, the drugger is still putting a drug in someone else’s body without their consent — and this is coercive and controlling behavior,” said Swan in a journal news release.

About four out of five victims were women, the study found.

However, the researchers emphasized there were limitations to the study.

“We have no way of knowing if the drugging victims were actually drugged or not, and many of the victims were not certain either,” they wrote. “It is possible that some respondents drank too much, or drank a more potent kind of alcohol than they were accustomed to.”

Also, widely used over-the-counter and prescription drugs can interact with alcohol, the researchers noted. And they said victims often don’t remember what happened when they were drugged.

Despite the limitations, the study findings show both victims and perpetrators need to be educated about the potential harms tied to doctoring beverages, the researchers said.

“Because many of those who drug others believe that the behavior is fun and minimize the risks, interventions could provide information about the dangers of overdosing,” Swan said.

“They could also target the issue of consent,” she added. “Just as people have a fundamental right to consent to sexual activity, they also have the right to know and consent to the substances they ingest.”

More information

The U.S. Office on Women’s Health has more on date rape drugs.

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Most Americans Wouldn’t Join a Clinical Trial, Survey Finds

TUESDAY, May 24, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Just four in 10 Americans have a positive impression of clinical trials, a new survey finds.

And, only about one-third of Americans would be likely to enroll in one, the survey showed.

The findings are cause for concern in terms of cancer research because nearly every advance in cancer was first evaluated in a clinical trial, according to the study authors from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City. They added that previous research has found that only 4 percent of cancer patients in the United States actually enroll in clinical trials each year.

“When it comes to advancing cancer care, clinical research is the rocket fuel for better treatments, more accurate diagnoses and, ultimately, cures,” said Dr. Jose Baselga, physician-in-chief and chief medical officer at the cancer center.

“If this trend of low enrollment continues, we will face a crisis in cancer research and discovery. Further education is the key to participation and progress,” he said in a center news release.

Currently, more than 900 cancer clinical trials are under way at Memorial Sloan Kettering, the researchers said.

The survey included more than 1,500 adults. They were between the ages of 18 and 69 years old. The surveys revealed a number of concerns about clinical trials. More than half of those surveyed were worried about side effects and safety. Half were concerned about insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs. And nearly half were concerned about the inconvenience of trial locations, or receiving a placebo instead of an active treatment drug.

Additionally, about another one-third of those surveyed expressed skepticism about unproven treatments. A similar number said a clinical trial would make them feel like a guinea pig.

But after reading information about clinical trials, the number of respondents with a positive impression of these trials rose from 40 percent to 60 percent.

“While concerns regarding clinical trials are understandable, it is critical that the cancer community address common myths and misunderstandings around issues like effectiveness, safety, use of placebo, and at which point in treatment a trial should be considered. For example, the vast majority of clinical trials do not involve a placebo,” said Dr. Paul Sabbatini, deputy physician-in-chief for clinical research at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

The review also included a survey of nearly 600 doctors who have discussed clinical trials with patients. Many clinical trials are available to patients in the earliest phases of treatment, but 56 percent of doctors said they considered clinical trials for patients only late in treatment. Twenty-eight percent said they considered clinical trials “a treatment of last resort.”

Only 32 percent of the doctors said they discuss clinical trials with their patients at the beginning of treatment.

“Failing to consider clinical trials at every stage of cancer diagnosis and treatment can represent a significant missed opportunity, primarily for patients, as well as for doctors and researchers trying to develop better therapies,” Sabbatini said.

“It’s critical that we spread the word: Clinical trials offer our best thinking toward finding better ways to prevent, treat and cure cancer, and there are options for patients and their families to consider early on in treatment,” he added.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more on clinical trials.

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After Heart Attack, New Threat: Heart Failure

TUESDAY, May 24, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Risk of heart failure appears high within a few years of a first heart attack, a new study finds.

“Heart failure is a major medical problem with a high chance of hospitalization and death,” said study author Dr. Johannes Gho, a cardiology resident at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Heart failure means the heart can’t pump blood efficiently enough to meet the body’s demands.

Improved heart attack treatment has led to higher survival rates, leaving more patients susceptible to later heart failure, Gho said in a European Society of Cardiology news release.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from nearly 25,000 people in the United Kingdom who suffered a first heart attack. Nearly 25 percent of these patients developed heart failure within four years, the investigators found.

Certain risk factors increased the risk of heart failure after a first heart attack, Gho and his colleagues said. For example, every 10-year rise in age was associated with a 45 percent higher risk, and the poorest patients had a 27 percent increased risk.

Atrial fibrillation — a condition characterized by an abnormal heartbeat — and diabetes also significantly increased the risk of heart failure, by 63 percent and 44 percent, respectively.

Other health conditions associated with a higher risk of heart failure after a first heart attack included: peripheral arterial disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high blood pressure, and a type of heart attack known as STEMI (ST elevation myocardial infarction).

“Patients with ischemic heart disease are at the highest risk [for heart failure]. This includes those who have had a myocardial infarction, also called heart attack,” Gho said.

“Research studying incidence of heart failure following [heart attack] is limited and mainly stems from the thrombolytic era, when drugs were used to dissolve blood clots,” he explained. Today, stenting is the preferred treatment for heart attack, where a small mesh tube is used to open the blocked artery, he said.

On the one hand, stenting has improved treatment for heart attack, so the risk of heart failure would be expected to decrease, Gho said. “On the other hand, because treatment has improved, more patients are alive after a heart attack to subsequently get heart failure,” he added.

“Finding which heart attack patients are most likely to get heart failure would help us target preventive therapies,” he said.

The findings were scheduled for presentation Tuesday at a meeting of the European Society of Cardiology’s Heart Failure Association in Florence, Italy. Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about heart failure.

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What You Need to Know About Nutritional Yeast

Photo: Getty Images

Nutritional yeast has long been a favorite of vegans, who use it as a cheese substitute. But now nutritional yeast is everywhere—maybe you’ve seen it in the market, or on a food blog. Here’s what you need to know about the popular seasoning.

It’s simply deactivated yeast—similar to the kind in your bread or beer.

To make the seasoning, manufacturers feed the yeast sugar, to make them grow and flourish. Then they kill (or deactivate) the yeast by heating them. Finally, they dry the deactivated yeast and fortify it with vitamins and minerals. That’s it.

RELATED: What Happened When a Food Editor Switched to an All-Vegan Diet

It tastes cheesy and savory because of naturally occurring glutamate.

Nutritional yeast does not contain added MSG, but it as the yeast break down, they leave behind amino acids, glutamic acid among them, which has a naturally savory, umami-like flavor.

It’s fairly nutritious.

Nutritional yeast contains B vitamins and protein, and it has only about 20 calories per spoonful.

RELATED: 38 Delicious Vegan Recipes

You can use it the same way you’d use Parmesan.

Nutritional yeast is a super useful seasoning for vegan or dairy-free diets: It’s fantastic sprinkled on popcorn or nachos, or over roasted vegetables or salads. You can use it to make vegan pastas taste cheesy. But it’s good in non-vegan dishes too—as a flavoring in breadcrumbs for crispy chicken or fish, for instance.

This article originally appeared on CookingLight.com.

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Viral Hashtag Sheds Light on What #MyDepressionLooksLike

Photo: Getty Images

Depression affects an estimated 7% of adults in the U.S. each year, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. But the reality is that those who suffer from this common disorder often feel alone in their struggle with unrelenting sadness and hopelessness.

Enter the viral hashtag #MyDepressionLooksLike: In an effort to combat the pervasive sense of isolation—and in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month—people are using it to paint a picture of their personal experiences with the disorder.

#mydepressionlookslike being so exhausted mentally and physically that I can't get out of bed.

— Mortemer (@Mort3mer) May 22, 2016

#MyDepressionLooksLike trying to make everyone around me happy while feeling like I don't deserve to be.

— Wine Daddy. (@TRYVNS) May 23, 2016

RELATED: 10 Things to Say (and Not to Say) to Someone with Depression

As psychiatrist and Health contributing editor Gail Saltz, MD, points out, the hashtag is an especially powerful use of social media: “Sharing your feelings about depression—and seeing others share—openly diminishes the stigma associated with mental health issues.”

What’s more, knowing there are others who truly understand what you’re going through can be incredibly helpful, adds Dr. Saltz. “It gives you hope to see others persevere and get better, and gives you ideas for ways to get treatment.”

But even for people who don’t suffer from the disorder, these tweets are building important awareness, about how the symptoms manifest in everyday life. “Everyone needs to recognize the signs [of depression],” says Dr. Saltz, so you can encourage a friend or family member to seek help when you see a problem and they don’t. Depression affects judgment, she explains, so a person’s ability to recognize her own symptoms may be impaired.

Below, check out more of the brave and illuminating tweets.

#MyDepressionLooksLike Nothing. Not sadness, not panic, not dread, just awful nothingness that stretches on for months at a time.

— Hutch (@z0mgItsHutch) May 22, 2016

#mydepressionlookslike someone saying "it's not that deep" in response to something I've been internally struggling with for quite a while.

— J (@younggwhite) May 23, 2016

#MyDepressionLooksLike Withdrawing from the people who care about me because I don't want them to feel bad that they can't help me.

— Keisha (@grlnxtdoorisblk) May 22, 2016

RELATED: The Most Depressing Time of Year? Suicide Rates Spike in Spring

#mydepressionlookslike not feeling capable enough to move my body from my bed, feeling as if I'm am sinking in my own physical being, weak

— matty (@vrymatty) May 24, 2016

#MyDepressionLooksLike me slowly distancing myself from everyone/everything I once loved, therefore becoming isolated & even more miserable.

— ☾ (@disintegrxting) May 23, 2016

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