Gum disease, inflammation risky for pregnant women

Pregnant women with gum disease and high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) - a marker of inflammation in the body - are at increased risk of developing preeclampsia, a serious complication involving high blood pressure that often leads to premature delivery. Researchers from the University of North Carolina found that women with the highest levels of CRP were significantly more likely to develop preeclampsia than those with lower levels. The risk was further elevated in women with both gum disease and elevated CRP levels, they wrote in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

ZERO TO 20

‘Cool’ kids can help others avoid smoking

Getting the ‘cool’ kids to talk to their peers about the dangers of smoking cut the number of young people who started using cigarettes in one study by nearly 25 per cent. A study from the University of Bristol published in Lancet took a different approach than most tobacco cessation programs aimed at youths by asking students to nominate others they viewed as influential or leaders to spread the anti-smoking message. This peer selection proved more effective than conventional programmes and greatly reduced the number of students likely to start smoking, the researchers said.

20 to 50

Early breast-feeding may raise child’s verbal IQ

Increased breast-feeding during the first months of life appears to raise a child’s verbal IQ, according to a study of nearly 14,000 children conducted by the McGill University in Montreal and published in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Six-year-olds whose mothers were part of a programme that encouraged them to breast-feed had a verbal IQ that was 7.5 points higher that children in a control group. The researchers said their findings suggested that the longer an infant is fed exclusively breast milk, the greater the IQ improvement.

50 and above

Alzheimer’s disease risks are gender specific

The risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease differ between the sexes, with stroke in men, and depression in women being critical factors. Researchers from La Colombiere Hospital in Montpellier reported in the Journal of Neurology that progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia was more likely among those who were depressed and who were taking so-called anticholinergic drugs, which influence chemical signaling in the brain.

A variation in the ApoE gene — a known risk factor for dementia — was also more common among those whose mild cognitive impairment. Men with mild cognitive impairment were found to be more likely to be overweight, diabetic, and to have had a stroke. Men who had had a stroke were almost three times as likely to progress. Women with mild cognitive impairment, on the other hand, were more likely to be in poorer general health, disabled, suffering from insomnia and to have a poor support network.