Therapist Unlimited Blog

Pregnant women should eat nutritious foods during their pregnancy to ensure their baby will be healthy and have the right weight upon birth.
A recent study has shown that those babies who are born with low birth weight are at higher risk of suffering from kidney disease in the future.
According to the study, parents of newborns who tip the scales at less than 5 ½ pounds should put some heavy thought to a possible future consequence: kidney disease.
Based on the same study it was also discovered that low birth weight babies have a 70% greater risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) in later life.
The latest statistics taken from the National Kidney Foundation have shown that 26 six million American adults have CKD and millions of others are at increased risk.
Dr. Kerry Willis, National Kidney Foundation Senior VP for Scientific Activities said High risk groups include those with diabetes, hypertension or a family history of kidney disease.
Lead researcher, Sarah L. White, MPH of the George Institute and the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia for her part revealed experimental studies suggest that restricted growth of a fetus in the womb can interfere with normal kidney development
and result in fewer and smaller filtering units, or nephrons, at birth.
White added those with low birth weight may therefore be vulnerable to accelerated loss of kidney function later on as a result of any additional injuries to the kidney caused, for example, by accidents, infections or the presence of other risk factors such as diabetes.

Pregnant women should strive hard to keep their babies healthy upon birth to protect them from possible kidney disease in the future.

 

In their study, researchers also found a connection between low birth weight and subsequent development of end-stage kidney disease, or kidney failure.
Additionally, in comparing data from two large twin studies, investigators found significant differences in kidney function between members of the same set of twins where one twin was smaller, but not among different sets of twins.
The researchers said this suggests that the association between birth weight and kidney function is more closely connected with fetoplacental factors affecting intrauterine growth than with maternal or genetic factors.
White explained despite the association between low birth weight and risk of chronic kidney disease in later life, early detection and management of chronic kidney disease and its risk factors are highly effective in preventing adverse outcomes.
She added people who were very small at birth should avoid obesity that could lead to diabetes, maintain regular physical activity, avoid medications that could be toxic for the kidneys and see their doctors for simple assessment of chronic kidney disease including blood pressure measurement, a dipstick test for urinary protein and a blood test of serum creatinine level.

A recent medical research has shown that millions of children in the United States are suffering from low vitamin D.
According to the data gathered by Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University seven out of 10 American children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease.
The researchers said discovery is an indication that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.
Study leader Michal L. Melamed, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and of epidemiology & population health at Einstein revealed several small studies had found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in specific populations, but no one had examined this issue nationwide.
To get the significant data, the researchers analyzed data on more than 6,000 children, ages one to 21, collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2004.
Based on that data, they found that nine percent of the study sample, equivalent to 7.6 million children across the U.S., was vitamin D deficient (defined as less than 15 ng/mL of blood), while another 61 percent, or 50.8 million, was vitamin D insufficient (15 to 29 ng/mL).

Millions of children in the US are suffering from low vitamin D.

They also found out that low vitamin D levels were especially common in children who were older, female, African-American, Mexican-American, obese, drank milk less than once a week, or spent more than four hours a day watching TV, playing videogames, or using computers.
The researchers also discovered that low levels of vitamin D deficiency were associated with poor bone health, higher systolic blood pressure, and lower calcium levels and HDL (good) cholesterol levels, which are key risk factors for heart disease.
To resolve this medical dilemma, the researchers recommended that pediatricians should routinely screen high-risk children for vitamin D deficiency, and that parents should ensure that their kids get adequate amounts of the vitamin through a combination of diet, supplements, and exposure to sunlight.
Moreover, Melamed advices parents to turn off the TV and send their kids outside.
Melamed said it would just take 15 to 20 minutes a day should be enough.
He said unless they burn easily, don’t put sunscreen on them until they’ve been out in the sun for 10 minutes, so they get the good stuff but not sun damage.

According to a latest medical study those who are poor with low intelligence quotient are at higher chances of suffering from cardiovascular disease.
Dr. David Batty, a Welcome Trust Research Fellow at the Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow, and colleagues discovered that people on low incomes, in jobs with low prestige and with limited education had a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and other causes than people of a higher
socioeconomic status.
Batty said based on their study they also found out that IQ accounted for 23 per cent of the difference between the death rates among people from poorer and more advantage socioeconomic backgrounds, once age and classic known risk factors for heart disease such as smoking and obesity were taken into account.
He said previous studies have shown that people from poor socioeconomic backgrounds have worse health and tend to die earlier from conditions such as heart disease, cancer and accidents.
He added environmental exposure and health-related behaviors, such as smoking, diet and physical activity, can explain some of this difference, but not all of it.

Those poor people who have low IQ have strong chances of suffering from a cardiovascular disease.

The medical expert revealed this raises the possibility that, as yet, unmeasured psychological factors need to be considered and one of these is intelligence or cognitive function: a person’s ability to reason and problem-solve.
The medical expert added IQ is strongly related to socioeconomic status.
Furthermore, Batty said IQ alone explained 23 per cent of the differences in mortality between the higher and lower ends of the socioeconomic spectrum, in addition to the other, known risk factors.
Batty and his team, speculate that this might be because intelligence leads to better knowledge about how to pursue healthy behaviors, or owing to the link between intelligence and socioeconomic position (more intelligence leads to more education, income, and more prestigious jobs).
He said it also provides further evidence that efforts to tackle socioeconomic inequalities could have far-reaching benefits on health.
Batty explained initiatives aimed at raising living standards and education of the most disadvantaged families with children could potentially make a difference to those children’s health and wellbeing in later life.

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.

Pregnant women should make it a habit to take multivitamins during pregnancy to avoid low birth weights and other medical complication for their babies.

A group of medical experts revealed one of the key solutions to resolve low birth weights around the globe is the intake of prenatal multivitamin supplements among pregnant women.
Based on the research done by the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) it was discovered that prenatal multimicronutrient supplementation is more effective than prenatal iron-folic acid supplementation in terms of resolving low birth weights among newborn babies.
Dr. Prakash Shah and his co-authors of the study at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto revealed low birth weight and related complications are considered the most common cause of global infant mortality under the age of 5 years.
Shah said with the possibility of reducing low birth weight rates by 17%, micronutrients supplementation to pregnant women, we believe, offers the highest possible return for the investment.
He said it is estimated that of the total 133 million births worldwide per year, 15.5% are low birth weight babies.
The medical expert and his team said approximately 1.5 million babies born with a low birth weight could be avoided each year globally, if all mothers receive prenatal multimicronutrient supplementation.
This study should serve as eye opener to mothers around the world regardless of status to always take multivitamins during pregnancy to avoid medical complications for them and their babies.