A round up of today's other stories in brief
Study finds asthma link to yoghurt in pregnancy
WOMEN WHO eat low-fat yoghurt while pregnant increase their chances of having children who develop asthma and hay fever, a study has found.
Daily low-fat yoghurt consumption raised the odds by 1.6 times of giving birth to a child who suffered from asthma by the age of seven.
Eating this type of yoghurt almost doubled a mother’s chances of her child being diagnosed with allergic rhinitis, or hay fever.
However, the same study of almost 62,000 women in the Netherlands found that drinking milk during pregnancy had a small protective effect.
The researchers wanted to see whether fatty acids found in dairy products could help prevent childhood allergies. They are still investigating the unexpected link and believe it may not be a direct causal association.
One possibility is that yoghurt consumption acts as a proxy marker for other dietary and lifestyle factors. It may also be that non-fat nutrient components in yoghurt play a part in increasing allergy risk.
Lead researcher Dr Ekaterina Maslova, from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, US, said: “This is the first study of its kind to link low-fat yoghurt intake during pregnancy with an increased risk of asthma and hay fever in children.
“We will further investigate whether this is linked to certain nutrients or whether people who ate yoghurt regularly had similar lifestyle and dietary patterns which could explain the increased risk of asthma.”
Results of the study will be presented on Sunday at the European Respiratory Society’s annual meeting in Amsterdam.
Income a factor in people getting cancer screening
A NEW study has revealed significant differences in cancer screening uptake across income groups, with possession of private medical insurance the main reason for the difference.
Married people are also more likely to avail of cancer screening services, the research found.
Greater uptake for prostate, colorectal and cervical screening was evident among those who were married than those who were not, “perhaps reflecting the value of pester power”, said Prof Ciaran O’Neill, co-author of the research paper with Dr Mary Stiles.
The study, funded by the Health Research Board and carried out by the JE Cairnes School of Business and Economics at NUI Galway, examined data on 10,364 adults from the 2007 Slán (Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition in Ireland).
The research focused on uptake of breast, prostate, colorectal and cervical cancer screening in the previous 12 months.
Dr Brendan Walsh, fellow in health economics at NUIG, said the research revealed “a clear link” between income and better uptake of screening programmes. For the four cancers referred to, there was a 10 per cent difference in uptake between the highest socio-economic group and the lowest. In the case of three of those cancers – breast, colorectal and prostate – medical insurance was the largest factor contributing to the inequality, he said.
The results of the study allow for a clearer identification of possible policy actions which may be taken to help reduce the level of inequality, he said.
HSE ploughs screening furrow
FREE HEALTH screening and health information will be available to visitors to the National Ploughing Championships in Athy, Co Kildare, from today until Thursday.
Visitors to the HSE stand at the event will be offered information on a variety of conditions including cardiac health, smoking and lung disease, diabetes, cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention. The emphasis will be on health promotion and disease prevention. See twitter/HSElive
