Emotional Abuse in Childhood May Disrupt Sleep Decades Later

FRIDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Emotional abuse in childhood can lead to sleep disruption in old age, a new study finds.

In analyzing nearly 900 adults ageD 60 and older, researchers found that seniors who were emotionally abused by their parents decades earlier were at greater risk for poor sleep quality years later.

"A negative early attachment continues to exert an influence on our well-being decades later through an accumulation of stressful interpersonal experiences across our lives," study author Cecilia Y. M. Poon, said in a news release from the Gerontological Society of America. "The impact of abuse stays in the system. Emotional trauma may limit a person's ability to fend for themselves emotionally and successfully navigate the social world."

The study included 877 adults who answered questions about their childhood in a 1995 midlife development survey. A decade later, these participants were re-questioned about their relationships, emotional distress and quality of sleep, including how often within the past month they had trouble falling or remaining asleep or felt tired regardless of how much sleep they got.

Researchers found those who endured early emotional abuse (not physical abuse or emotional neglect) by their parents reported a higher number of problems sleeping in old age.

Emotional abuse included insults, swearing, silent treatment, intimidation, or threats of violence or physical abuse.

The study, published in the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological and Social Sciences, pointed out that emotional abuse during childhood also took a toll on adult relationships.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on the emotional abuse of children.

SOURCE: Gerontological Society of America, news release, June 8, 2011Copyright

Childhood Cancer Therapies Tied to Gastrointestinal Issues

WEDNESDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- Children who are successfully treated for cancer are at greater risk of developing mild to severe gastrointestinal problems down the road, a new study finds.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco analyzed the self-reported gastrointestinal (GI) problems of 14,358 patients who survived at least five years following treatment for cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia, brain tumors or bone tumors.

More than 40 percent experienced some type of GI problem -- including ulcers, esophageal disease, indigestion, polyps, chronic diarrhea, colitis, gallstones and jaundice -- within two decades of their treatment, the investigators found.

Moreover, people diagnosed with cancer at an older age and who had to undergo more rigorous therapy (chemotherapy, radiation, surgery) were more likely to experience long-term GI issues, according to the study in the May issue of Gastroenterology.

About one in 500 young adults in the United States is a survivor of childhood cancer, the study authors noted in a UCSF news release.

"While physicians continue to learn about the long-term consequences of pediatric cancer and its therapy, it is essential that we provide comprehensive follow-up care that appropriately addresses the complications cancer survivors may experience," lead study author Dr. Robert Goldsby, pediatric cancer specialist at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital and director of the UCSF Survivors of Childhood Cancer Program, said in the news release.

"These are serious issues that can have a real impact on a person's quality of life," Goldsby added.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on childhood cancers.

SOURCE: University of California, San Francisco, news release, May 19, 2011Copyright

Experts Say Cholesterol Screenings Should Start in Childhood

FRIDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- All children should be screened for high cholesterol when they're 9 to 11 years old, according to new guidelines from the National Lipid Association.

The group also urges that children with a family history of premature cardiovascular disease or elevated cholesterol be screened for cholesterol with a simple blood test as early as age 2.

"It's important that people know if a history of high cholesterol runs in their family," Dr. Patrick M. Moriarty, professor of medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center and an author of the guidelines, said in a news release from the association. "Family discussions can lead to early diagnosis, which is critical because changes in diet and eating habits at a young age can help reduce the impact . . . later in life. Plus, treatment is more effective when started early, before cholesterol deposits in blood vessels become too advanced."

The recommendations are part of new guidelines for the screening, diagnosis and treatment of inherited high cholesterol, or familial hypercholesterolemia, a condition marked by high LDL cholesterol, the "bad" type of cholesterol that blocks arteries. The hereditary condition affects more than 600,000 Americans, according to the association.

"Some estimates suggest that only about 20 percent of patients with