Volume 192 - Issue 12
In Other Journals
Author: Alison Williams
Med J Aust 2010; 192 (12): 721. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03714.x
Published online: 21 June 2010
Published online: 21 June 2010
Think tall
Ever get that shrinking feeling? We tend to become shorter with age and this may be by as much as 4.5 cm by age 70, according to a recent observational study of about 8610 older French women. Since loss of height is considered as an indicator of osteoporosis and vertebral fracture, the researchers set out to determine how accurately the women reported their current height. Only 2% maintained the same height as reported or recalled from their younger days, while most overestimated their current height by 2.4 cm. Previous vertebral fracture and thoracic kyphosis were strong determinants of height loss. The authors recommend measuring actual height of postmenopausal women, rather than relying on reported estimates.
CMAJ 2010; 182: 558-562 doi: 10.1503/cmaj.090710
All in the family
Results from a Norwegian study support the belief that severe morning sickness tends to run in the family and that maternal, rather than fetal, genes are to blame. The population-based study analysed generational data spanning about 40 years and found that women were three times more likely to have hyperemesis if their mothers had experienced it. This was regardless of whether this had occurred in the pregnancy leading to the birth of the woman under study or in a previous or subsequent pregnancy. In contrast, the risk was not passed on to female partners of sons whose mothers had been affected, However, the authors acknowledge that the link between mothers and daughters may also be due to shared environmental factors.
BMJ 2010; 340: c2050 doi: 10.1136/bmj.c2050
Running with scissors . . .
Traumatic cataracts from eye trauma are not uncommon in Australia, according to a 15-year retrospective review of paediatric cases, during which time, 74 cases were reported. Offending objects included sharp pointed metal objects, scissors, rocks and, in one case, goggles. The mean age of injury was 7.5 years and males represented 75% of the cases. Best and worst case scenarios for visual acuity after cataract surgery were reported as 6/12 or better in about one third of children, and less than 6/60 in about 20%, including four with perception of light or worse.
Clin Experiment Ophthalmol 2010; 38: 237-241 doi: 10.1111/j.1442-9071.2010.02236.x
Being bullied
Why are some children more likely to be bullied at school than others? A recent US study has shown that those who are obese are more likely to be bullied (OR 1.6; 95% CI, 1.18-2.25), regardless of their sex, race, socioeconomic status, social skills or academic achievement. The study included 821 school-aged children who had been recruited at birth as part of a study on child development and behaviour. The longitudinal nature of the study allowed the researchers to examine whether being obese was the cause of the bullying or whether being bullied actually led to excessive weight gain (due to stress-related overeating). They found that there was no significant increase in body mass index in the 2 years after reporting being bullied, indicating that obesity was probably the cause rather than the consequence of bullying.
Pediatrics 2010, 3 May. doi: 10.1542/peds.2009-0774