Post-Partum Depression More Common in Abused Women Study in Hispanic women found domestic violence was even more predictive than history of depression

Post-Partum Depression More Common in Abused Women
Study in Hispanic women found domestic violence was even more predictive than history of depression

By Robert Preidt

(HealthDay News) -- Hispanic women who suffer domestic abuse during or shortly before becoming pregnant have a fivefold increased risk of postpartum depression, U.S. researchers say.

The findings suggest that intimate partner violence is a stronger predictor of postpartum depression than prenatal depression, which is generally regarded as the most significant risk factor.

The study of 210 Hispanic women aged 18 and older in Los Angeles found that women who experienced domestic violence during pregnancy or within the 12 months prior to pregnancy were 5.4 times more likely to suffer postpartum depression than those who hadn't suffered recent abuse.

The researchers also found that women who experienced prenatal depression were 3.5 times more likely to have postpartum depression than those who didn't experience prenatal depression.

These findings indicate that pregnant women should be screened for both prenatal depression and intimate partner violence, said the researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles Center for Culture, Trauma and Mental Health Disparities.

The study appears in the current issue of the Archives of Women's Mental Health.

SOURCE: University of California, Los Angeles, Health Sciences, news release, May 2011

Study Suggests Supplement May Protect Against Preeclampsia Others warn of possible side effects and urge more research before pregnant women try it

Study Suggests Supplement May Protect Against Preeclampsia
Others warn of possible side effects and urge more research before pregnant women try it

By Randy Dotinga
(HealthDay News) -- Though a new study suggests that a dietary supplement could lower the likelihood that high-risk pregnant women will develop preeclampsia, the jury is still out over whether it actually works and a specialist recommends that women not try it yet.

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication that can boost blood pressure to abnormally high levels, causing hypertension. It affects about 5 percent of first pregnancies.

"Women die of uncontrolled hypertension through stroke or multi-organ failure," said Dr. David Williams, an obstetrician and consultant in maternal medicine at University College London Hospitals, who co-wrote a commentary accompanying the study, which was published online May 19 in BMJ.

"Comprehensive prenatal care and modern medical practice in developed countries makes maternal mortality from preeclampsia a rare event, but it accounts for 20 percent of maternal mortality in many developing countries," Williams explained.

Scientists suspect that low levels of an amino acid called L-arginine could play a role in the development of the disease, and some have wondered whether antioxidant vitamins could lower the risk of the condition.

For the study, researchers in Mexico assigned high-risk pregnant women to one of three groups: 228 ate food bars containing L-arginine and antioxidant vitamins; 222 ate bars with vitamins only; and 222 ate bars that didn't contain the amino acid or the vitamins, considered the placebo group.

After eating the food bars daily from 20 weeks into their pregnancy through delivery, only 13 percent of the women who ate bars with L-arginine plus antioxidants developed preeclampsia; they also were less likely to give birth prematurely. In the vitamins-only group, 23 percent developed preeclampsia, as did 30 percent of women in the placebo group.

"This relatively simple and low-cost intervention may have value in reducing the risk of preeclampsia and associated preterm birth," the study concluded.

But the authors of the accompanying commentary raise questions about possible harmful effects and suggest there needs to be more research to understand "the numerous inconsistent strands of evidence relating to L-arginine and its possible effects on preeclampsia."

Williams said: "We still do not understand the complex, interacting ways in which preeclampsia develops, and it is likely to be different in different women. More work needs to be done to understand the potential of L-arginine with antioxidant vitamins, and at this stage, we do not recommend that this supplementation should be given to women at risk of preeclampsia."

SOURCES: David Williams, M.D., consultant in maternal medicine, University College London Hospitals, London; BMJ, news release, May 19, 2011

Parent's Fears Deprive Some Asthmatics of Flu Shot: Study Those who shun shots also less likely to know that flu can trigger breathing ills, survey finds

Parent's Fears Deprive Some Asthmatics of Flu Shot: Study
Those who shun shots also less likely to know that flu can trigger breathing ills, survey finds

By Robert Preidt

(HealthDay News) -- Concern about vaccine safety is one of the main reasons why some parents in the United States are reluctant to have their asthmatic children vaccinated against the flu, researchers report.

The new study also found that parents who don't vaccinate their asthmatic children are less likely to consider flu to be a trigger for their child's asthma.

Flu vaccination is recommended for all children, but especially for those with asthma because flu can trigger asthma flare-ups.

The study included 237 parents who had at least one child with asthma and took part in a national survey conducted in the summer of 2010.

Seventy percent of the parents said they had their child vaccinated against seasonal or H1N1 influenza during the 2009-2010 flu season, and 65 percent said they planned to have their child vaccinated in the 2010-2011 flu season.

Parents who didn't vaccinate their children were less likely than those who did vaccinate to believe that getting the flu was a "very important" asthma trigger (53 percent vs. 72 percent), and more likely to be concerned that the vaccine would cause side effects (60 percent vs. 26 percent) or make their child sick (41 percent vs. 13 percent).

The study was scheduled for presentation May 16 at the American Thoracic Society's international conference in Denver.

"Not surprisingly, parents who felt that their children were likely to experience an asthma attack when they got a respiratory infection were more likely to get their child vaccinated," study author Dr. Toby Lewis, an assistant professor of pediatric pulmonology at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., said in a society news release.

"Worries about potential side effects of the vaccine emerged as an important factor for families who did not have their child vaccinated. The group as a whole indicated that their physician was an important source of health information for their family, suggesting that physicians may have an opportunity to advise families about this important preventative measure," Lewis added.

"The results will help physicians, public health professionals and health educators tailor messages most effectively to this group of families," Lewis concluded.

SOURCE: American Thoracic Society, news release, May 16, 2011

Kids of Deployed Parents May Face Mental Health Risks Study found 10% higher chance of hospitalization for psychiatric problems in 9- to 17-year-olds

Kids of Deployed Parents May Face Mental Health Risks
Study found 10% higher chance of hospitalization for psychiatric problems in 9- to 17-year-olds

(HealthDay News) -- Children whose parents are deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq face a higher risk of psychiatric problems requiring hospitalization, a new study indicates.

Researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences tracked over 375,000 children, aged 9 to 17, whose parents were on active duty between 2007 and 2009.

"There was a 10 percent increased risk of hospitalization among children 9 to 17 whose parents were deployed," said Dr. Jeffrey Millegan, disaster and preventive psychiatry fellow at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

He presented the finding this week at the American Psychiatric Association's annual meeting in Honolulu.

In all, the investigators found that 2,533 children in the study were hospitalized for a mental or behavioral health problem, staying a median of eight days.

Of that, about one-third, or 858 children, had parents who were deployed during the study period.

After taking into account factors such as past history of psychiatric problems, Millegan arrived at the 10 percent increased risk. When he looked at the parents' length of deployment, he found the link only held up when the parent was gone longer than six months.

More attention needs to be paid to the mental health of children of active duty military parents when they are deployed, the researchers said.

What can parents do to lessen the impact? While resilience research is still in its infancy, Millegan suggested that family doctors should ask parents about to be deployed how their children are doing.

Parents and others who are aware of the risk, he said, may better catch mental health problems when they are less serious than those needing hospitalization.

The study was deemed novel by Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Council on Communications, who moderated the Monday news conference announcing the findings.

"There really hasn't been this kind of research up until now on the effect on the children," he said. Previous research has linked a parent's deployment to war with increased anxiety and behavioral problems in their children.

Borenstein said the finding about length of deployment having an effect on the child's mental health was of particular interest. With further research, he said, the number of times a parent is deployed would likely be found to have an effect, too.

For now, he said, the research can help inform those involved and alert them to try to minimize the risk.

Millegan also found that children with a past history of mental health problems were more likely to have them again. The civilian parent's past psychiatric history also affected the child's risk of hospitalization for mental health problems.

The increased mental health problems, Millegan said, are likely related to the obvious family disruption that occurs when a major caregiver leaves for a period of time.

Other research has found that mental health issues can affect both the deployed parent and the parent who stays home, suggesting there could be a trickle-down effect. "It's quite clear that [the mental health issues faced by the parents] can have an influence on the children," he said.

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

SOURCES: Jeffrey Millegan, M.D., M.P.H., disaster and preventive psychiatry fellow, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md.; Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., chair, Council on Communications, American Psychiatric Association; May 16, 2011, presentation, American Psychiatric Association annual meeting, Honolulu