Therapist Unlimited Blog

Here is a piece of reminder to all pregnant women around the world.
According to a latest study, those women who gain weight during pregnancy caused the daughter they bore to become obese later in her life.
According to a new study by Alison Stuebe, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, the findings are especially important because of the growing epidemic of obesity in women.
Stuebe said if we can help women reach a healthy weight before they start a family, we can make a difference for two generations.
To get the information, Stuebe earlier analyzed data on mothers’ recalled weights and weight gain for more than 24,000 mother-daughter pairs.
She said the heavier a mother was before her pregnancy, the more likely her daughter was to be obese in later life.
She explained , an average-height mother who weighed 150 pounds before pregnancy was twice as likely to have a daughter who was obese at age 18 as a mother who weighed 125 pounds before pregnancy.
The medical expert said weight gain during pregnancy mattered, too both too little and too much weight gain increased a daughter’s risk of becoming obese, especially if a mother was overweight before she got pregnant.
The researcher said women should aim for a healthy weight before they get pregnant, and then gain a moderate amount.

Pregnant women should avoid gaining weight during pregnancy since it could result to obesity to their babies later in their lives.

Using the Nurses’ Health Study II, Stuebe analyzed data for more than 24,000 mother-daughter pairs. The daughters, all registered nurses, are part of the Nurses’ Health Study. They reported their weight at age 18 when they joined the study in 1989, and they reported their current weight in 2001.
In 2001, each mother was asked to recall her pre-pregnancy height and weight, her weight gain while she was pregnant with her daughter, and her daughters’ weight at birth.
Daughters whose mothers gained 15 to 19 pounds during pregnancy had the lowest risk of obesity. Compared to this group, daughters whose mothers gained more than 40 pounds while pregnant were almost twice as likely to be obese at age 18 and later in life.
Too little weight gain was also linked with a daughter’s obesity risk.
Pregnancy weight gain of less than 10 pounds was associated with a 1.5-fold increase in the odds of being obese at 18 and a 1.3-fold increase in odds of being obese in later life.
Furthermore, Stuebe hoped that through her study pregnant women around the world would strive hard not to gain weight to ensure that their daughter will not become obese in the future.

Pregnant women around the world better be careful since their babies would most likely suffer autism if they experience some complications during pregnancy.
Based on the study conducted by trusted researchers they discovered six pregnancy-related factors that could lead to autism on their children.
The researchers found that the factors most strongly associated with an increased autism risk are:
- Being born to an older mother or father.
- Having a mother who was born abroad.
- Having a mother who experienced bleeding during pregnancy.
- Having a mother who experienced gestational diabetes.
- Having a mother who used medication during pregnancy.
- Being the first born - or later born in families where there are three or more children.
The researchers explained increased maternal age might be associated with autism because of a higher risk of chromosomal abnormalities in eggs.
On the other hand, mothers who are born in another country may not have natural resistance to infections in the country where they give birth, which may increase the risk for autism.

Pregnant women should take precautions to avoid complications during pregnancy to avoid chances that their babies will suffer from autism.

Moving to another country may also put women under stress, which could increase their chances of having a child who develops autism.
Bleeding during pregnancy, gestational diabetes and medication use are also associated with increased autism risk. Bleeding can cause foetal hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain of an unborn child). Women who develop diabetes during pregnancy experience hormonal and metabolic changes, which may affect their baby’s health and development. Foetal development may also be affected by some medications, which can cross the placenta during pregnancy.
Furthermore, the researchers said the association between birth order and autism risk is unclear.
However, children with autism are more likely to be the first-born in families with only two children. In larger families with three or more children, they are more likely to be born later.
 It is possible that parents decide not to have more children after one has developed autism.
The researchers said there was "insufficient evidence" to point to any one prenatal factor as being particularly significant.
However, they said there is some evidence to suggest that exposure to pregnancy complications in general may increase the risk of autism.

A recent study from the medical experts has revealed that those smokers who quit their habit without proper planning are most likely to fail in their quest to stop cigarette addiction.
Based on the data, gathered by researchers it was discovered that  almost 40 percent of subjects reported that their most recent quit attempt started without any advance planning, suggesting that for some smokers, setting an advance quit date may not be as necessary as once thought.
The researchers revealed while a period of planning prior to quitting has long been thought to allow smokers time to prepare themselves for their quit attempt, the study explores the various reasons as well as demographic and psychographic data, which may contribute, to a smoker deciding to quit spontaneously.

To gain success, smokers should carefully plan their action or they would end up a failure in their quest.

Dr. Saul Shiffman, professor in the departments of psychology and pharmaceutical science at the University of Pittsburgh and study co-author, explained, the study examines the possibility that while quit attempts may seem like spontaneous efforts on the surface, they may actually be the result of prolonged subconscious dissatisfaction with or concern about one’s smoking.
Shiffman added the results do not discredit planning a quit attempt, however, a smoker needs to determine what may be the best approach to ensure long-term cessation.
Furthermore, Shiffman said all smokers should consider ways to manage tough situations such as cravings and withdrawal symptoms to ensure long-term success.

Women around the world should strive hard to achieve ample time of sleep ideally eight hours a day to avoid chances of suffering from heart related medical problems.
According to the research conducted by the University of Warwick and University College London it was discovered that women who get less than the recommended eight hours sleep a night are at higher risk of heart disease and heart-related problems than men with the same sleeping patterns.
The researchers have found out that levels of inflammatory markers vary significantly with sleep duration in women, but not men.
The researchers revealed they found Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a marker related to coronary heart disease, were significantly lower in women who reported sleeping eight hours as compared with seven hours.
Lead author of the study, Associate Professor of Biochemical Medicine at Warwick Medical School Michelle Miller said short-term sleep deprivation studies have shown that inflammatory markers are elevated in sleep-deprived individuals, suggesting that inflammatory mechanisms may play a role in the cardiovascular risk associated with sleep deprivation.
The lead researcher said their study could provide some insight into a potential mechanism for the observation in previous studies, which indicates an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease in individuals who have less than five hours sleep per night, and increased risk of non-cardiovascular death in long sleepers.

Women need to have adequate sleep to avoid suffering from heart related diseases.

She said this is the first large-scale study to describe the associations between measures of inflammation and sleep duration in both men and women.
To get the data, Miller said they carefully evaluated 4,600 white participants from the University College London-based Whitehall II cohort study; 73% were men.
She said participants between the ages of 35 and 55 years were recruited between 1985 and 1988 from 20 London-based civil service departments.
Data for this study is from the phase 3 follow-up (1991-1993). Sleep duration was determined by subjective questionnaires, and general health was assessed during a screening examination.
Furthermore, Miller said the findings add to the growing body of evidence, which suggests that there is a non-linear relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and duration of sleep. She said her team fully support the idea that short sleep is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk and that the association between sleep duration and cardiovascular risk factors is markedly different in men and women.

 

To protect your lungs against any form of diseases better start eating soy products now.
A recent medical research has shown that those people who eat lots of soy products have better lung function and are less likely to develop the smoking-associated lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).
The study noted that eating a wide variety of soy products could be associated with a reduction in the risk of COPD and other respiratory symptoms.
To get the data, Dr. Fumi Hirayama and Professor Andy Lee from Curtin University of Technology, Australia, worked with a team of respiratory physicians to poll 300 patients with COPD from six Japanese hospitals and 340 age-matched control subjects from the same areas as the patients talk about their soy intake.
Hirayama revealed soy consumption was found to be positively correlated with lung function and inversely associated with the risk of COPD.

To those people who want to get protection against lung diseases better start eating soy products now.

He explained flavonoids from soy foods act as an anti-inflammatory agent in the lung, and can protect against tobacco carcinogens for smokers.
Despite the relevant information they gathered on their research, he believe further research is needed to understand the underlying biological mechanism.
Based on medical facts, soy is a constituent of many Japanese foods, including tofu (soybean curd), natto (fermented soybeans), miso soup (fermented soybean paste), bean sprouts and soymilk.
It is said that soy foods also reduces cholesterol and can alleviate menopause symptoms.
The common symptoms of COPD are the progressive decline in lung function, and encompass chronic bronchitis and emphysema.
Long-term cigarette smoking causes almost 90% of COPD.
Moreover, the researchers said their study only shows an association between soy intake and a reduced risk of developing the condition; the best preventive measure is still to abstain from tobacco entirely.

According to a latest medical study, those children who are physically abused are most likely to end up having cancer when they reach adulthood.
Based on the research it is discovered that childhood physical abuse is associated with 49 per cent higher odds of cancer in adulthood.
Lead researcher Esme Fuller-Thomson, a faculty in Social Work and Department of Family and Community Medicine from the University of Toronto said few talk about childhood physical abuse and cancer in the same breath.
Thomson said from a public health perspective, it is extremely important that clinicians be aware of the full range of risk factors for cancer.
The lead researcher said through their study should provide important new knowledge about a potential childhood abuse-cancer relationship.

More care should be given to physically abuse children since they are prone to cancer.

Meanwhile, co-author Sarah Brennenstuhl, a doctoral student at Uof T, notes that various psychophysiological factors could help to explain the link between childhood physical abuse and cancer. Brennenstuhl revealed one important avenue for future research is to investigate dysfunctions in cortisol production - the hormone that prepares us for ‘fight or flight’ as a possible mediator in the abuse-cancer relationship.
The researchers hoped that the result of their study would compel the parents and the government in general to care more for physically abused children so that they will not end up having cancer when they reaches adulthood.

Men around the world should take many antioxidants since low doses of such kind of chemical compound could affect the quality of their semen.
According to the report posted on the online journal Fertility and Sterility it was discovered that low antioxidant intake is associated with low reproductive capacity in semen.
The researchers lead by Jaime Mendiola said their study has shown that men who eat large amounts of meat and full fat dairy products have lower seminal quality than those who eat more fruit, vegetables and reduced fat dairy products.
Mendiola revealed those men who ate many fruits and vegetables are ingesting more antioxidants, which is why their sperm quality is good.
Mendiola said he and his team have allocated four years of their time examining the link between dietary habits or workplace exposure to contaminants and the quality of semen among men attending fertility clinics.

The male population around the world should eat more fruits and vegetables to ensure they have sufficient antioxidants in their body to keep their semen quality healthy.

He explained their objective was to find out whether a higher or lower intake of vitamins, which act as antioxidants, could affect semen quality.
Moreover, the lead researcher said molecules, which are present in foods such as citrus fruits, peppers and spinach, work by lowering the level of oxidative stress that can affect semen quality, and improve sperm concentration parameters as well as sperm mobility and morphology.
The lead researcher said the study was carried out among 61 men, 30 of whom had reproductive problems, while the remaining 31 acted as controls.
He said a healthy diet is not only a good way of avoiding illness, but could also have an impact on improving seminal quality.

According to a latest medical study, the birth and demand for fertility services among couples in the United States of America is low due to the global economic recession.
In the data released by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it discovered that 13 states in the US had a decrease in the number of recorded births in 2008 compared with 2007.
The statistical data released by the Georgia Hospital Association has shown that, there were 5,352 fewer recorded births in Georgia in 2008 than in 2007.
Based on the evaluation of Mark Perloe, a Georgia Reproductive Specialists the low birth could be attributed to the 20% decline in the number of people seeking infertility services.
Perloe said due to this low demand for fertility services, his company was forced to offer as much as 70 percent discount on select services of fertility.
Meanwhile,  Elisabeth Burgess, a Georgia State University sociology professor who focuses on families, explained, in times of economic downturns, different people react in different ways.

Due to the economic recession, the demand for birth and fertility services is low.

Burgess said for some people, family becomes more important, so they might decide to have a child.
The latest statistical data showed that one cycle of treatment could cost $15,000 or more, which some people pay for through credit, retirement savings or home equity loans.
Moreover, the Journal-Constitution reports that some people delay planned pregnancy because of concerns over job security, health insurance, income and the cost of raising a child.
The data gathered at the USDA show that the average middle-class family would pay $11,000 to raise a child in the first year, with the largest portion of that cost going to childcare.
It is said that with the rising cost of basic commodities during the recession, it would just be okay to slow down on birth and demand for fertility services to save cost.

The future of male contraception could be an injectable testosterone.
This developed after a recent research in China uncovered a new safe and highly effective male contraception that could be soon be commercially available worldwide.
The researchers discovered that regimen; a male contraceptive hormone has the potential to become a highly effective male contraception for the male population in this planet.
According to Dr. Yi-Qun Gu, MD, of the National Research Institute for Family Planning in Beijing, China in their initial study they discovered that regimen has the components to prevent pregnancy among women.
Gu revealed they got their findings on their study comprising 1,045 healthy fertile Chinese men aged 20-45 years.

Medical experts said there is a strong indication injectable testosterone could be the future in male contraception.

He said each participant had fathered at least one child within the two years before the study and had a normal medical history.
He added their female partners were between 18 and 38 years of age and had normal reproductive function.
Based on their study, Gud said those men who were injected with regimen has not impregnated their sexual partners and were in normal physical condition after the study except for two participants.
Moreover, Gu said despite the good result in their study, they still need further study on regimen to determine if it is indeed viable to be used commercially around the world.
Whatever, the result of the further study, this piece of news is still great for males in this planet since if fate permits injectable testosterone could be used in future as a male contraception.