There was no significant increase in the prevalence of obese children and teens in the US between 1999 and 2006, in contrast to the increase that had been reported in prior years, according to a study in the May 28 issue of JAMA.”In the United States, the prevalence of overweight among children increased between 1980 and 2004, and the heaviest children have been getting heavier,” the authors write.

Prevalence estimates varied by age and by racial/ethnic group. Non-Hispanic black and Mexican American girls were more likely to have a high body mass index (BMI) for age than non-Hispanic white girls. Among boys, Mexican Americans were significantly more likely to have high BMI for age than non-Hispanic white boys.

In an accompanying editorial, Cara B. Ebbeling, PhD, and David S. Ludwig, MD, PhD, of Children’s Hospital Boston, write that “recent public health campaigns aimed at raising awareness of childhood obesity and improving the quality of school food have begun to pay off. However, it is too early to know whether these data reflect a true plateau or a statistical aberration in an inexorable epidemic, and pre-existing racial/ethnic disparities show no sign of abating. On one point there is no uncertainty: without substantial declines in prevalence, the public health toll of childhood obesity will continue to mount, because it can take many years for an obese child to develop life-threatening complications.”

JAMA – May 28, 2008;299:2401-2405.

www.jama.com

Good news for women who like to start their day with a cup of coffee: According to new research drinking coffee and tea won’t up a woman’s odds of developing breast cancer.Investigators followed 5,272 women for 22 years. After adjusting for various risk factors of breast cancer, they found no elevated risk among women who drank four or more cups of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee or tea per day, compared with those who drank less than one cup per day.

International Journal of Cancer – May 2008;122:2071-76.

www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/29331/home

Scientists believe they may have identified a biological explanation for the link between cesarean-section delivery and risk of allergy and asthma in childhood.”Our research looked at the effect of cesarean-section versus vaginal delivery in newborns to determine whether cesarean-section was associated with reduced regulatory T-cell function,” explains lead researcher Ngoc Ly, MD, MPH.

In this latest study, the researchers measured the expression and function of specific regulatory T-cells in the cord blood of 50 newborns born by cesarean section, and 68 delivered vaginally, all of whose have at least one parent with allergies and/or asthma.

They found that babies born by cesarean section showed a reduction in the suppressive function of their regulatory T-cells.

“This finding is exciting because it suggests that the mode of delivery may be an important factor influencing immune system development in the neonate,” adds Dr. Ly, who postulated that the stress and process of labor itself or exposure to specific microbes through the birth canal in vaginal as compared to c-section delivery may influence neonatal immune responses.

American Thoracic Society – May 18, 2008.

www.thoracic.org

Harvard researchers report that babies born to mothers who were emotionally stressed during pregnancy have an elevated risk of developing asthma and allergies.The scientists, who studied 387 mothers and their infants, found bolstered levels of IgE expression in cord blood among infants whose mothers experienced higher level stress even when exposed to relatively low levels of dust mite during pregnancy. This indicates that mother’s stress during pregnancy magnified the effect of dust exposure on the child’s immune system such that the child’s immune response at birth may be altered even with lower levels of dust exposure in the home. The results held true regardless of the mother’s race, class, education or smoking history.

“While predisposition to asthma may be, in part, set at birth, the factors that may determine this are not strictly genetic. Certain substances in the environment that cause allergies, such as dust mites, can increase a child’s chance of developing asthma and the effects may begin before birth,”

“This research adds to a growing body of evidence that links maternal stress such as that precipitated by financial problems or relationship issues, to changes in children’s developing immune systems, even during pregnancy,” says study co-author, Rosalind J. Wright, MD, MPH.

“This further supports the notion that stress can be thought of as a social pollutant that, when ‘breathed’ into the body, may influence the body’s immune response similar to the effects of physical pollutants like allergens, thus adding to their effects.”

American Thoracic Society – May 18, 2008.

www.thoracic.org

A study of recreational golfers reveals that “approximately half of the subjects reported having received chiropractic care in the past, and virtually all reported having positive experiences with the care they received.”The survey of 402 golfers revealed that 90% “played at least 3 times per week, mostly for social interaction. Most subjects transport their own golf bags under their own power, and almost 90% wear spike golf shoes, most of the metal variety.”

“Many subjects reported musculoskeletal complaints that they commonly experienced, and 1 in 8 reported having been previously injured on the golf course. Half of the subjects exercise regularly to maintain a level of conditioning, and half expressed an interest in attending a specific golf fitness program.”

“This study provides the health care provider with more knowledge about this group of golfers,” conclude the study’s authors.

JMPT – May 2008;31:313-8.

www.mosby.com/jmpt