Good week for pregnant women near hospitals

GOOD week for pregnant women who live close to a hospital.

GOOD week for pregnant women who live close to a hospital.

A DUTCH study looked at travel time from home to hospital for 750,000 women who gave birth during 2000-06. The death rate among babies was 1.5 for every 1000 births and adverse outcomes occurred in six out of 1000. But a car journey of 20 minutes or more was linked to a 17 per cent increased risk of death and a 27 per cent increased risk of an adverse outcome, the authors say online in the obstetrics journal BJOG.

BJOG

2011;doi:10.1111/j.1471-

0528.2010.02816.x

(Ravelli A et al)

Bad week for . . .

AUSTRALIAN babies: more than one in 10 is allergic to a common food. Several indicators suggest food allergy in infants is possibly increasing, the authors write in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. In their study 2848 12-month-old babies underwent skin-prick testing to see whether they were sensitive to a variety of foods. If the tests were positive they were given the offending food orally. Among infants who had the food challenge, 3 per cent were allergic to peanuts, 9 per cent to raw egg and 1 per cent to sesame.

J Allergy Clin Immunol

2011;127:668-76

(Osborne N et al)

Smoking dope . . .

IT predisposes people to developing psychosis symptoms, research online in the British Medical Journal shows. The study involved 1923 people, aged 14-24 at baseline, who were assessed first after 3 1/2 years and then at 8.4 years. Among those who had never had psychotic symptoms and had never used cannabis at baseline, those who started using the drug were twice as likely as continued non-users to develop psychotic symptoms.

BMJ

2011;doi:10.1136/bmj.d738

(Kuepper R et al)

Strange but true

WASABI nose -- the strange back-of-the-nostrils tingling sensation triggered by too much of the fiery green condiment -- isn't just a hazard associated with sushi restaurants, it is also a drug side effect. Writing online in the journal Clinical Rheumatology, researchers describe four cases of children who suffered profound nasopharyngeal discomfort after infusions of the drug cyclophosphamide. The discomfort usually occurred 30 to 60 minutes into the infusion and resolved within hours.

Clin Rheumatol

2011;doi:

10.1007/s10067-011-1728-z

(Janow G et al)

Best debunk . . .

RISK-TAKERS are often portrayed as macho types with high testosterone levels, but research suggests guys with low testosterone are just as likely to take dangerous gambles. A study online in the journal Psychological Science measured testosterone in 300 men and women and assessed their propensity to take risks with money. Those with intermediate testosterone levels were risk-averse, while those at the high and low ends of the spectrum were less concerned about the risk. The results were the same in men and women.

Psychol Sci

2011;doi:10.1177/095

6797611401752

(Stanton S et al)

Adam Taor is a medically qualified writer.

Want to know more? Items are referenced where possible. A reference such as "2007;35:18-25" means the source article was published on pages 18-25 in volume No 35 of the publication, in 2007. A doi number or website address is used for research published on a journal's website.