Women's heart attack symptoms are not all that different

May 4, 2020

Science Daily/European Society of Cardiology

The top three heart attack symptoms in both women and men are chest pain, sweating, and shortness of breath, reports a study presented today on EAPC Essentials 4 You, a scientific platform of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

"Heart attack symptoms are often labelled as 'typical' in men and 'atypical' in women," said study author Dr. Annemarijn de Boer of the University Medical Centre Utrecht, the Netherlands. "But our study shows that while symptoms can differ between the sexes, there are also many similarities."

Whatever your gender, if you experience heart attack symptoms, don't delay. Call the emergency services immediately.

Symptom recognition is crucial to enable fast, live saving treatment for people having a heart attack. Some previous studies report sex differences in symptoms while others report shared symptoms.

This study compiled the highest quality studies -- 27 in total -- from the past two decades detailing symptoms in patients with confirmed acute coronary syndrome (heart attack or unstable angina).

In addition to sharing the three most common symptoms, the majority of men and women experiencing an acute coronary syndrome had chest pain: 79% of men and 74% of women.

Significant differences in symptom presentation between women and men were also reported. Compared to men, women were more than twice as likely to have pain between the shoulder blades, 64% more likely to have nausea or vomiting, and 34% more likely to experience shortness of breath. Although chest pain and sweating were the most frequent symptoms in both women and men, they occurred less often in women, who had a 30% lower odds of chest pain and 26% lower odds of sweating compared to men.

The study did not investigate the reasons why there are some variations in symptom presentation between women and men, but Dr. de Boer said: "Previous research has shown sex differences in how heart attacks occur in the body, but it is uncertain how or whether this relates to symptom presentation. The cause of symptom differences between the sexes deserves further study."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200504083055.htm

Women's lifestyle changes, even in middle age, may reduce future stroke risk

April 9, 2020

Science Daily/American Heart Association

Middle age may not be too late for women to substantially reduce their stroke risk by not smoking, exercising, maintaining a healthy weight and making healthy food choices, according to new research published today in Stroke, a journal of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association.

In general, women are more likely than men to have a stroke, die from stroke and have poorer health and physical function after a stroke. The average age of first stroke in women is 75 years. Based on this information, researchers theorized that making mid-life lifestyle changes might help reduce stroke's burden among women.

"We found that changing to a healthy lifestyle, even in your 50s, still has the potential to prevent strokes," said Goodarz Danaei, Sc.D., lead study author and Bernard Lown Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. "Women who made lifestyle modifications in middle age reduced their long-term risk of total stroke by nearly a quarter and ischemic stroke, the most common type of stroke, by more than one-third."

Researchers analyzed the Nurses' Health Study, which includes health information on nearly 60,000 women who enrolled at average age of 52 and continued in the study for an average of 26 years. Researchers studied the impact on stroke risk from smoking cessation, exercising 30 minutes or more daily and gradual weight loss if women were overweight. The researchers also studied the impact of making recommended dietary modifications that emphasize eating more fish, nuts, whole grains, fruits and vegetables and less red meat, no processed meat and less alcohol.

During the 26-year follow-up, researchers found:

• 4.7% of women with no lifestyle interventions had a stroke of any type; 2.4% had ischemic stroke; and 0.7% had hemorrhagic stroke.

• Engaging in the three non-dietary interventions -- smoking cessation, daily exercise and weight loss -- was estimated to reduce the risk of total stroke by 25% and ischemic stroke by 36%.

• Sustained dietary modifications were estimated to reduce the risk of total stroke by 23%.

Researchers also found that increasing fish and nut consumption and reducing unprocessed red meat consumption appeared to have positive impacts on reducing stroke risk, although the degree of impact from these dietary changes was not as big as those achieved through increased physical activity, smoking cessation and maintaining a healthy weight.

While this was an observational study that included mostly white, middle-aged women, Danaei said, "there are other studies to support that the proportional changes in stroke risk from lifestyle and dietary modifications may be generalizable to men. We also estimate that exercising 30 minutes or more daily may reduce the risk of stroke by 20%."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200409085637.htm

Babies retain even detailed events during a nap

During sleep, toddlers' brains consolidate details without generalizing them

April 7, 2020

Science Daily/Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences

While sleeping the brain goes through previously experienced things, consolidates new memory contents and summarizes similar experiences into more general knowledge. This also applies to babies. However, they can more than just generalize what they have learned. A recent study shows: during sleep a baby's brain also consolidates the details of its individual experience and protects them from generalization and is therefore also important for what is known as episodic memory.

The brain is permanently exposed to new impressions. Even when sleeping, it does not rest and processes recent experiences. In very early childhood, it has been thought that sleep primarily promotes semantic memory. This includes general knowledge such as the meaning of words. However, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) Leipzig and the Humboldt University (HU) Berlin, together with researchers from Lübeck and Tübingen, have now shown for the first time in their study published in Nature Communications that babies also build their episodic memory when they nap. This enables them to remember the details of their individual experiences after napping.

The scientists examined this relationship using a three-phase study. During the learning phase, the 14 to 17-month-old children were shown pictures of objects whose names they already knew, containing different cars, balls or dogs. They then heard the appropriate name for each picture. One group of the children spent the following one to two hours sleeping, while a second group stayed awake. In the subsequent test phase, the researchers showed the young participants different pictures again, including those that they had already seen in the learning phase as well as new cars, balls and dogs. Each object was once named correctly and once incorrectly. During all phases of the experiment, the researchers recorded the baby's brain activity using the electroencephalogram (EEG).

The analysis of the EEG activity made it clear: The brain of the children who had slept responded differently in the memory test than that of those who stayed awake -- but only in certain cases. If the researchers presented the babies with a ball that they had never seen before and called it a car, the brain responses initially did not differ. In both groups, the so-called N400 component appeared, which occurs when the brain processes inappropriate meanings. The children obviously knew that a ball is not a car.

It was different, however, when the babies viewed a ball from the learning phase and it was called a car. The group that had stayed awake again showed the N400 component, while the group that had slept did not. In the children who had napped, the researchers observed a brain response that was triggered when a ball from the learning phase was again correctly named as such. However, this response did not occur when a new ball was called a ball. The researchers concluded: After sleep, the babies no longer understood the object-word pairs they had previously experienced as naming a meaning. Rather, they recognized them as individual episodes. Object and word were thus merged into a unified event in the memory.

"The results show that sleep not only enables the infant brain to generalize individual experiences, but also to preserve individual experiences in detail and to differentiate them from existing general knowledge," explains first author Manuela Friedrich, researcher at the MPI CBS and HU Berlin. She further hypothesizes: "The fact that a recognized object-word episode is not understood as referring to general knowledge means that its details can be protected from mixing with existing memory."

The results are also interesting with respect to the so-called infantile amnesia, i.e. the phenomenon of not being able to remember one's own early childhood experiences. It has often been assumed that very young children are not yet capable of forming longer-term episodic knowledge. However, the current findings clearly show that even babies can remember events in detail -- and sleep contributes significantly to this.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200407131435.htm

Consuming extra calories can help exercising women avoid menstrual disorders

March 31, 2020

Science Daily/The Endocrine Society

Exercising women who struggle to consume enough calories and have menstrual disorders can simply increase their food intake to recover their menstrual cycle, according to a study accepted for presentation at ENDO 2020, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, and publication in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.

The study found that exercising women with menstrual disorders can start menstruating again by consuming an additional 300-400 calories a day.

"These findings can impact all exercising women, because many women strive to exercise for competitive and health-related reasons but may not be getting enough calories to support their exercise," said lead researcher Mary Jane De Souza, Ph.D., of Penn State University.

By consuming enough calories, exercising women with menstrual disorders can avoid complications associated with a condition known as the Female Athlete Triad, De Souza said. This is a medical condition that starts with inadequate food intake that fails to meet the body's needs. It leads to menstrual disorders and poor bone health. It is associated with a high incidence of stress fractures.

The study included 62 young, exercising women with infrequent menstrual periods. Thirty-two women increased their calorie intake an average of 300-400 calories a day, and 30 maintained their exercise and eating habits for the 12-month study. Women who consumed the extra calories were twice as likely to have their menstrual period during the study compared with the women who maintained their regular exercise and eating routine.

"This strategy is easy to implement with the help of a nutritionist. It does not require a prescription and avoids complications from drug therapy," De Souza said. "The findings will encourage healthcare providers to try to help exercising women with menstrual disorders who consume too few calories to eat more, and this may help them to be healthier athletes and avoid bone complications."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200331093259.htm

Mother/infant skin-to-skin touch boosts baby's brain development and function

Both mother and baby physiology respond to kangaroo care method

March 25, 2020

Science Daily/Florida Atlantic University

As the world prioritizes social distancing to stop or slow down the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), a new study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University demonstrates that mother-infant touch and contact are essential for optimal neurodevelopmental regulation in early infancy. Kangaroo Care, a skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest method of caring for a baby, especially one who is premature, has been associated with promoting neurophysiological development. This method of caring emphasizes the importance of holding the naked or partially dressed baby against the bare skin of a parent, typically the mother. New research is showing that extended use of Kangaroo Care can positively benefit full-term infants and their mothers during the post-partum period.

The longitudinal randomized, controlled trial investigated if Kangaroo Care influences markers of neuro-maturation in healthy, full-term infants. They focused on the potential association between Kangaroo Care and infant brain development, specifically measures of EEG (electroencephalogram) asymmetry/power and coherence.

In addition to EEG patterns in infants, the researchers looked at basal oxytocin -- the "cuddle" hormone -- and cortisol reactivity -- the "stress" hormone -- in infants and their mothers. Oxytocin is considered an affiliative hormone associated with caregiving and affectionate behavior whereas cortisol reactivity is implicated in the stress response system. Researchers compared six weeks of Kangaroo Care to standard caring (control group) during the first three months of life.

For the study, mothers assigned to the Kangaroo Care group were given a Kangaroo Care wrap (Nurtured by Design, The Kangaroo Zak) and were taught proper procedures by a certified trainer at the prenatal visit. Mothers were asked to use Kangaroo Care, skin-to-skin, chest-to-chest contact with her infant, for one hour a day for six weeks and were provided with journals to record the frequency of Kangaroo Care use. Mothers in the control group were given infant feeding pillows and journals and were asked to record infant feedings for six weeks. Babies were fitted with a stretch Lycra cap to measure EEG activity during a five-minute quiet-alert state at three-months. Oxytocin was measured by collecting maternal and infant urine, and infant cortisol reactivity was measured by collecting infant saliva samples before and after a mild stressor.

Results of the study, published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development, provide evidence that the physiology of mothers and their full-term infants is influenced by obtaining Kangaroo Care training and utilizing it during the post-partum period.

"We wanted to know if exposure to extended tactile stimulation using the Kangaroo Care method would increase peripheral basal oxytocin and suppress cortisol reactivity in the babies in our study," said Nancy Aaron Jones, Ph.D., senior author, an associate professor, and director of the FAU WAVES Emotion Laboratory in the Department of Psychology in FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, and a member of the FAU Brain Institute (I-BRAIN). "We also wanted to examine if Kangaroo Care increases oxytocin levels in mothers, which has important implications for post-partum depression."

Findings showed that the infants' left frontal area of the brain (implicated in higher-order cognitive and emotional regulatory skills) appears to be stimulated from the Kangaroo Care method. In addition, mother/infant dyads showed increased oxytocin along with decreases in stress reactivity, suggesting regulatory abilities are prompted by experiences with positive caregiving in infancy.

Results from the study indicate that Kangaroo Care training and level of use by caregivers during infancy can favorably influence both neurodevelopmental trajectories and infant neurobiological functioning.

"Our findings across several studies demonstrate a link between the supportive dimensions of maternal caregiving behavior and left hemisphere neurodevelopment, with maternal warmth and sensitivity predicting greater regulatory abilities and secure attachment," said Jones. "Full-term infants and their mothers likely benefit from the positive interactive experiences inherent in extended Kangaroo Care use."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200325110913.htm

Preterm babies are more likely to be diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder

March 12, 2020

Science Daily/University of Turku

A new study by the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry of the University of Turku, Finland, suggests that premature babies have the risk of reactive attachment disorder that can impair child's ability to function in normal situations and their social interactions and it is connected with later child protection issues, psychiatric and substance use disorders, and social exclusion.

"The study showed that children's risk of being diagnosed with reactive attachment disorder increases by three times if their gestational age at birth is less than 32 weeks. The risk was twofold if the birth weight was less than 2.5 kilos, or if the newborn required monitoring in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, says lead author," researcher Subina Upadhyaya.

The results acknowledged parental age and psychiatric and substance abuse diagnoses, and mother's socio-economic status and smoking. Therefore, the association between attachment disorder and early preterm birth is not due to differences in these parental background or lifestyle differences between the diagnosed and the control group.

This is the first population study to report perinatal and obstetric risk factors for RAD. Previously, the research group discovered an association between parental mental health diagnosis, parental substance abuse and RAD.

Results support family-centered treatment

According to Professor in Child Psychiatry Andre Sourander from the University of Turku, the results benefit the planning of preventive and early mental health services.

"The fact that premature birth is so strongly associated with reactive attachment disorder is an important finding. It indicates that family-centered support of early parent-infant interactions and need for care should be taken into account when treating premature babies, says Sourander," who led the study.

Sourander says that most of the children in the study were born in the 1990s and early 2000s. Treatment practices have changed since then in many countries.

"The management of premature infants should be multidisciplinary and personalised. Parent-infant interaction and family-centered care have recently received attention, and the care of premature infants has become increasingly comprehensive. The practice of skin-to-skin care is increasingly becoming popular worldwide. Early parental-infant closeness should be encouraged in centers that care for preterm infants.

"In the future, it is important to determine whether the independent relationship of prematurity to RAD has decreased as treatment practices have changed," Professor Sourander concludes.

All the children who were born in Finland between 1991-2012 and diagnosed with RAD were included in the study. There were a total of 614 cases and 2423 controls. The study was part of Inequalities, Interventions, and New Welfare State research flagship funded by Academy of Finland.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200312101031.htm

Poor sleep in infancy linked to behavioral and emotional problems in toddlers

March 11, 2020

Science Daily/University of Birmingham

Disrupted and poor quality sleep in the earliest months of a child's life can be an indicator of depression, anxiety and behavioural problems among toddlers, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Institute for Mental Health, at the University of Birmingham in collaboration with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, in Helsinki, found a clear relationship between sleep problems in infancy such as frequent night wakings, short sleep duration or difficulty in falling asleep and particular emotional and behavioural problems at 24 months of age.

Although childhood sleep problems are extremely common and their association with daytime behavioural difficulties is well recognised, this study shows for the first time how sleep problems in infancy and very early childhood are associated with emotional and behavioural problems later in childhood.

The team believes these findings, published in BMJ Paediatrics Open, highlight the need to address infant sleep problems at an early stage, to prevent the development or worsening of future emotional and behavioural problems in later stages of childhood.

The team studied the results of two sleep questionnaires completed by parents within the CHILD-SLEEP birth-cohort, a large study cohort based in southern Finland. For this specific study, the researchers obtained information from nearly 1700 parents who completed a baseline questionnaire, and reported on sleep habits of their children at 3,8, 18 and 24 months. These results were compared with a separate questionnaire on emotional and behavioural symptoms, which was completed by 950 parents at the child´s age of 24 months..

The researchers found that high frequency of night wakings at 3 months was strongly linked to emotional, behavioural and self-regulation (the ability to control emotions and behaviours) problems in toddlers.Further, infants who experienced shorter sleep duration, who took longer to fall asleep and who experienced frequent night wakings at different stages of early childhood were likely to find problems in regulating their behaviour and emotions at the age of 24 months, leading to disrupting emotions and behaviours, such as temper tantrums.

The study contributes to recent research on the role of early sleep problems in socio-emotional development.

Lead researcher Dr Isabel Morales-Muñoz explained: "Our results show that infants who sleep for shorter periods of time, take longer to fall asleep and wake up more frequently during the night are more likely to show emotional and behavioural problems in later stages of childhood. It's likely that sleep quality in these early months and the development of self-regulation -- the ability to control our behaviour -- are closely intertwined."

The study suggests that infant sleep problems may be due to a variety of mechanisms, including genetic and environmental factors.

"Scientists think there are links in the central nervous system between sleep-wake behaviour and our emotions, and so it's possible these links have a biological basis," says Dr Morales-Muñoz. "Environmental factors, such as sleeping practices in the family, parental reactions to crying and parental stress also play an important part in a child's sleep and socioemotional development."

Dr Morales-Muñoz added: "Although more research needs to be done in this area, we think early interventions in infants experiencing these sleep problems could be really beneficial and help very young children develop their behavioural and emotional self-control."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200311082937.htm

Leaving your baby to 'cry it out' has no adverse effects on child development

 March 10, 2020

Science Daily/University of Warwick

Leaving an infant to 'cry it out' from birth up to 18 months does not adversely affect their behaviour development or attachment, researchers from the University of Warwick have found, they also discovered that those left to cry cried less and for a shorter duration at 18 months of age.

An infant's development and attachment to their parents is not affected by being left to 'cry it out' and can actually decrease the amount of crying and duration.

Researchers from the University of Warwick have today, the 11th of March had the paper 'Parental use of 'cry it out' in infants: No adverse effects on attachment and behavioural development at 18 months' published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.

In the paper they deal with an issue that is discussed for decades by parent websites and parents without much scientific evidence: Should you always immediately intervene when your baby cries?

Researchers followed 178 infants and their mums over 18 months and repeatedly assessed whether parents intervened immediately when baby cried or let the baby let it cry out a few times or often. They found that it made little difference to the baby's development by 18 months.

In fact, they found leaving babies to cry it out a few times at term and often at 3 months was associated with shorter crying duration at 18 months.

The use of parent's leaving their baby to 'cry it out' was assessed via maternal report at term, 3, 6 and 18 months and cry duration at term, 3 and 18 months. Duration and frequency of fussing and crying was assessed at the same ages with the Crying Pattern Questionnaire.

How sensitive the mother is in interaction with their baby was video-recorded and rated at 3 and 18 months of age.

Attachment was assessed at 18 months using a gold standard experimental procedure, the strange situation test, which assesses how securely an infant is attached to the major caregiver during separation and reunion episodes.

Behavioural development was assessed by direct observation in play with the mother and during assessment by a psychologist and a parent-report questionnaire at 18 months.

Researchers found that whether contemporary parents respond immediately or leave their infant to cry it out a few times to often makes no difference on the short -- or longer term relationship with the mother or the infants behaviour.

This study shows that 2/3 of mum's parent intuitively and learn from their infant, meaning they intervene when they were just born immediately, but as they get older the mother waits a bit to see whether the baby can calm themselves, so babies learn self-regulation.

This "differential responding" allows a baby to learn over time to self-regulate during the day and also during the night.

Dr Ayten Bilgin from the Department of Psychology at the University of Warwick comments:

"Only two previous studies nearly 50 or 20 years ago had investigated whether letting babies 'cry it out' affects babies' development. Our study documents contemporary parenting in the UK and the different approaches to crying used."

Professor Dieter Wolke, who led the study, comments:

"We have to give more credit to parents and babies. Most parents intuitively adapt over time and are attuned to their baby's needs, wait a bit before intervening when crying and allow their babies the opportunity to learn to self-regulate. Most babies develop well despite their parents intervening immediately or not to crying."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200310193305.htm

Persistent sleep difficulties in infancy linked to heightened risk of childhood anxieties

Poor infant sleepers should be monitored for mental health issues later on, say researchers

March 9, 2020

Science Daily/BMJ

Persistent sleep difficulties during the first 12 months of life are linked to a heightened risk of developing childhood anxieties and emotional disorders, indicates research published online in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Based on their findings, poor infant sleepers should be monitored for mental health issues in later childhood, advise the researchers.

Around 19% of infants (0-12 months of age) have sleep difficulties, including frequent waking at night and/or trouble falling asleep without help from a parent.

These difficulties have been associated with poorer mental health in early childhood, but it's not clear if this risk persists into older childhood, and if so, whether specific psychiatric symptoms are likely to emerge as a result.

To explore this further, the researchers drew on data from a long term study tracking the health of 1507 first time mothers and their children in Australia.

The mothers described their infant's sleep patterns when s/he was 3 (online), 6 (online), 9 (interview), and 12 months old (online), and their mental health when s/he was 4 and 10 years of age, using validated questionnaires: DAWBA and SDQ.

They also completed the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale for Parents when their child was 10 years old.The final analysis was based on 1460 mother-infant pairs.

In all, the sleep patterns of nearly 1 in 4 (25%; 360) infants were 'settled,' while over half (56%; 817) had moderate, fluctuating sleep problems, and around 1 in 5 (19.5%; 283) had persistent severe sleep problems.

Disturbed sleep patterns were associated with heightened risks of childhood anxiety and emotional issues, the analysis showed.

Compared with infants whose sleep patterns were settled, those with persistent and severe sleep difficulties were nearly 3 times as likely to have emotional problem symptoms when they were 4 years old.

And they were more than twice as likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for an emotional disorder by the time they were 10.

Emotional disorder includes any of the following: separation anxiety; social phobia; agoraphobia; obsessive compulsive disorder; specific phobias; panic disorder; post traumatic stress; generalised anxiety; depression; or bipolar disorder.

Infants whose sleep problems were persistent and severe were also more than twice as likely to have separation anxiety, to fear getting hurt (physically), and to be more anxious generally by the age of 10.

This is an observational study, and as such, can't establish cause, nor were neurological problems, which may affect both sleep and mental health, measured. And, caution the researchers, the study only included singleton children and Australian mothers, so its findings may not be applicable more widely.

Nevertheless, their findings echo those of previous research, they point out. They conclude: "Persistent disturbed sleep during infancy may be an early indicator of a child's heightened susceptibility to later mental health difficulties -- in particular, anxiety problems."

And they advise: "Infants with persistent severe sleep problems should be monitored for emerging mental health difficulties during childhood."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200309221328.htm

The harmful effects of stress during pregnancy can last a lifetime

March 5, 2020

Science Daily/Yale University

Mice exposed to stress in the womb and soon after birth can expect a lifetime of immune system deficiencies that hinder the ability to ward off infections and cancer, Yale University researchers report March 5 in the journal Cell.

In a new study, they tracked a lifetime of physiological changes experienced by mice given a liquid solution containing the stress hormone glucocorticoid while in the womb or soon after birth. Glucocorticoids are naturally occurring hormones that reduce inflammation and are instrumental in helping infants and adults alike adapt quickly to environmental dangers, such as famine or violence. Physicians use them to treat asthma and autoimmune diseases caused by overactive immune systems, for example.

But, the researchers found, early-life exposure to the stress hormone can permanently alter many immune system responses, decreasing the body's ability to ward off bacterial infections and fight tumors.

"Mice for rest of their lives are rewired and reprogrammed in ways fundamentally different from those not exposed to glucocorticoids," said Yale immunobiologist Ruslan Medzhitov, senior author of the study and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

Medzhitov and first author Jun Young Hun, also of Yale, catalogued a host of physiological changes that occurred in mice given glucocorticoids and that had serious consequences for the rest of their lives. As adults, for instance, the exposed mice were more susceptible to bacterial infections and tumors than mice without exposure. One specific physiological change was decreased activity in a key T cell that responds to pathogens and other threats to the host.

The study helps explain why individuals vary so widely in their ability to ward off infections, the authors said. It also provides an explanation for a social phenomenon found throughout human history: an emphasis on shielding women from stress during pregnancy.

"In all cultures, there are efforts to shelter women from stress during pregnancy," he said. "The effects of early life stress don't just go away."

As more is learned about molecular changes caused by early exposure to stress, the more likely it is that medical science will find a way to minimize its damage, said the authors.

"We aren't there yet," Medzhitov said.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200305132154.htm

###

The skinny on why poor sleep may increase heart risk in women

February 17, 2020

Science Daily/Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Women who sleep poorly tend to overeat and consume a lower-quality diet, according to a new study from researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The findings provide new insight into how poor sleep quality can increase the risk of heart disease and obesity and points to possible interventions for improving women's heart health.

Previous studies have shown that people who get less sleep are more likely to develop obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease -- and that the relationship may be partially explained by diet. But these studies were narrowly focused on specific foods or nutrients (such as fish, sweets, or saturated fat) or only measured sleep duration, not sleep quality.

The new study was designed to get a more comprehensive picture in women by examining associations between overall diet quality and multiple aspects of sleep quality.

"Women are particularly prone to sleep disturbances across the life span, because they often shoulder the responsibilities of caring for children and family and, later, because of menopausal hormones," says Brooke Aggarwal, EdD, assistant professor of medical sciences at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and senior author of the study.

The study of nearly 500 women was published online today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The researchers analyzed the sleep and eating habits of an ethnically diverse group of 495 women, ages 20 to 76. The study looked at sleep quality, the time it took to fall asleep, and insomnia. The women also reported on the types and amounts of foods they typically eat throughout the year, allowing researchers to measure their typical dietary patterns.

Similar to previous studies of sleep and diet, the study found that those with worse overall sleep quality consumed more of the added sugars associated with obesity and diabetes.

Women who took longer to fall asleep had higher caloric intake and ate more food by weight.

And women with more severe insomnia symptoms consumed more food by weight and fewer unsaturated fats than women with milder insomnia.

"Our interpretation is that women with poor-quality sleep could be overeating during subsequent meals and making more unhealthy food choices," says Aggarwal.

The question remains: How might poor sleep contribute to poor eating?

"Poor sleep quality may lead to excessive food and calorie intake by stimulating hunger signals or suppressing signals of fullness," says Faris Zuraikat, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and lead author of the study. "Fullness is largely affected by the weight or volume of food consumed, and it could be that women with insomnia consume a greater amount of food in an effort to feel full.

"However, it's also possible that poor diet has a negative impact on women's sleep quality," adds Zuraikat. "Eating more could also cause gastrointestinal discomfort, for instance, making it harder to fall asleep or remain asleep."

"Given that poor diet and overeating may lead to obesity -- a well-established risk factor for heart disease -- future studies should test whether therapies that improve sleep quality can promote cardiometabolic health in women," says Aggarwal.

About the Study

The women in the study were participants in the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Strategically Focused Research Network at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Two other research teams in Columbia's Go Red for Women network are studying the impact of sleep restriction on risk factors for heart disease and on the cells that line blood vessels.

The study is titled "Measures of Poor Sleep Quality Are Associated with Higher Energy Intake and Poor Diet Quality in a Diverse Sample of Women from the Go Red for Women Strategically Focused Research Network."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200217085214.htm

An apple a day might help keep bothersome menopause symptoms away

New study finds that higher intakes of certain fruits and vegetables may result in fewer menopause symptoms

February 19, 2020

Science Daily/The North American Menopause Society (NAMS)

A healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables is known to benefit the human body in so many ways. Now a new study suggests that it may also play a role in lessening various menopause symptoms. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS).

Although hormone therapy has been proven to be an acceptable method for treatment of menopause-related symptoms for many women, the search for nonpharmacologic treatment options is ongoing, especially for women with certain risk factors and those who are not candidates for hormone therapy. Specifically, there has been a focus on identifying modifiable lifestyle factors that might prevent or alleviate menopause symptoms.

Previous studies have suggested that dietary factors may play a critical role in estrogen production, metabolism, and consequently, menopause symptoms. In particular, the consumption of fruits or a Mediterranean-style diet, characterized by a high content of vegetables, fruits, cereals, and nuts, was linked to fewer menopause symptoms and complaints. This new study goes a step further in looking at specific fruits and vegetables and their effects on various menopause symptoms.

Researchers concluded that, although some subgroups of fruits and vegetables had an inverse association with menopause symptoms, a higher intake of other subgroups appeared to be associated with more urogenital problems. Citrus fruits, for example, were called out as having an adverse effect on urogenital scores compared with other types of fruits, as were green leafy or dark yellow vegetables compared with other vegetables.

Study results appear in the article "Higher intakes of fruits and vegetables are related to fewer menopausal symptoms: a cross-sectional study."

"This small cross-sectional study provides some preliminary evidence regarding the influence of fruit and vegetable intake on menopause symptoms. There is ample evidence that a healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables has a beneficial effect on health in a myriad of ways, but additional study is needed to determine whether various menopause symptoms may be affected by dietary choices," says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, NAMS medical director.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200219124232.htm

Smelling your lover's shirt could improve your sleep

February 13, 2020

Science Daily/University of British Columbia

The scent of a romantic partner can improve sleep, suggests new psychology research from the University of British Columbia.

The researchers found that study participants who were exposed to their partner's scent overnight experienced better sleep quality, even though their partner was not physically present.

"Our findings provide new evidence that merely sleeping with a partner's scent improves sleep efficiency. Our participants had an average sleep efficiency improvement of more than two per cent," said Marlise Hofer, the study's lead author and a graduate student in the UBC department of psychology. "We saw an effect similar in size to what has been reported from taking oral melatonin supplements -- often used as a sleep aid."

For the study, the researchers analyzed sleep data from 155 participants who were given two identical-looking t-shirts to use as pillowcases -- one had been previously worn by their romantic partner, and the other had either been previously worn by a stranger or was clean.

To capture body odour on the t-shirts, the participants' partners were given a clean t-shirt to wear for 24 hours, and were asked to refrain from using deodorant and scented body products, smoking, exercising and eating certain foods that could affect their body odour. The t-shirts were then frozen to preserve their scent.

Each participant was then given two shirts to place over their pillows, without being told which one was which. They spent two consecutive nights sleeping with each t-shirt. Each morning, they completed a survey about how well-rested they felt. Their sleep quality was also objectively measured using an actigraphy sleep watch that monitored their movements throughout the night. At the end of the study, participants guessed if the shirts they had been sleeping with had previously been worn by their partner.

Participants reported feeling more well-rested on the nights when they believed they were sleeping with their partner's scent. Moreover, regardless of their beliefs about scent exposure, data from the sleep watches indicated that objective sleep improved when participants were actually exposed to their partner's scent.

"One of the most surprising findings is how a romantic partner's scent can improve sleep quality even outside of our conscious awareness," said Frances Chen, the study's senior author and associate professor in the UBC department of psychology. "The sleep watch data showed that participants experienced less tossing and turning when exposed to their partners' scent, even if they weren't aware of whose scent they were smelling."

The researchers say the physical presence of a long-term romantic partner is associated with positive health outcomes such as a sense of safety, calm and relaxation, which in turn leads to better sleep. By signalling recent physical proximity, the mere scent of a partner may have similar benefits.

Hofer says the research could pave the way for future work examining the efficacy of simple and effective methods of improving sleep, such as bringing a partner's shirt the next time you travel alone.

The researchers are currently recruiting participants for a pilot study to investigate whether the scent of parents can improve their infant's sleep quality.

The research findings have been accepted for publication in Psychological Science. The research was supported by an American Psychological Foundation Visionary Grant, a UBC graduate student research award and a Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Discovery Grant.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200213091723.htm

If pregnant women use cosmetics containing parabens, this may have consequences

February 12, 2020

Science Daily/Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

Parabens are used as preservatives in cosmetics. If pregnant women use cosmetics containing parabens that remain on the skin for protracted periods, this may have consequences for their child's subsequent weight development.

Parabens are used as preservatives in cosmetics. If pregnant women use cosmetics containing parabens that remain on the skin for protracted periods, this may have consequences for their child's subsequent weight development. This is demonstrated in a study published in the journal Nature Communications by researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in collaboration with colleagues from Leipzig University, Charité University Hospital in Berlin and the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH). Based on data from the LINA mother-child study, they were further able to identify epigenetic modifications that are triggered by parabens and interfere with the natural regulation of satiety in the brain.

Methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben -- these and similar are the names of parabens commonly used as preservatives. Substances that are used in creams and body lotions to combat microbes can have an undesirably side-effect, however. "If pregnant women absorb parabens through the skin, this can lead to overweight in their children," says UFZ environmental immunologist Dr Tobias Polte. The starting point for the investigations was the LINA mother-child cohort study, a long-term study conducted by the UFZ to examine the significance of environmental factors in sensitive periods of childhood development for the later occurrence of allergies and respiratory diseases or overweight. "We initially wanted to find out whether the parabens detected in urine from expectant mothers from the mother-child cohort had an impact on the development of their children's weight," explains former UFZ researcher Prof. Irina Lehmann, currently at the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and at Charité -- Berlin University Hospital. "In doing so, we discovered a positive correlation between the concentrations of butylparaben in the mothers' urine and a higher body-mass index of their children -- particularly of the daughters -- until their eighth birthday."

In order to find out where the butylparabens in the pregnant women's urine came from in the first place, the researchers combed through the questionnaires completed by the participants in the LINA study for details of the cosmetics used during pregnancy. "Using the ToxFox app developed by BUND enabled us to easily and quickly check whether parabens were among the ingredients of the respective cosmetics products," Polte explains. "And high concentrations of parabens in the mothers' urine were indeed associated with the use of cosmetics containing parabens -- particularly those that remained on the skin for a protracted period of time, such as creams or body lotions."

But how does the use of creams containing parabens by expectant mothers tie in with the child's future overweight? To track down the underlying mechanisms, the team of researchers firstly used cell cultures to examine whether fat cells themselves react to high concentrations of butylparaben. "Butylparaben did not bring about an increase in the size of the fat cells, nor did the fat cells store more fat than otherwise," Lehmann reports. "It was evident that the differentiation of fat cells was not impacted by the parabens." Something else had to be behind the children's weight gain. In collaboration with colleagues from the Medical Faculty at Leipzig University, the researchers used a mouse model to simulate exposure to parabens during pregnancy. In this model, mice absorbed butylparabens through the skin. "Just as in the LINA study, the female offspring here also demonstrated increased weight gain," says Polte. "And they ate significantly more than the offspring of mice from the control group." Consequently, the researchers suspected that parabens might exert an influence on how hunger is regulated in the brain, and performed a closer examination of key genes in the hypothalamus of the mouse offspring.

It became apparent that a gene by the name of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) that is decisive in controlling the feeling of hunger was down-regulated in the brains of the young mice. Further investigations at a genetic level revealed that an epigenetic modification was responsible for this by preventing the corresponding POMC gene from being read. "The influence of parabens during gestation obviously gives rise to epigenetic modifications in the offspring that permanently disrupt the regulation of the natural feeling of satiety. This means that they have a higher food intake," Polte explains. Therefore, parabens seem to constitute as a risk factor during pregnancy for the occurrence of overweight. However, also other factors play an important role in weight gain, such as a hypercaloric diet and lack of exercise.

So far, the researchers have not been able to come to any conclusions on how stable the epigenetic modifications are or whether they can be passed on to the next generation. However, they are already able to make an unambiguous recommendation based on the findings so far: "Bearing in mind the future health of their children, expectant mothers really should use paraben-free products during the sensitive periods of pregnancy and breastfeeding," says Lehmann. Many cosmetics products are already declared to be paraben-free; otherwise, this information can be obtained from the list of ingredients or using the ToxFox app, for instance." The researchers will continue to search for further potential effects of parabens in future investigations. "Epigenetic modifications that relate to the regulation of satiety are only one possible end point," says Polte. "Intergenerational effects of environmental factors have often been underestimated to date. We hope that our research will help to focus greater attention on such factors in future."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200212111438.htm

Component of human breast milk enhances cognitive development in babies

February 12, 2020

Science Daily/Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Investigators show that early exposure to a carbohydrate found in breast milk, called 2'FL, positively influences neurodevelopment.

Maternal factors, such as breast milk, have been shown to affect a baby's development, and previous animal studies have determined that a carbohydrate, the oligosaccharide 2'FL found in maternal milk, positively influences neurodevelopment. Now, in the first study done in humans, investigators at Children's Hospital Los Angeles in collaboration with the University of California, San Diego, have shown that 2'FL found in breast milk enhances cognitive development. Findings will be published in PLOS ONE on Feb 12.

In this cohort study of 50 mothers and their babies, investigators analyzed breast milk composition and frequency of feeding at 1 and 6 months of age. Cognitive development was measured at 24 months using the Bayley-III scale, a standardized test of infant and toddler development. The study showed that the amount of 2'FL in breast milk in the first month of feeding was related to significantly higher cognitive development scores in babies by 2 years of age. The amount of 2'FL in breast milk at 6 months of feeding was not related to cognitive outcomes, indicating that early exposure may be more beneficial.

Many studies have reported a positive effect of breastfeeding on cognitive development. "We wanted to specifically identify what was causing this effect," said Michael Goran, PhD, Director of the Diabetes and Obesity Program at The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and senior author on the study.

"Through our high-throughput analytical platform we can quantify oligosaccharides like 2'FL and many others in hundreds of breast milk samples in a short period of time," says study collaborator and co-author Lars Bode, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Mother-Milk-Infant Center of Research Excellence at the University of California, San Diego. "This technology allows us to associate differences in milk composition with specific infant outcomes like cognitive development, validating existing data from preclinical models or generating entirely new hypotheses," Bode adds.

Using a statistical technique called mediation analysis, the investigators were able to independently evaluate the effects of breastfeeding in general, and the effects of the oligosaccharide 2'FL.

"This enhanced cognitive development in the first 2 years of life raises the question of possible long term impact on a child¬-in school and beyond," said Paige Berger, PhD, RD, a postdoctoral research associate at CHLA and the first author of the study.

These observations allowed the team to conclude that the increased neurodevelopment provided by breastfeeding was due primarily to mothers who were producing more 2'FL for the baby to consume.

"We know that there are many different compounds in breast milk and the composition is dynamic -- it changes over time and is highly variable between mothers," Dr. Goran said. "In addition to identifying the impact of oligosaccharide 2'FL, we also wanted to determine the timing of when it is most critical to a child's development."

While the investigators observed neuroenhancement explained by higher 2'FL during the first month of a baby's life, this effect was not observed when looking at 2'FL content of breast milk at the six-month time-point. Being able to identify factors critical to early neurodevelopment offers the possibility for supplementing women's breast milk in individuals who produce lower quantities of this important substance.

"For some women, breastfeeding is a challenge. For those that are not able to breastfeed or can only do so short-term, 2'FL could potentially be offered as an add-on to the nutrition their baby is receiving to better support cognitive development," said Dr. Berger.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200212150143.htm

A happy partner leads to a healthier future

February 11, 2020

Science Daily/Michigan State University

Michigan State University research found that those who are optimistic contribute to the health of their partners, staving off the risk factors leading to Alzheimer's disease, dementia and cognitive decline as they grow old together.

"We spend a lot of time with our partners," said William Chopik, assistant professor of psychology and co-author of the study. "They might encourage us to exercise, eat healthier or remind us to take our medicine. When your partner is optimistic and healthy, it can translate to similar outcomes in your own life. You actually do experience a rosier future by living longer and staving off cognitive illnesses."

An optimistic partner may encourage eating a salad or work out together to develop healthier lifestyles. For example, if you quit smoking or start exercising, your partner is close to following suit within a few weeks and months.

"We found that when you look at the risk factors for what predicts things like Alzheimer's disease or dementia, a lot of them are things like living a healthy lifestyle," Chopik said. "Maintaining a healthy weight and physical activity are large predictors. There are some physiological markers as well. It looks like people who are married to optimists tend to score better on all of those metrics."

The study, published in the Journal of Personality and co-authored by MSU graduate student Jeewon Oh and Eric Kim, a research scientist in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, followed nearly 4,500 heterosexual couples from the Health and Retirement Study for up to eight years. The researchers found a potential link between being married to an optimistic person and preventing the onset of cognitive decline, thanks to a healthier environment at home.

"There's a sense where optimists lead by example, and their partners follow their lead," Chopik said. "While there's some research on people being jealous of their partner's good qualities or on having bad reactions to someone trying to control you, it is balanced with other research that shows being optimistic is associated with perceiving your relationship in a positive light."

The research also indicated that when couples recall shared experiences together, richer details from the memories emerge. A recent example, Chopik explained, was Google's tearjerker Super Bowl ad, "Loretta," in which an elderly man uses his Google Assistant to help him remember details about his late wife.

"The things he was recollecting were positive things about his partner," Chopik said. "There is science behind the Google ad. Part of the types of memories being recalled were positive aspects of their relationship and personalities."

With all of its benefits, is optimism something that can be prescribed? While there is a heritable component to optimism, Chopik says there is some evidence to suggest that it's a trainable quality.

"There are studies that show people have the power to change their personalities, as long as they engage in things that make them change," Chopik said. "Part of it is wanting to change. There are also intervention programs that suggest you can build up optimism."

Across the board, everyone benefits from a healthy dose of optimism from their partner. For the glass-is-half-empty people, a partner can still quench their thirst. For the glass-is-half-full people? Their cup runneth over.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200211092555.htm

'Women my age tend to drink -- it's normal'

February 11, 2020

Science Daily/Edith Cowan University

New research has found that despite the potential health risks of exceeding national drinking guidelines, many middle-aged and young-old women who consume alcohol at high risk levels tend to perceive their drinking as normal and acceptable, so long as they appear respectable and in control.

Women aged 50-70 are more likely than younger women to consume alcohol at levels that exceed low risk drinking guidelines -- and most think that's just perfectly fine.

New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research has found that despite the potential health risks of exceeding national drinking guidelines, many middle-aged and young-old women who consume alcohol at high risk levels tend to perceive their drinking as normal and acceptable, so long as they appear respectable and in control.

The study is a collaboration between ECU and Aalborg University, Denmark, led by Dr Julie Dare from ECU's School of Medical and Health Sciences. It investigated the social construction of alcohol use among 49 women aged 50 to 69 in Denmark and Australia.

According to Australian health authorities, drinking more than two standard drinks on any day increases the risk considerably of premature death over a woman's lifetime.

Key findings:

• Women place more importance on appearing to be in control, behaving respectably, social pleasure and feeling liberated than the quantity of alcohol consumed or potential health risks.

• While some women reported reducing their drinking due to health concerns, others suggested that positive health behaviours such as exercise served to 'neutralise' alcohol-related health risks.

• Health advice and interventions relating to middle-aged and young-old women's drinking practices need to acknowledge that women may socially construct their drinking practices to prioritise matters other than biomedical impacts of alcohol.

Controlled and acceptable drinking

Dr Dare said the research highlighted the widespread use of alcohol in both samples of women in Australia and Denmark.

"Respondents from both countries indicated that alcohol use among women their age was normal and acceptable," she said.

One respondent observed:

"It has become part of the norm . . . it is something we do with our acquaintances, friends and families. That's just something we do" (D8, 59 years).

"However, the importance of 'staying in control' while drinking emerged as an important qualifier to the social acceptability of drinking," Dr Dare said.

Another respondent said:

"As long as they (women) don't make a fool of themselves, they don't want to go falling down and showing their knickers" (A9, 69 years).

"Health messaging of no more than two standard drinks per day and no more than four standard drinks on any single drinking occasion didn't seem to be relevant to women in this age group. There was a fair percentage drinking over that," Dr Dare said.

"In Australia, younger women are starting to drink less, their rates have declined, but the proportion of women aged 60 and older drinking at levels that exceed single occasion guidelines (more than 4 standard drinks on a single occasion) has increased. Similar trends are evident in Denmark and the United Kingdom."

Cultural differences

While the study highlighted many similarities between Australian and Danish women, one interesting cultural difference was the way Australian women thought about alcohol in relation to stress.

"If the Australian women had some sort of distress in their lives they believed it was acceptable to drink. They were quite open about this saying 'I just had a bad day, I needed to have a drink'," Dr Dare said.

"Danish women were not the same. They reported it wasn't 'acceptable' to drink if they were upset. They believed that you shouldn't use alcohol as a crutch to cope," she said.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200211103727.htm

Vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy connected to elevated risk of ADHD

February 10, 2020

Science Daily/University of Turku

The risk of ADHD was 34 percent higher in children whose mother had a vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy than in those children whose mother's vitamin D level was sufficient during the first and second trimesters. The result was adjusted for maternal age, socioeconomic status and psychiatric history.

"Alongside genotype, prenatal factors such as vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy, can influence the development of ADHD" says MD Minna Sucksdorff from the University of Turku, Finland.

The study is the first population-level research to demonstrate an association between low maternal vitamin D level in early to mid-pregnancy and an elevated risk for diagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ADHD in the offspring.

The study included 1,067 children born between 1998 and 1999 diagnosed with ADHD in Finland and the same number of matched controls. The data was collected before the current national recommendation in Finland for the intake of vitamin D during pregnancy, which is 10 micrograms per day throughout the year.

Vitamin D deficiency still a problem

The primary investigator, Professor Andre Sourander says that, despite the recommendations, vitamin D deficiency is still a global problem. In Finland, for example, mothers' vitamin D intake among several immigrant groups is not at a sufficient level.

"This research offers strong evidence that a low level of vitamin D during pregnancy is related to attention deficiency in offspring. As ADHD is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, the research results have a great significance for public health" says Professor Sourander.

The study is part of a larger research project that aims to discover the connections between the mother's health during pregnancy and ADHD in offspring. The goal is to produce information for developing preventative treatments and measures for identifying children with ADHD risk.

The study was done in collaboration between researchers from the University of Turku, Finland, and Columbia University, New York and it was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health NIHM (USA) and the Academy of Finland, and it is part of the INVEST flagship programme of the University of Turku.

In the study, the researchers used the exceptionally comprehensive Finnish Maternity Cohort (FMC) consisting of approximately 2 million serum specimens collected during the first and early second trimester of pregnancy.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200210104120.htm

Why eating yogurt may help lessen the risk of breast cancer

Science Daily/Lancaster University

One of the causes of breast cancer may be inflammation triggered by harmful bacteria suggest researchers. Scientists advise consuming natural yogurt, which contains beneficial bacteria which dampens inflammation and which is similar to the bacteria found in breastfeeding mothers. Their suggestion is that this bacteria is protective because breast feeding reduces the risk of breast cancer. The consumption of yogurt is also associated with a reduction in the risk of breast cancer.

Scientists say their idea- as yet unproven -- is supported by the available evidence, which is that bacterial induced inflammation is linked to cancer.

The paper in the journal Medical Hypotheses is by Lancaster University medical student Auday Marwaha, Professor Jim Morris from the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust and Dr Rachael Rigby from Lancaster University's Faculty of Health and Medicine.

The researchers say that: "There is a simple, inexpensive potential preventive remedy; which is for women to consume natural yoghurt on a daily basis."

Yoghurt contains beneficial lactose fermenting bacteria commonly found in milk, similar to the bacteria -- or microflora- found in the breasts of mothers who have breastfed.

Dr Rigby said: "We now know that breast milk is not sterile and that lactation alters the microflora of the breast.

"Lactose fermenting bacteria are commonly found in milk and are likely to occupy the breast ducts of women during lactation and for an unknown period after lactation."

Their suggestion is that this lactose fermenting bacteria in the breast is protective because each year of breast feeding reduces the risk of breast cancer by 4.3%.

Several other studies have shown that the consumption of yoghurt is associated with a reduction in the risk of breast cancer, which the researchers suggest may be due to the displacement of harmful bacteria by beneficial bacteria.

There are approximately 10 billion bacterial cells in the human body and while most are harmless, some bacteria create toxins which trigger inflammation in the body.

Chronic inflammation destroys the harmful germs but it also damages the body. One of the most common inflammatory conditions is gum disease or periodontitis which has already been linked to oral, oesophageal, colonic, pancreatic, prostatic and breast cancer.

The researchers conclude that: "The stem cells which divide to replenish the lining of the breast ducts are influenced by the microflora, and certain components of the microflora have been shown in other organs, such as the colon and stomach, to increase the risk of cancer development.

"Therefore a similar scenario is likely to be occurring in the breast, whereby resident microflora impact on stem cell division and influence cancer risk."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200124073857.htm

Skin-to-skin contact do not improve interaction between mother and preterm infant

January 23, 2020

Science Daily/Linköping University

Following a premature birth it is important that the parents and the infant quickly establish a good relationship. Researchers at Linköping University have studied the relationship between mothers and infants who have continuous skin-to-skin contact during the entire period from birth to discharge from the hospital. The results show that continuous skin-to-skin contact does not lead to better interaction between the mother and the infant. The study is published in the scientific journal Advances in Neonatal Care.

Every year some 15 million infants worldwide are born prematurely. Because the infants often require intensive care, it is common that they are separated from their parents, which can negatively affect the attachment between mother and infant.

For the parents, this separation can result in guilt and a sense of emptiness at not being able to be close to their newborn child. For the infant, losing closeness to the parents is one of the largest stress factors in early life. But skin-to-skin care against the parent's chest, instead of care in an incubator, can reduce stress.

"Skin-to-skin contact between parent and infant has proved to have positive effects for the infant's development -- but there are no clear results regarding the effect on the interaction between mother and infant. Which is why we wanted to study this," says Charlotte Sahlén Helmer, doctoral student at Linköping University, Sweden.

In the study, the researchers investigated the interaction between mothers and infants born prematurely -- between weeks 32 and 36. The study was carried out at two Swedish hospitals, where the parents are able to be with their infant around the clock. Thirty-one families took part. The families were split into two groups: one where the mother was to give the infant continuous SSC from birth until discharge, and one where the mother was to give the infant as much or as little SSC as she wanted to, or was able to.

After four months, the researchers followed up how the mothers interacted with their preterm infants. They found no significant differences in interaction between the continuous and the intermittent skin-to-skin contact groups. As regards the mother's attachment to the infant, the researchers could not see that skin-to-skin contact had any effect in terms of e.g. the mother's acceptance of or sensitivity to the infant. Nor was there a correlation between the number of hours of skin-to-skin contact and the quality of the interaction.

"Some people say that skin-to-skin contact automatically results in good attachment between mother and infant. Our study shows that this may not be the case. It may be a relief for the parents who are not able to keep their infant against their skin around the clock, to know that they can still have good interaction. But these results must be followed up with further studies," says Charlotte Sahlén Helmer.

The study is part of a larger project investigating the effects of skin-to-skin contact in preterm infants.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200123095901.htm