Month: June 2012

The most common type of weight-loss (bariatric) surgery may increase people’s risk of alcohol abuse, a new study finds. The study included almost 2,000 women and men who had weight-loss surgery. Before the surgery, they filled out questionnaires about their drinking habits. They also answered the questions 1 and 2 years after surgery. By 2 years after surgery, 11% of those who had gastric bypass surgery drank to excess. That was an increase of 50% from before the surgery. There was no increase among people who had gastric banding, another type of weight-loss surgery. About 5% drank to excess before and after surgery. Gastric bypass restricts the size of the stomach. This smaller stomach is attached directly to a lower part of the small intestine. The rest of the stomach and intestine are bypassed. Therefore, less food is absorbed.

Prescriptions written for children have dropped 7% in the last decade, a new study finds. But prescriptions rose for some drugs, including those for attention disorders. Researchers looked at prescription numbers for children through age 17. The study covered the years 2002 through 2010. The types of prescriptions that fell included antibiotics. Experts have pressed for less use of antibiotics to reduce the growth of bacteria that resist these drugs. Cold and cough medicines also were prescribed less. U.S. drug regulators warned in 2008 that these drugs should not be used in young children. Prescriptions for allergy medicines also fell. Many of these medicines now can be bought over the counter. Prescriptions for drugs used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) jumped 46% during the study period.