Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Can Inflammatory Arthritis Be 'Worse Than Death'?
Patients with inflammatory arthritis completing a health-related quality of life questionnaire report levels of pain that result in their health being rated as "worse than death" by members of the general population.

Pitt School Of Nursing Faculty Inducted Into American Academy Of Nursing
Three faculty members from the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing will be inducted as fellows into the American Academy of Nursing.
News of the day
Test For Strep Bacteria In Pregnant Women Misses More Cases Than Expected, Study Shows
A federal recommendation that all pregnant women undergo testing for Group B strep bacteria has helped increase the number of screenings but also has produced a high level of false negatives, according to a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the AP/Newark Star-Ledger reports. Group B strep is a common bacteria in the intestines or lower genital tract. Although it poses no harm to most adults, during delivery it can be spread to infants, who can develop blood infections, pneumonia, meningitis, mental retardation, hearing and vision loss, or death. Problems occur in fewer than one in 3,000 births, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002 issued a recommendation that all pregnant women be tested because of the potential for serious complications. The study is the first research to examine the screening program. The researchers examined data on Group B strep cases in 10 states, finding that 250 infants out of nearly 7,700 were born with the infection. They compared the results with a similar study that was conducted before the CDC recommendations were in place, finding that the screening rate rose from 48% to 85% of pregnant women. The study also found that infant infections from Group B strep declined by 27%.Researchers predicted there would be between 44 and 86 false negatives in full-term infants, based on data from previous studies. However, their results showed about 60% of infected infants -- 116 cases -- were born to women who had tested negative for Group B strep. Researchers noted that the timing of a Group B test might play a role because the infection can come quickly, and tests could have been performed before the bacteria appeared. CDC recommends that pregnant women be screened between 35 and 37 weeks" gestation. CDC researcher Stephanie Schrag, who co-authored the study, said, "Maybe it was a true negative test, and the mother later became colonized" with the bacteria before delivery (Stobbe, AP/Newark Star-Ledger, 6/17).
Cardiovascular

UQ Research Finds A Mother's Mental Health Can Impact On Children

Teenagers whose mothers have mental health impairments are likely to suffer behavioural problems, UQ research has found. Using data from the Mater-University Study of Pregnancy (MUSP), recent PhD graduate Belinda Lloyd studied maternal mental health and its impact on children. The MUSP is a longitudinal study of more than 7000 mothers and their children born at Brisbane"s Mater Hospital between 1981-83. "Children whose mothers experienced mental health problems as their children grew older (during adolescence) had substantially elevated rates of the behavioural and mental health problems measured in the study," Dr Lloyd said. "Also, children whose mothers experienced recurrent mental health problems were significantly more likely to display behavioural and mental health problems. "The impact of maternal mental health problems on children was found to vary, with the timing and recurrence of maternal anxiety and depression being important." Dr Lloyd said while there was a great deal of research and media interest surrounding postnatal depression, there had been less focus on the mental health of mothers over the course of child rearing. Antenatal and postnatal depression alone were found to have no negative impact on children, a finding Dr Lloyd hopes may help reduce the stigma surrounding the conditions. "This finding challenges popular beliefs that antenatal/postnatal anxiety and depression have long-lasting detrimental impacts on child behaviour and mental health," she said. "Self-doubt, feelings of guilt and social stigma could be alleviated knowing impaired maternal mental health is not necessarily going to compromise a child"s mental health and wellbeing into adolescence and beyond." The study found mothers were more likely to experience mental health problems as their children became adolescents, a link which had not previously been adequately explored or documented. "As children grow, there are increasing and more complex demands placed on parents," Dr Lloyd said. "Also, as children grow, parental marital and other intimate relationships are more likely to deteriorate or end, potentially increasing the financial, social, emotional and practical pressures and responsibilities faced by individual parents." Dr Lloyd said the research could inform health professionals of the need to support the mental health needs of mothers as their children grow. "There is capacity for a more holistic approach to child mental health and behaviour that considers the health and wellbeing of parents as a significant factor in child outcomes," she said. "A focus on maternal mental health over the lifecourse instead of isolated periods has the potential to improve the health of women and children, and therefore families and the community." Dr Lloyd"s PhD was completed through UQ"s School of Population Health under the supervision of Professor Jake Najman, Professor Gail Williams and Dr Stuart Kinner. University of Queensland


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009