Harvard Health Content API

Large doses of vitamins C and E do not appear to prevent a major health problem of pregnancy, new research has found. The study of 10,000 pregnant women was the largest yet done. It confirms the results of several smaller studies. Preeclampsia is a problem that occurs in about 8% of pregnancies. The condition includes high blood pressure and protein in the urine. It can cause illness and death in both pregnant women and their babies. Doctors don’t know how to prevent it. The new study randomly divided women into two groups. They took either large doses of vitamins or fake pills. The women who took the vitamins were a bit more likely to develop high blood pressure. But the difference was so small it could have been caused by chance. The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. USA Today wrote about it April 8.

A mild traumatic brain injury is often called a concussion. But parents take an injury that’s called a concussion less seriously, a new study suggests. An author of the study told HealthDay News that many parents think a concussion affects the head but not the brain. The study looked at hospital records of 341 children with traumatic brain injury. About one-third were diagnosed with a concussion. Others were told they had a traumatic brain injury. Children diagnosed with a concussion were 1½ times as likely as others to leave the hospital early. They were 2½ times as likely to return to school early. These trends persisted even if a child diagnosed with a concussion had a moderate or severe injury. The study appeared January 18 in the journal Pediatrics.

Broken bones occur more often in people with heart failure, a study finds. Researchers looked at records of 16,000 patients with various forms of heart disease. Of those, 2,000 had heart failure. All had been treated in emergency rooms. In the next year, people with heart failure were more than four times as likely as the others to have a broken bone. About 4.6% of those with heart failure had a fracture. About 1% of the others did. Hip fractures occurred in 1.3% for those with heart failure and 0.1% of the others. HealthDay News wrote about the study October 20. It was in the journal Circulation.

The U.S. youth suicide rate fell about 5% in 2005, researchers say. But the drop did not erase an 18% hike in 2004. That increase alarmed health officials. It was the first in 18 years. Since 1996, the suicide rate had fallen for children ages 10 to 19. It rose in 2004 to 4.7 suicides per 1,000 children. The new study shows the rate dropped to 4.5 in 2005. The study was in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The Association Press wrote about it September 3.

Heartburn drugs don’t improve asthma, a new study concludes. Many people with asthma have heartburn — so many that doctors thought the two conditions were related. Therefore, some people with asthma were given drugs for heartburn, even if they didn’t have it. These people should stop taking the drugs, the study authors said. The study included 412 people with poorly controlled asthma. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group was given esomeprazole (Nexium). This is a type of heartburn drug called a proton pump inhibitor. The other group got dummy pills (placebos). They took the pills for six months. People who got Nexium had no improvement in symptoms, compared with those who got dummy pills. The study appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Associated Press reported on it April 9.

Women’s immune systems get more active years before they develop a crippling form of arthritis, new research shows. The study used blood samples from 170 women. All of them later developed rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Their blood was different than the blood of women who did not go on to develop RA. It had higher levels of two proteins involved in the immune system. They are called IL-6 and sTNFRII. Women with high levels of sTNFRII were twice as likely as those with low levels to develop RA. IL6 also indicated an increased risk, but the increase was smaller. The study appeared in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. Reuters Health news service wrote about it March 12.

Having Alzheimer’s disease triples a person’s health care costs, a new report says. The report tallied costs for nursing homes and other medical care. Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance paid for the care. The total was about $33,000 a year for someone with Alzheimer’s. Costs were about $10,600 a year for an older adult without the disease. The Alzheimer’s Association issued the report. The Associated Press wrote about it March 24.

Women who want to avoid weight gain as they get older should do at least an hour a day of moderately intense exercise, a new study concludes. Researchers tracked the physical activity and weight of more than 34,000 healthy women. Their average age was 54 at the start of the study, which lasted 13 years. On average, they gained about 6 pounds in that time. About 13% of the women started at a healthy weight and did not gain. They also did the most exercise – an average of an hour daily, mostly walking. Women who exercised 150 minutes a week or less were much more likely to gain weight. The study focused specifically on weight. The U.S. government says you can gain health benefits from 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week. The study appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association. USA Today wrote about it March 24.

Some obese children are developing severe liver damage, the Associated Press (AP) reported September 9. A few have needed transplants. The condition is called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It is closely related to obesity. Experts told AP that many more of today’s obese children may need liver transplants in their 30s or 40s. Losing weight is the best treatment for early cases. It can reverse the condition if the liver is not yet badly scarred. Experts said doctors should order a blood test of liver enzymes every two years for high-risk children.

A study of more than 1 million women has found that even moderate drinking is associated with more cancers. The study was done in the United Kingdom. Even low levels of alcohol intake increased the risk for some cancers, including breast cancer and liver cancer. Smokers who also drank had higher rates of cancers of the mouth and throat. The study appears in the February 24 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The Associated Press reported on the study February 25.