Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Wed, Aug 19 1992 Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 04:20:00 EDT Message-ID: 08-19 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Aug. 19, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network SIBLING BEHAVIOR ANALYZED: There may be more sibling violence than spouse or child abuse, says University of Michigan researcher Sandra Graham-Bermann. Graham-Bermann found almost 20% of 1,685 university students had fought physically with kid brothers or sisters regularly and often violently. That was just one presentation at the American Psychological Association's annual meeting, which ended Tuesday. (For more, see special Psychology package below.) HEAT HURTS BABIES: Women who soak in hot tubs or saunas during early pregnancy face up to triple the risk of bearing babies with spina bifida or brain defects, suggests a study of 22,762 women in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. It's the first study to establish that exposing very young fetuses to heat can be dangerous. Study authors said electric blankets did not increase the risk. HEART RISK FACTOR ESTABLISHED: An important new risk factor for heart attack has been identified, and it may be lowered simply by taking a vitamin, a major study released Tuesday suggests. The risk factor is a substance called homocysteine in the blood, a natural product of protein metabolism, the study suggests. Folic acid, either alone or combined with vitamin B6, can reduce levels to the normal range. BLOOD SAFETY NOT THREATENED: There's no reason to test blood donors for low levels of a certain blood cell that could signal impaired immunity, health officials said Tuesday. Low CD4 cell counts are found in people with AIDS and have recently been found in some people with no sign of the AIDS virus. Adding CD4 tests would increase the cost by $50, says Dr. Michael Busch of the American Association of Blood Banks. OLDER WOMEN RUN BIRTHING RISK: Women who wait past age 30 to have their first baby may run a significantly higher risk of premature delivery and stillbirth. A new study of Swedish women who had their first baby between the ages of 20 to 24 found the older women had a 40% higher risk of stillbirth at 28 weeks or later and a 40% higher risk of an infant being born underweight. WAR MALADIES PROBED: The Veterans Affairs Department is attempting to get to the bottom of health problems with Persian Gulf war veterans. The department has designated hospitals in Los Angeles, Houston and the District of Columbia to treat Desert Storm veterans suffering from mysterious ailments. HUMANS SHARE ANIMALS' MAGNETISM: Many animals and bacteria create and carry tiny particles of magnetite in their bodies, and now they've been found in humans for the first time. Some scientists have suggested these tiny bar magnets, influenced by the Earth's magnetic field, underlie animals' navigational abilities. The particles' role in humans may prove that some electromagnetic fields can cause cancer. NICOTROL APPROVED: A fourth nicotine skin patch has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Nicotrol, sold by the Parke-Davis Division of Warner-Lambert, is available by prescription. Unlike the other approved patches, Nicotrol is designed to be used only during waking hours. AUTO DEATHS COULD BE HALVED: About a third of all deaths due to injury in the USA are related to autos, and half of all injuries are vehicle-related, according to the National Safety Council. Last year 41,000 people were killed in auto accidents, or 1.9 for every 100 million miles traveled. The death rate was the lowest on record, but some experts believe it could be brought down by as much as half during the next decade. DEVICES COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE: Auto accidents cost more than just lives. The National Safety Council estimates the cost for medical care, property damage and work loss at $89 billion a year - nearly a quarter of the federal budget deficit. The Transportation Department puts medical costs alone at $6.5 billion. Experts say it will be years before a new wave of safety devices affects the U.S. highway death rate. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON PSYCHOLOGY: IT'S HARD TO SPOT LIARS: Various studies show that test subjects trying hard can spot liars only 45% to 60% of the time. If the subjects just guessed outright, they'd be right 50% of the time, says Mark Frank, University of California, Calif., San Francisco. Frank says those who can pick up on non-verbal clues - changes in voice tone, averting eyes - probably do best. MOM IN CHARGE OF HOUSEWORK: Mom still does more of the housework and child care, says University of California, Santa Cruz, researcher Martha J. Moorehouse. In a study of 100 children and their parents, "both spouses reported wives did 60% or more" of both chores, Moorehouse says. While moms are equally aware of how much both sons and daughters pitch in, fathers tend to notice only what sons do. IT'S BEST TO LET IT OUT: New studies shows not talking about bad experiences can literally make you sick. If you're unable or unwilling to admit your deepest emotions, you are more apt to get both mild and killer diseases - from colds, flu and allergies, to heart disease and cancer, several psychologists say. Not talking about upsetting events creates additional stress. SEXES VIEW BODY DIFFERENTLY: Overall, men don't feel better about their bodies than women, says Stephen L. Franzoi, a researcher at Marquette University in Milwaukee. But when analyzing their bodies part by part, women are tougher on themselves than men. Men overall "view their bodies as instruments of action"; women, as "the objects of other people's attention." Women are socialized to fall into "the beauty trap." (End of package.) Health Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM