Health trends
Published:Wednesday | December 28, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Children's leukaemia risk tied to father's smoking
Children whose fathers smoked around the time of their conception have at least a 15 per cent higher risk of developing the most common form of childhood cancer, a type of leukaemia, according to an Australian study.
Although the findings, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, credit multiple factors in children developing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), the study follows others that have also found an increased risk.
"Study results suggest that heavier paternal smoking around the time of conception is a risk factor for childhood ALL," wrote researchers led by Elizabeth Milne at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Australia.
Although ALL is the most common childhood cancer, it is still rare, affecting about three to five children out of every 100,000.
- Source: Reuters
SSRIs and pregnant women
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently notified health-care professionals and the public on the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants by women during pregnancy and the potential risk of a rare heart and lung condition known as Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN).
The initial Public Health Advisory in July 2006 on this potential risk was based on a single published study. Since then, there have been conflicting findings from new studies evaluating this potential risk, making it unclear whether use of SSRIs during pregnancy can cause PPHN.
The FDA has reviewed the additional new study results and has concluded that, given the conflicting results from different studies, it is premature to reach any conclusion about a possible link between SSRI use in pregnancy and PPHN. FDA will update the SSRI drug labels to reflect the new data and the conflicting results.
- Source: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)