Volunteers neededThe Lifeways Study is designed to find out how Ireland could become a healthier place to live for both adults and children by looking at the factors that affect health and well-being and at ways of making improvements - especially for children.
This is a five-year, cross-generational study which includes the child together with parents and grandparents and involves the mother keeping a child study record booklet up to date regarding the child's immunisations, illnesses and milestones. The information gathered through the parent-held study record will remain strictly confidential and will be used for research purposes only.
The study also involves collecting information from the maternity hospital and from the family's GP on an annual basis.
This health survey is being carried out by the Department of Health Promotion at NUI, Galway and will include 1,300 women, divided equally between University College Hospital, Galway and the Coombe Hospital, Dublin. The Lifeways Study is urging pregnant women to participate in the survey, which will help healthcare policy workers in the future design of health strategy in Ireland.
Similar studies have been carried out in the UK and other countries over the last 50 years, but Lifeways is the first study of this kind in Ireland. It is increasingly recognised that our environment, living conditions, social relationships and conditions at work have a great influence on our health.
Vitamin D and bone strength
Vitamin D deficiency is now a significant concern in adults over the age of 50 who live in northerly regions of the world. Consequently, a research group within the Department of Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork wants to recruit 60 women aged 70 to 75 years for a study on vitamin D and bone health. Along with similar groups in four other EU countries, they are currently carrying out a large study to measure vitamin D levels and their impact on bone health in Irish women in this age group.
Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption and good bone health. During sun exposure, ultra-violet light stimulates your body to produce vitamin D. However, in more northerly European countries during the winter months, there is insufficient sunlight of the strength needed for the skin to synthesise vitamin D.
In addition, ageing significantly decreases the capacity of skin to produce vitamin D. For example, the skin of a 65-year-old adult will only make 25 per cent of the vitamin D produced in the skin of a 20 to 30-year-old adult. Therefore, dietary intake of vitamin D becomes a more important source of vitamin D for the body.
There is also mounting scientific evidence that elderly people have an additional requirement for dietary vitamin D in order to maintain good bone health.
Researchers would like to gain more information about the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in elderly Irish people.
If you are interested in taking part in the vitamin D and bone health study and would like more information, please contact Prof Kevin Cashmanor Maria O'Brien, Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork. Telephone: 021-4903387; mobile: 086-8205688. E-mail: maria.obrien@ucc.ie.
The mourning after
Coping with loss is the theme of the Bereavement Counselling Service's open day on Saturday in the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre, Foster Place, Dublin from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
Speakers include poet Peter Fallon, who will talk about the death of his baby son; author and educator Michael Ryan, who will speak about how adolescents cope with death and counselling; and Mary Reid and Mary Lynch who will talk about ways children cope with the death of a sibling.
The Bereavement Counselling Service is a non-denominational, voluntary organisation with centres in Dublin, Bray, Carlow and Newbridge.
Admission to the open day is free, but advanced booking is necessary on tel: 01-8391766 or e-mail: bereavement@eircom.net
Learn more about autism
Two internationally-renowned experts on autism, Dr Jeff Bradstreet and Dr Andrew Wakefield, will lead a two-day course on autism on March 23rd and 24th at University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4. Dr Wakefield is the author of a controversial study linking the MMR vaccine and autism. In 1998, he reported in the Lancet on 12 children believed to have autism and related disorders as a result of the MMR.
The course at UCD will be of interest to educators, health professionals and parents of children with autistic spectrum disorders; it will discuss ways to integrate medical, behavioural and nutritional treatment options for children with autism. Cost €253 for one day/€380 for two. Tel: 021-4888503.