Research

“Dental home” promotes better dental health

Klamath Falls—A pilot project targeting women covered by the Oregon Health Plan is successful at improving dental health among the women and their newborn infants. Results of the program, which promotes preventive oral care, were reported in the journal, BMC Public Health.

Pregnant women received home visits or attended counseling sessions at the Women, Infant and Children (WIC) program of the Klamath County Health Department, and were assigned a dental home under a dental managed care program.

At the end of the study period, 5.8 percent of eligible pregnant women received care. That rate exceeds both the rate of dental care for women in the same economic demographic in other counties as well as the state as a whole.

Children whose mothers participated in the program also had better dental health. Of the 113 children in the study population, 85 percent had no cavities, compared to 59 percent of children in a control population.

• Review the abstract at BMC Public Health.
• Read the full BMC Public Health article.

Also in Research:

Breastfeeding improves health, saves health care costs

Cheerful people have fewer heart problems

Factors contributing to obesity higher among minority children

Breastfeeding is a lifesaver

The deaths of as many as 900 infants a year could be prevented if 90 percent of American mothers breastfed their babies. That’s according to an analysis published this in the April 2010 issue of Pediatrics.

The analysis is based on the fact that breastfeeding provides important health benefits to babies and to their mothers. Human milk provides antibodies that help fight infections. It affects insulin levels, which may make breastfed infants less likely to develop obesity and diabetes later in life. Breastfeeding helps mothers lose excess weigh they’ve gained during pregnancy.

Breastfeeding may also reduce risk for stomach viruses, ear infections, asthma and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

• Read the AHIP news story about the study.
• An abstract of the Pediatrics article is available.
• Pediatrics subscribers may download the full article.

Cheerful people have fewer heart problems

It pays to walk on the sunny side of life, according to a study published online in the European Heart Journal. People who are cheerful have fewer heart problems than people who are, by nature, more moody.

In 1995, Columbia University researchers rated the happiness levels of adults who had no heart problems. Ten years later, they looked at the same group and found that those who had developed heart problems over that decade tended to be those who scored lower on the happiness scale.

• Read the Associated Press story.
• Review the European Heart Journal abstract.
• Read the full text of the European Heart Journal article.

Factors contributing to obesity higher among minority children

Medical researchers have known that minority children are at greater risk for obesity. Now a study may indicate some of the reasons why.

According to the study, published in Pediatrics, more than a dozen factors that are known to contribute to obesity are more common in Latino and African-American children. These factors include:

• Mothers who smoke during pregnancy.
• Unusually rapid weight gain in young infants.
• Starting solid food before four months of age.
• Mothers' routinely pressuring young children to eat more.
• Getting less than 12 hours of sleep each day when younger than two years.
• Consuming sugary drinks or fast food.
• Having TVs in their rooms.

For more information:

• Read the Associated Press article.
• The study abstract is available without charge.
• Subscribers of Pediatrics may read the full journal article.