11 May 2020
MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Women who take high-dose folic acid supplements from pre-pregnancy through mid-pregnancy might increase their risk for potentially dangerous high blood pressure, according to new research.
The study, published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, sought to answer questions about the safety of prenatal folic acid vitamin supplements.
Folic acid is the human-made form of folate, a form of vitamin B found in leafy green vegetables, fruits, beans and other foods. Everyone needs it, but because it protects unborn children against serious birth defects called neural tube defects, doctors often prescribe prenatal vitamins that contain folic acid of 400 micrograms or more per day.
In the study, researchers...
11 May 2020
MONDAY, May 11, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- There's good news for women: Getting a mammogram regularly can cut their odds of advanced and sometimes fatal breast cancers, a new study says.
European researchers tracked data from nearly 550,000 women in Sweden who were eligible for mammography screening.
The team compared rates of advanced and breast cancers that were fatal within 10 years after diagnosis for women who got mammograms and those who didn't.
The result: Compared to the women who didn't get mammograms, those who did had a 25% lower rate of advanced breast cancer and a 41% lower rate of breast cancers that went on to be deadly within 10 years.
The study was published May 11 in the journal Cancer.
"This study shows that participation in breast cancer screening substantially...
8 May 2020
FRIDAY, May 8, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- It's happened before: Couples stuck at home during blizzards, hurricanes or other natural disasters enjoy some "alone time" -- and a baby boom follows.
But a new survey from researchers at the University of Florence in Italy suggests the same probably won't unfold during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why?
"What we found the main reasons that led people to not wanting to conceive included worries related to future economic difficulties and consequences on pregnancy," said study author Elisabetta Micelli, from the university's Assisted Reproduction Technologies Center.
The researchers conducted nearly 1,500 online interviews and found that nearly 82% of those surveyed said they didn't plan to conceive during the coronavirus pandemic.
The survey was...
7 May 2020
THURSDAY, May 7, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Pets are stress-relievers for parents of children with autism and benefit their kids, too, a new study suggests.
On average, parents of kids with autism have higher stress levels than other moms and dads, the study authors said, so some look to pets to help them relax.
For the study, the researchers surveyed more than 700 families who have a family member with autism about the benefits and drawbacks of having a dog or cat.
Despite the responsibility of caring for a pet, parents and kids with autism had strong bonds with their pets. Pet ownership didn't increase parents' stress, and those with multiple pets reported more benefits, according to the study published recently in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
"Given that the...