UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News - November 20, 2007
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WASHINGTON, Nov. 19
Sleep-deprived moms prone to gain weight
OAKLAND, Calif., Nov. 19 Sleeping just five hours a night triples the risk of excessive weight for new moms a year after a baby's birth, U.S. researchers report.
Mothers who reported sleeping no more than five hours daily when babies were six months old had a three-times higher risk for weight retention -- at least 11 pounds -- at their baby's first birthday than moms who slept seven hours per day, the study by Kaiser Permanente and Harvard Medical School -Harvard Pilgrim Health Care said.
The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is the first to examine sleep deprivation's impact on postpartum weight retention, a joint news release said. Previous studies examined the effect of early postpartum sleep deprivation on mothers' cognitive and emotional health.
"We have known for some time that sleep deprivation is associated with weight gain and obesity in the general population, but this study shows that getting enough sleep -- even just two hours more -- may be as important as a healthy diet and exercise for new mothers to return to their pre-pregnancy weight," study lead author Erica P. Gunderson, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., said in a news release.
Australian study puts a price on pain
SYDNEY, Nov. 19 A pricey price tag -- $34.3 billion annually -- has been attached to the cost of pain in Australia in a study by the MBF Foundation.
The cost, which includes financial costs and loss of a healthy life, is roughly $11,000 for each of the estimated 3.2 million Australians struggling with pain, the study said.
The MBF Foundation study, "The High Price of Pain: The Economic Impact of Persistent Pain in Australia," conducted by Access Economics in collaboration with the University of Sydney Pain Management Research Institute also found that the people who are suffering from persistent pain are carrying more than half of its overall cost burden.
Foundation officials said the finding would be used to identify the best ways to ease suffering, save healthcare dollars and help patients maintain productive lives.
"The impact and cost of persistent pain is so widespread that a national approach is needed to address this major health issue and its hidden health burden," Dr. Christine Bennett, MBF chief medical officer said in the foundation release. "The study shows that the bottom line of chronic pain is huge both in human terms and its economic impact."
'Fin-printing' to help track salmon
SEATTLE, Nov. 19 A $4.1 million DNA "fin-printing" project will help scientists differentiate different populations of salmon genetically, the University of Washington reported.
The ability of salmon to migrate such extraordinary distances makes it hard at a management level to know whose fish are whose and at a biological level to unravel the mystery of their ocean migration.
The recently launched effort by the Seattle university's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences aims to help determine who's who in the salmon travel world by collecting genetic information for thousands of Pacific Rim salmon populations and creating open-access databases for managers, treaty-makers and scientists, the university said in a news release.
Because salmon migrate extraordinary distances, managers have a hard time figuring out whose fish are whose. On a biological level, the database information could help solve the mystery of their ocean migration, researchers said.
Genetic markers, sometimes called DNA fingerprinting in humans, will be used to for the DNA "fin-printing" for fish when a bit of tissue from a fin is used for the analysis.
British docs repair bad plastic surgeries
LONDON, Nov. 19 More people crossing the English Channel for less expensive plastic surgery wind up having repair work done when they return, a British survey said.
Thousands of people travel to the continent annually for procedures that cost less than what is charged in Britain. But British plastic surgeons are warning patients what may seem like a good deal could be expensive to correct if the procedure goes wrong, the Telegraph reported.
A survey by the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons found more than 80 percent of its members treated patients with problems related to off-island surgery in the past year.
The survey reported four of 10 surgeons said they had seen between three and five cases in the past 12 months; 14 percent reported treating nine or more.
The survey also reported about a third of the surgeons who participated performed "much more" repair work during the past five years than previously.
"My experience with patients has shown that counseling is inadequate -- the individuals have no idea of the standards of care in the country they are visiting and no knowledge of the abilities or experience of the surgeon," said Douglas McGeorge, BAAPS president and plastic surgeon.
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