Do maternal parenting practices predict problematic patterns of adolescent alcohol consumption?

Objective This study examines whether a mother's style of parenting at child age 5 years predicts problematic patterns of drinking in adolescence, after controlling for relevant individual, maternal and social risk factors. Methods Data were used from the Mater‐University Study of Pregnancy, an Australian longitudinal study of mothers and their children from pregnancy to when the children were 14 years of age. Logistic regression analyses examined whether maternal parenting practices at child age 5 predicted problematic drinking patterns in adolescence, after controlling for a range of confounding covariates. Results Physical punishment at child age 5 did not predict adolescent alcohol problems at follow‐up. Results indicated that low maternal control at child age 5 predicted adolescent occasional drinking patterns at age 14. More frequent maternal partner change coupled with lower levels of control was the strongest predictor of more problematic patterns of drinking by adolescents. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of family structure and level of parental control in the development of problematic patterns of drinking in adolescence.     

Experience with using second life for medical education in a family and community medicine education unit

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The application of new technologies to the education of health professionals is both a challenge and a necessity. Virtual worlds are increasingly being explored as a support for education. Aim: The aim of this work is to study the suitability of Second Life (SL) as an educational tool for primary healthcare professionals. METHODS: Design: Qualitative study of accredited clinical sessions in SL included in a continuing professional development (CPD) programme for primary healthcare professionals. Location: Zaragoza I Zone Family and Community Medicine Education Unit (EU) and 9 health centres operated by the Aragonese Health Service, Aragon, Spain. METHOD: The EU held two training workshops in SL for 16 healthcare professionals from 9 health centres by means of two workshops, and requested them to facilitate clinical sessions in SL. Attendance was open to all personnel from the EU and the 9 health centres. After a trail period of clinical sessions held at 5 health centres between May and November 2010, the CPD-accredited clinical sessions were held at 9 health centres between February and April 2011. Participants: 76 healthcare professionals attended the CPD-accredited clinical sessions in SL. Main measurements: Questionnaire on completion of the clinical sessions. RESULTS: Response rate: 42-100%. Questionnaire completed by each health centre on completion of the CPD-accredited clinical sessions: Access to SL: 2 centres were unable to gain access. Sound problems: 0% (0/9). Image problems: 0% (0/9). Voice/text chat: used in 100% (10/9); 0 incidents. Questionnaire completed by participants in the CPD-accredited clinical sessions: Preference for SL as a tool: 100% (76/76). Strengths of this method: 74% (56/76) considered it eliminated the need to travel; 68% (52/76) believed it made more effective use of educational resources; and 47% (36/76) considered it improved accessibility. Weaknesses: 91% (69/76) experienced technical problems, while; 9% (7/76) thought it was impersonal and with little interaction. 65.79% (50/76) believed it was better than other distance learning methods and 38.16% (29/76) believed it was better than face-to-face learning. CONCLUSIONS: SL is a tool that allows educational activities to be designed that involve a number of health centres in different geographical locations, consequently eliminating the need to travel and making more effective use of educational resources.     

Early exposure to paracetamol or to antibiotics and eczema at school age: Modification by asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis

Garcia‐Marcos L, González‐Díaz C, Garvajal‐Urueña I, Pac‐Sa MR, Busquets‐Monge RM, Suárez‐Varela MM, Batlles‐Garrido J, Blanco‐Quirós A, Varela ÁL.‐S., García‐Hernández G, Aguinaga‐Ontoso I. Early exposure to paracetamol or to antibiotics and eczema at school age: modification by asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis.
Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010.
© 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S The association between early exposure to paracetamol or to antibiotics and eczema is conflicting. This study aims to know whether the early exposure to those drugs is associated with eczema at school age, and whether the strength of the association is modified by the presence of asthma or rhinoconjunctivitis. Children aged 6–7 (n = 13908) from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood in Spain provided data about current asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. Parent‐reported information was also obtained on paracetamol and antibiotic consumption during the first year of life. Logistic regression analysis with eczema as outcome and including exposure to paracetamol or to antibiotics, together with possible confounders, was carried out in the whole sample of children and in five different strata: no respiratory symptom and any respiratory symptom further subdivided into: asthma with rhinoconjunctivitis, asthma without rhinoconjunctivitis and rhinoconjunctivitis without asthma. In the whole sample, exposure to paracetamol was associated with eczema (aOR 1.56 [1.36–1.80]) as was antibiotic consumption (aOR 1.66 [1.43–1.92]). These associations did not substantially change after additionally adjusting for the other drug. A similar pattern was found among children without respiratory symptoms. In children with symptoms, adjusting for the other drug modified the association with paracetamol (aOR from 1.32 [1.03–1.71] to 1.09 [0.83–1.43]) but did not change that with antibiotics (aOR from 1.80 [1.38–2.35] to 1.81 [1.37–2.39]). Early exposure to paracetamol or to antibiotics is associated with an increased prevalence of eczema at school age. Asthma and/or rhinoconjunctivitis substantially modifies this association.     

Correlation between presence of allodynia and sleep quality in migraineurs

Cutaneous allodynia is a frequent complaint in migraine patients, possibly induced by central sensitisation of trigeminal nucleus. The objective of this study is to investigate if sleep quality is related to the presence of migraine-associated allodynia. A total of 175 consecutive migraineurs were included, 124 with episodic and 51 with chronic forms. As control group, 73 subjects free from any kind of headache were included (HC). The presence of allodynia and sleep disturbances was assessed by a set of semi-structured questions. Chi-square test was applied to compare frequencies among groups. Sleep quality was worse among migraineurs with respect to controls for each sleep item analysed. This difference was significant for all items but one (i.e. frequency in drug use to induce sleep). The frequency of sleep disturbances was higher than in controls in both allodynic and non-allodynic migraineurs, although statistical analysis showed that all these differences were still significant in allodynic migraineurs (also in this case for all the sleep items but one, i.e. frequency in drug use to induce sleep), whilst non-allodynic migraineurs were significantly different from controls only for one item (frequency of initial insomnia). These results suggest that allodynia is strongly related to sleep quality, in a bi-directional way: sleep disturbances may favour central sensitisation, and, in turn, allodynia may impair sleep.

     

Re: Propranolol Treatment for Hemangioma of Infancy: Risks and Recommendations

Letters to the Editor are welcomed for publication (subject to editing). Letters must be signed by all authors, and must not exceed two pages of text including references. Letters should not duplicate material submitted or published in other journals. Prepublication proofs will not be provided.     

西班牙渗出性老年性黄斑变性的相关流行病学因素(英文)

目的:报告在西班牙Castilla-Leo地区患有渗出性老年性黄斑变性(AMD)的样本人群的流行病学特点,并与一组来自同一地区和相同年龄人群进行比较。方法:在本次观察性前瞻性调查中,我们访问了在一家地区性诊所接受光动力学疗法的AMD患者。患者报告了高血压、高血脂、吸烟的病史,检查患者虹膜颜色并分为浅色(绿色、蓝色、灰色)和深色(淡褐色、褐色、黑色)。结果:共有343名患者接受了访问,平均年龄为74.9岁(55~93岁),其中64.5%为女性,35.5%为男性,有45.1%的患者虹膜颜色被划为浅色。这些患者中,有50%有动脉性高血压,15.3%接受高胆固醇血症治疗,30.2%吸烟或者已经戒烟(女性中占80.9%)。结论:在渗出性AMD患者中,虹膜颜色为浅色的频率较高。在我们的调查中,其他渗出性AMD其他的风险因素有男性的吸烟习惯、未接受高胆固醇血症治疗、患者为女性身份等。