The Hospital Support service provides an opportunity for injured victims of crime to talk about their experience in strict confidence, as part of the wider Victim Support service. Volunteers with understanding, compassion and an ability to relate to people of all ages and backgrounds are needed. Training will be given and a commitment of one to two hours per week is required. For further details, contact Joanne or Maeve at Victim Support: 01 6705100.
Increasing a woman's income raises her husband's mortality risk - but raising a man's income lowers his wife's risk of dying, according to a Canadian report published in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour. The researchers say further studies are needed to discover whether a woman's increased earnings lower her husband's sense of self-esteem, or longer working hours for women mean they can no longer "buttress their husband's health". Or, they speculate, do women have to work longer hours when their husband's health starts to deteriorate?
Poor children have a greater risk of dying of heart disease, according to a US study. Children of lower socio-economic status show greater cardiovascular responses to stress, which in turn is associated with enlargement of the left ventricle of the heart, researchers report. In adulthood, this enlargement increases the risk of dying of heart disease. (Eureka)
Dieting may be beneficial for men with prostate cancer, according to results of US studies of rats. Calorie-restricted diets may slow the growth of prostate tumours. "Restriction of energy intake can significantly inhibit tumour growth," says the Harvard Medical School research team, who also found the amount of fat in the diet does not influence tumour growth once calorie intake has been reduced.
Prolonged heartburn may be more than just uncomfortable, say Swedish researchers. It may be a precursor to cancer of the oesophagus. The study found the cancer risk was closely associated with the frequency and severity of symptoms - the risk of oesophageal cancer was almost eight times as high among people who suffered heartburn at least once a week compared to those without heartburn. (New England Journal of Medicine)
Iron deficiency anaemia is common among infants living in inner cities who are not breast-fed in their first year, according to a UK report. The researchers conclude infants should be given an iron supplemented formula milk for the first 18 months of life, to reduce anaemia and the developmental deficit thought to be associated with lack of iron. (British Medical Journal)