Pregnancy increases the risk for the occurrence, or worsening, of restless legs syndrome, says an Italian study in the Sept. 28 issue of Neurology.
The study of 606 women found that at least one in four pregnant women experience the syndrome, a movement disorder characterized by an urge to move the legs, generally accompanied by numbness, tingling or burning sensations.
The women were assessed during pregnancy and six months after the birth of their babies. Of the 606 women in the study, 161 (26.6 percent) reported experiencing the problem during pregnancy. For 101 of the women, it was the first time they had experienced RLS. About 25 percent of the women experienced symptoms at least once a week, and 15 percent at least three times a week.
In general, symptoms appeared or worsened around the sixth month of pregnancy and reached a peak during the seventh and eighth months of pregnancy. Rates of restless leg syndrome among the women dropped dramatically around the time of delivery and affected 5 percent to 6 percent of the women six months after delivery.
"The pregnant women most affected by the [restless leg syndrome] were older, had lower values of iron storage indicators, a higher prevalence of insomnia, and snored more than the unaffected group," researcher Dr. Mauro Manconi said in a prepared statement.
This is the first study to show a significant correlation between low iron indicator values and restless leg syndrome risk.
Showing posts with label late pregnancy risks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label late pregnancy risks. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Pregnancy complications tied to kids' poor thinking
Could high blood pressure-related complications during pregnancy be tied to thinking skills in children years later?
A study from Denmark hints at "a modest association" between such complications and poorer reasoning, intuition, and perception skills in young adult men, report Dr. Vera Ehrenstein, at Aarhus University Hospital, and colleagues.
The study compared intelligence tests measures for more than 17,000 men drafted into Danish military service. Of these men, tested at the age of 19, about 15 percent had poor thinking skills, measured by IQs below 85, the researchers report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The mothers of about 5 percent of the men in the study had either blood pressures above 140/90, protein in the urine, or swelling of the extremities. All of those are signs or symptoms of a life-threatening condition known as pre-eclampsia.
Poorer thinking skills were slightly more common among men whose mothers had any of those signs or symptoms. About 19 percent of the adults of affected mothers had poorer thinking skills, versus 15 percent among those whose mothers were not affected.
When the researchers accounted for being born small, which places infants at risk for delayed or impaired brain development, and for other factors, poor thinking skills were still as much as a third more likely among men whose mothers suffered from pre-eclampsia symptoms.
Ehrenstein's team notes the current findings cannot determine whether high blood pressure-related complications of pregnancy cause poorer thinking skills, nor why such complications would have any effect on those skills.
A study from Denmark hints at "a modest association" between such complications and poorer reasoning, intuition, and perception skills in young adult men, report Dr. Vera Ehrenstein, at Aarhus University Hospital, and colleagues.
The study compared intelligence tests measures for more than 17,000 men drafted into Danish military service. Of these men, tested at the age of 19, about 15 percent had poor thinking skills, measured by IQs below 85, the researchers report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
The mothers of about 5 percent of the men in the study had either blood pressures above 140/90, protein in the urine, or swelling of the extremities. All of those are signs or symptoms of a life-threatening condition known as pre-eclampsia.
Poorer thinking skills were slightly more common among men whose mothers had any of those signs or symptoms. About 19 percent of the adults of affected mothers had poorer thinking skills, versus 15 percent among those whose mothers were not affected.
When the researchers accounted for being born small, which places infants at risk for delayed or impaired brain development, and for other factors, poor thinking skills were still as much as a third more likely among men whose mothers suffered from pre-eclampsia symptoms.
Ehrenstein's team notes the current findings cannot determine whether high blood pressure-related complications of pregnancy cause poorer thinking skills, nor why such complications would have any effect on those skills.
Pregnancy After Age 50 Poses Fetal Risks
Childbearing beyond maternal age 50 is associated with significantly increased risks for the fetus, suggest results of a study published Friday in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Women in the 50+ age range who are thinking of becoming pregnant should receive "special counseling both before and after conception so that they become informed of the increased risks involved," Dr. Hamisu M. Salihu and colleagues from the University of Alabama at Birmingham write.
There is a lack of reliable information on pregnant women in their fifties, Salihu told. He and his colleagues reviewed all 12,066,854 deliveries in the U.S. between 1997 and 1999, categorizing mothers as young (age 20-29), mature (age 30-39), very mature (age 40 to 49), and older (age 50 or more). There were 539 deliveries in the older group.
In this, the "first population-based nationwide study, we found that fetal growth, fetal maturity and survival were significantly compromised among 50-year old mothers in comparison to their younger counterparts, including women in their forties," Salihu said.
Older mothers were two to three times more likely to have infants that were growth-impaired, immature or stillborn.
"We were surprised with our findings," Salihu commented. "We had thought that 50-year-old moms would have the same level of risk as women in their forties."
"Pregnancy beyond age 50 may represent a distinct obstetric entity with a risk pattern that differs from that observed for mature and very mature mothers," the team writes.
While the researchers did not specifically address the use of assisted reproduction technologies in the study, most of the pregnancies in the 50+ group were artificially induced.
"Because of the risks, assisted reproduction technology clients need to be adequately informed of the possible implications of achieving pregnancy beyond age 50, so that they are well-equipped to make an informed decision," Salihu advised.
"Our study also highlights the need for a broad-based national policy discourse to generate guidelines that will eventually govern the use of assisted reproduction technologies among women in their fifties," he added.
It is also noteworthy that while most women in the 50+ group were married with at least 12 years of education, "surprisingly," only about half of them received adequate prenatal services.
Women in the 50+ age range who are thinking of becoming pregnant should receive "special counseling both before and after conception so that they become informed of the increased risks involved," Dr. Hamisu M. Salihu and colleagues from the University of Alabama at Birmingham write.
There is a lack of reliable information on pregnant women in their fifties, Salihu told. He and his colleagues reviewed all 12,066,854 deliveries in the U.S. between 1997 and 1999, categorizing mothers as young (age 20-29), mature (age 30-39), very mature (age 40 to 49), and older (age 50 or more). There were 539 deliveries in the older group.
In this, the "first population-based nationwide study, we found that fetal growth, fetal maturity and survival were significantly compromised among 50-year old mothers in comparison to their younger counterparts, including women in their forties," Salihu said.
Older mothers were two to three times more likely to have infants that were growth-impaired, immature or stillborn.
"We were surprised with our findings," Salihu commented. "We had thought that 50-year-old moms would have the same level of risk as women in their forties."
"Pregnancy beyond age 50 may represent a distinct obstetric entity with a risk pattern that differs from that observed for mature and very mature mothers," the team writes.
While the researchers did not specifically address the use of assisted reproduction technologies in the study, most of the pregnancies in the 50+ group were artificially induced.
"Because of the risks, assisted reproduction technology clients need to be adequately informed of the possible implications of achieving pregnancy beyond age 50, so that they are well-equipped to make an informed decision," Salihu advised.
"Our study also highlights the need for a broad-based national policy discourse to generate guidelines that will eventually govern the use of assisted reproduction technologies among women in their fifties," he added.
It is also noteworthy that while most women in the 50+ group were married with at least 12 years of education, "surprisingly," only about half of them received adequate prenatal services.
