More marital happiness = less sleep complaints
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Marital happiness may lower the risk of sleep problems in Caucasian women, while marital strife may heighten the risk, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, authored by Wendy M. Troxel, PhD of the University of Pittsburgh, focused on 1938 married women from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, a multi-site study of mid-life women, with an average age of 46 years. Out of the study participants, 51 percent were Caucasian, 20 percent African-American, 9 percent Hispanic, nine percent Chinese, and 11 percent Japanese. The subjects reported their marital happiness, sleep quality and frequency of difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or early morning awakenings.
According to the results, higher levels of marital happiness were associated with a lesser risk of having multiple sleep complaints, but only among Caucasian women. Happily married women had less difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, fewer early morning awakenings, and more restful sleep as compared to unhappily married women.
Reduced sleep on school nights begins in early adolescence
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The trend for delays and reductions of school-night sleep begins early in adolescence, even with delayed school start times, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, authored by Stephanie Apollon, Amy Wolfson and colleagues of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., focused on 96 seventh graders who completed the School Sleep Habits Questionnaire (school/weekend sleep variables, caffeine use) and assessed sleep for seven days via diaries and actigraphy. Twenty-five percent of the students were from families with incomes below $20,000. Effects of sex, family income, and access to health care were analyzed.
According to the results, 37 percent of the seventh graders were falling asleep after 11 p.m. with 66 percent getting less than nine hours on school nights. Family incomes below $40,000 were significantly associated with more delayed sleep patterns, particularly on weekends, and increased caffeine use. Although income was not significantly associated with health care provider use, seventh graders who had regular contact with a health care provider had healthier school-night sleep patterns than those without health care (e.g., 25 minutes more sleep, 30 min. earlier bed times, less delayed sleep schedules).
Poor sleep quality and insomnia associated with suicidal symptoms among college students
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Poor sleep quality and insomnia are significantly associated with suicidal symptoms among college undergraduates, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, authored by Rebecca A. Bernert, of Florida State University, focused on 322 college undergraduates between 19-24 years of age. The following symptom measures were administered: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); Insomnia Severity Index (ISI); Beck Depression Inventory (BDI); and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSS).
According to the results, consistent with past research, PSQI and ISI total scores were significantly associated with greater BDI scores. Elevated scores on the BSS were significantly predicted by higher scores on the ISI and the PSQI, although the latter emerged only as a non-significant trend. Importantly, after BDI scores were entered into the model as a co-variate, ISI and PSQI scores jointly predicted greater BSS scores, though they failed to significantly predict these symptoms independently.
Maternal depression, breastfeeding and a lower socioeconomic status can affect infants’ sleep
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Maternal depression during pregnancy, breastfeeding and a lower socioeconomic status are all associated with less infant sleep duration in the first six months of life, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, authored by Michael D. Nevarez, of Harvard Medical School, focused on 1,676 mother-infant pairs, where the mothers reported their infants’ average 24-hour sleep duration at six months. Also examined were daytime nap and nighttime sleep duration separately.
According to the results, infants’ mean sleep duration at six months, including daytime naps and nighttime sleep, was 12.2 hours per day. Less household income and lower maternal education were associated with shorter infant sleep duration. Compared with Caucasian infants, African-American infants slept 0.94 fewer total hours per day. Also, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian infants slept more hours during daytime naps but fewer hours at night. Infants whose mothers had a history of depression during pregnancy and those who were being breast-fed at six months appeared to sleep fewer total hours per day.
Postpartum mothers of twins have significant sleep restriction, depressive symptoms
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Postpartum mothers of twins have significant sleep restriction and depressive symptoms, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, authored by Elizabeth Damato, PhD, of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, focused on 14 mothers of twins that were, on average, delivered three-and-a-half weeks early. Measures included actigraphy, sleep diaries, and standardized instruments for fatigue, sleep quality, and depression.
According to the results, by the time the twins reached full-term, mothers were sleeping an average of 5.4 hours in a 24-hour period, with over 70 percent reporting less than six hours of sleep. Furthermore, the sleep was very fragmented, with an average of 15.1 sleep episodes daily, each lasting an average of 22.4 minutes. Almost half of mothers reported mild to severe depressive symptoms. By the time the twins had been home for eight weeks, average sleep duration had only improved marginally to 5.6 hours daily, although this was achieved in fewer sleep episodes lasting an average of 31.8 minutes each. The percentage of women with depressive symptoms decreased to less than 25 percent. Mothers reported improved sleep quality and decreased fatigue levels over time.
Students with a delayed school start time sleep longer, report less daytime sleepiness
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High school students with a delayed school start time are more likely to take advantage of the extra time in bed, and less likely to report daytime sleepiness, according to a research abstract that will be presented on Monday at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (APSS).
The study, authored by Zaw W. Htwe, MD, of Norwalk Hospital’s Sleep Disorders Center in Norwalk, Conn., focused on 259 high school students who completed the condensed School Sleep Habits Questionnaire. Prior to the delay, students reported sleeping a mean of 422 minutes (7.03 hours) per school night, with a mean bed-time of 10:52 p.m. and a mean wake-up time as 6:12 a.m.
According to the results, after a 40-minute delay in the school start time from 7:35 a.m. to 8:15 a.m., students slept significantly longer on school nights. Total sleep time on school nights increased 33 minutes, which was due mainly to a later rise time. These changes were consistent across all age groups. Students’ bedtime on school nights was marginally later, and weekend night sleep time decreased slightly. More students reported “no problem” with sleepiness after the schedule change.
Research may explain winter spike in heart deaths
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Cold air temperature boosts inflammation in the body, a finding that may help explain why cardiovascular-related deaths increase in the winter months, researchers report.
In a study of adults with a history of heart attack, researchers observed that 5 consecutive days of colder weather lead to increased blood levels of two markers of inflammation (C-reactive protein, or CRP, and interleukin-6). Levels of the inflammatory marker fibrinogen rise after only 3 days of cold temperatures, they report.
The changes suggest one mechanism by which cold weather is associated with an increase in cardiovascular mortality, Dr. Alexandra Schneider of the Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen at the German Research Center for Environmental Health in Neuherberg, and colleagues report.
Study details heart problems after childhood cancer
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Survivors of childhood cancer who had aggressive chemotherapy are at increased risk of structural and functional heart problems, a new study indicates.
Both chemotherapy, especially with drugs called anthracyclines, and radiation to the chest are known to increase the risk of heart damage among childhood cancer survivors, Dr. Veronika Velensek of the University Children’s Hospital Ljubljana in Slovenia and colleagues note.
To better understand the risk factors for cardiovascular disease among these patients, Velensek and her team performed a battery of tests of heart structure and function in 211 patients who had survived for at least five years after being diagnosed with cancer in childhood. All were treated between 1968 and 1998.
Higher co-payments reduce use of antidepressants
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As they struggle to contain skyrocketing medication costs, health plans across the U.S. have responded by implementing multi-tiered formularies requiring higher copayments for ‘non-preferred’ medications. New research from Brandeis University published in the Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics suggests that the prevalent multi-tiered formulary system does impact how patients fill anti-depressant prescriptions, even though antidepressants have certain characteristics that can make it difficult for patients to switch medications.
The study evaluated claims and eligibility files for a large nonprofit managed care organization that started introducing its three-tier formulary in 2000. The sample included 109,686 individuals. The study included a comparison group in the same health plan, consisting of members who did not yet have a three-tier formulary. Under the new formulary, certain brand drugs were classified as ‘non-preferred’ and started costing the patient $25 per prescription instead of $10.
Hidden deaths of the world’s newborn babies
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Improving newborn survival rates takes more than money, says Joy Lawn. But how do you get disparate partners, countries and donors working together effectively?
Q: You and your colleagues produced the Lancet neonatal series in 2005 helping to put 4 million annual newborn deaths on the global agenda. Why were these deaths previously invisible?
A: Despite the huge numbers, newborn deaths were and to some extent still are invisible at many levels. This starts in the homes of the poor where most of these deaths occur and goes right up to the corridors of power. More than two-thirds of these 4 million newborns die in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, often in the first days of life, without a name let alone a birth certificate. There have been initiatives such as the Safe Motherhood Initiative, which was most concerned for the mother, while the child survival campaign was primarily for the older child. The newborn has fallen between the cracks. However, if all partners worked together effectively, if roles were clear and services were integrated, this would not be the case.
Q: Neonatal mortality was a neglected issue until 2005. How has this changed and how do you respond to criticism of some of the initiatives?
HIV drives children’s pneumonia in sub-Saharan Africa
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Pneumonia in HIV-positive children is proving to be a challenge across sub-Saharan Africa. Claire Keeton reports from Cape Town.
Nokhwezi Hoboyi knows about the devastation of pneumonia after losing her first two babies to the disease.
The 27-year-old mother from Cape Town saw her first child die of pneumonia at four months of age. Her second child started coughing at two months and was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was hospitalized, became ill at three months and did not respond to antibiotics.
Saving teeth by using periodontal ligament regeneration
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Teeth may fall out as a result of inflammation and subsequent destruction of the tissues supporting the teeth. Dutch researcher Agnes Berendsen has investigated a possible solution to this problem. At the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), she has studied the regeneration of the periodontal ligament by use of tissue engineering. The 3D in vitro model she has developed appears to be promising for regenerating periodontal ligament and may also prove valuable for restoring tendons and ligaments elsewhere in the body.
The periodontal ligament forms a flexible connection between the tooth root and the surrounding jaw bone. Trauma or inflammation can cause destruction of the periodontal ligament. Berendsen chose tissue engineering to tackle this problem.
How best to treat chronic pain? The jury is still out
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How best to alleviate chronic pain, a leading cause of disability and employee absenteeism, continues to perplex both patients and their doctors.
A review of recent studies on pain medicine appearing in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine reports that while various approaches and combinations of therapies to treat pain have advantages and disadvantages, researchers don’t yet know how to determine which is best for individual patients.
Among the approaches to pain management studied were those relying on the prescription of opioids (drugs such as morphine, Percocet and Vicodin), surgery, and alternative medicine (acupuncture, herbal remedies).
U of I study shows how to lose weight without losing bone
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A higher-protein diet that emphasizes lean meats and low-fat dairy foods as sources of protein and calcium can mean weight loss without bone loss—and the evidence is in bone scans taken throughout a new University of Illinois study.
The research, which compared the results of a high-protein, dairy-intensive diet with a conventional weight-loss diet based on the food-guide pyramid, was published in this month’s Journal of Nutrition.
“This is an important finding because many people, especially women in mid-life, are concerned with both obesity and osteoporosis,” said Ellen Evans, a U of I associate professor of kinesiology and community health and member of the U of I Division of Nutritional Sciences.
Non-whites Receive Harsher Sentences for Inflicted Traumatic Brain Injury of Children
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Non-white defendants are nearly twice as likely to receive harsher prison sentences than white defendants in North Carolina criminal cases stemming from inflicted traumatic brain injury of young children.
That’s the conclusion reached by researchers from the Injury Prevention Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who tracked down what happened in every such case prosecuted in North Carolina in 2000 and 2001. Their study appears in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics.
Inflicted traumatic brain injury is a specific form of child abuse, which includes but is not limited to shaken baby syndrome.
