Indian Express
16 October 2010
By Anindita Sanyal

zero to twenty Jaundice at birth may be linked to autism BABIES diagnosed with jaundice may be more likely to later receive a diagnosis of autism. Environmental exposures prior to, during and shortly after birth are emerging as important risk factors for autism, in addition to genetic factors.

From the national registries on tional registries on 733,826 babies born in Denmark between 1994 and 2004, researchers from Aarhus University found 35,766 were born with jaundice, 1,721 were later diagnosed with a psychological disorder of some kind and 577 developed autism.

The team reported in Pediatrics that children born full–term with jaundice had a 56 per cent greater chance of developing an autistic spectrum disorder. They, however, caution that it is still too early to say if there is a cause–and–effect relationship.

twenty to fifty Is living under a flight path bad for the heart? DYING from heart attack is more common with increased exposure to aircraft noise, researchers from University of Bern found.

They identified 15,532 heart attack deaths among 4.6 million people between 2000 and 2005 from a 2000 and 2005 from a mortality study and determined the distance of individuals' home from airports and major roads. They found that the level and duration of aircraft noise drove up the risk of lethal heart attack. People exposed to 60 decibels daily had a 30 per cent greater risk of dying from a heart attack compared with those exposed to less than 45 decibels, the researchers report in Epidemiology.

Among those exposed to the higher decibels for 15 or more years, the risk was 50 per cent higher. fifty & above Hormone replacement increases kidney stone risk WOMEN who take hormone replacement after menopause are at increased risk of developing kidney stones, report researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Reviewing data from nearly 27,000 women over six years, they found those on estrogen or the es trogen–progestin combination were 21 per cent more likely to develop kidney stones.

For others, the risk was 39 per cent greater with hormones. Given a woman's baseline risk for developing kidney stones of 7 per cent, the results mean that the risk rises to between 8.5 per cent and 10 per cent when taking hormone therapy, the researchers reported in Archives of Internal Medicine.