In other journals

While research published in this issue of the MJA reveals largely good mental health among Vietnamese children living in Perth, a Sydney-based study has found that their adult counterparts are also faring well. Interviews with 1161 Vietnamese migrants who had lived in Australia for a mean of 11.2 years revealed that most (60%) had suffered some kind of pre-migration exposure to traumatic events, such as a lack of food or water, life-threatening situations, imprisonment or violence. Overall, only 95 participants (8%) had mental disorders as defined by ICD-10 and 75 participants (7%) had mental disorders according to a psychiatric scale developed specifically for use with Vietnamese people. Post-traumatic stress was the most common diagnosis (4%), followed by major depression (3%). The length of time since the most significant traumatic event and the total number of traumatic events both played a role in current psychiatric illness. Thus, for one to two traumatic events, only those affected less than four years ago were at increased risk (OR 6.3, compared with no trauma), while those reporting three or more traumatic events were still at increased risk 10 years later (OR 4.7).

Lancet: published online Sept 17 2002. http://image.thelancet.com/extras/01art9374web.pdf

Researchers in Bangladesh say “well switching” is a short-term solution to the problem of arsenic contamination of drinking water, thought to affect 30–36 million Bangladeshis. Drinking from wells has been encouraged in Bangladesh because of bacterial contamination of surface water, but the groundwater has high levels of naturally occurring arsenic. Global Positioning System receivers were used to map the locations of 4997 contiguous tube wells serving 55 000 people, and the water in each well was examined for arsenic content. Only 48% of the wells met the current Bangladeshi standard for drinking water of < 50 mg/L (current WHO recommendation is 10 mg/L). However, the researchers determined that almost 90% of the area’s inhabitants lived within 100 m of a safe well. They recommended that safe wells be identified and shared.

Bull World Health Organ 2002; 80: 732-737

A British study has found that, for several common disease states, having a spouse with the condition is a risk factor in itself! Researchers used the Trent Focus Collaborative Research Network to access data on 8386 married couples from 10 general practices. After adjusting for age, smoking, obesity and the practice attended, they found increased risks of asthma (OR 1.69), depression (OR 2.08), hypertension (OR 1.32), hyperlipidaemia (OR 1.44) and peptic ulcer disease (OR 2.01) in people whose spouses had these conditions compared with those whose spouses did not. Shared environmental factors and health-seeking behaviours were postulated as possible causes for this phenomenon.

BMJ 2002; 325: 636-640

If you’re wondering why your local bakery is displaying signs about the preservative content of its bread, it may relate to research from Darwin, which links the preservative calcium propionate with behavioural problems in children. Twenty-seven children with behavioural problems (defined by scores in the 85th centile or more on the Rowe Behaviour Rating Inventory) consumed an elimination diet (excluding 50 additives, and natural salicylates, amines and glutamates) for three weeks. The mean RBRI percentile of the group decreased from 95% to 31% on the diet. They then participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial in which each child consumed four pieces of bread, with or without the preservative, daily for three days. Mean RBRI scores after preservative-free and preservative-containing bread did not differ significantly. However, the researchers drew attention to the fact that the scores of 14 children worsened after the preservative, while eight were unchanged and five improved.

J Paediatr Child Health 2002; 38: 373-376