Antibiotics losing their effectiveness
“Drugs used to treat serious bacterial infections in children and newborns may be losing their effectiveness in many countries due to “alarmingly high” rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR),” says a study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia (October) journal. Researchers led by Dr. Phoebe Williams, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Sydney, examined bacterial samples from 11 countries including India and found that many antibiotics recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to treat life-threatening bacterial infections in children are less than 50 percent effective against the microbes that cause these illnesses. The dangerous infections include pneumonia, sepsis and meningitis.
“This is a big threat for many low- and middle-income countries in the Asia-Pacific where healthcare resources and access to new drugs are limited. We urgently need new solutions to stop invasive multidrug-resistant infections and the needless deaths of thousands of children each year,” says Dr. Williams.
Children sharing close parental bonding grow up ‘prosocial’
A loving bond between parents and their children early in life significantly increases their tendency to be ‘prosocial’, and act with kindness and empathy towards others, says a recent University of Cambridge study. Researchers used data from more than 10,000 people born between 2000 and 2002 to understand the long-term interplay between children’s early relationships with parents, prosociality and mental health. They found that people who experienced warm relationships with their parents at age three not only tended to have fewer mental health problems during early childhood and adolescence, but also displayed heightened ‘prosocial’ tendencies. This refers to socially-desirable behaviour intended to benefit others, such as kindness, empathy, helpfulness, generosity and volunteering.
“Our analysis shows that after a certain age, we tend to be mentally well, or mentally unwell, and have a reasonably fixed level of resilience. A big influence appears to be our early relationship with our parents. As children, we internalise those aspects of our relationships with parents that are characterised by emotion, care and warmth. This affects our future disposition to be kind and helpful towards others,” says Ioannis Katsantonis, lead author and a doctoral researcher at the university’s faculty of education.
Excessive pregnancy weight gain increases maternal death risk
Pregnant women with body mass index (BMI) in the normal and overweight and excessive weight gain range were associated with a 9 percent and 12 percent increase in all-cause mortality risk respectively, according to a study published in The Lancet (October). The study conducted by the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), University of Pennsylvania and the US National Institutes of Health studied over 46,000 women, and drew a connection between gestational weight gain and loss, and mortality. Excessive weight gain for pregnant women with a pre-pregnancy BMI in the underweight and normal range, led to an 84 percent and 20 percent increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease respectively. Women with a BMI in the overweight range, had a 77 percent increased risk of mortality from diabetes.
“Promoting women’s health and achieving healthy longevity should start early in women’s lives. In particular, women’s health at their reproductive age and during pregnancy, are critical time windows that have long-term health impact over their lifespan, as well as intergenerational impact on the offspring and the family,” says study author Prof. Cuilin Zhang, Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics at NUS Medicine.
Paternal anxiety not harmful to child’s health
Slightly higher, but mild anxious or depressive symptoms in male parents were associated with fewer behavioural difficulties and better scores on a standardized IQ test in their children, says a recent study led by Tina Montreuil, associate professor, McGill University Health Centre, Canada.
McGill researchers examined if paternal anxiety and depressive symptoms, measured during their partner’s pregnancy, and again six to eight years later, are associated with children’s cognitive function and behaviour. “Our findings show that fathers’ reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depression were not associated with worse behavioural and cognitive outcomes in their children, as previously found in other studies,” says Sherri Lee Jones, first author of the study.
