News in brief - July 4, 2011

Type 2 diabetes linked to higher risk of stroke, heart problems

Among patients who have had an ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack, type 2 diabetes increases the risk of recurrent stroke or cardiovascular events, according to a study published online June 13 in Archives of Neurology.

Researchers examined data on 4,731 adults older than 18 who were enrolled in the Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels trial and had an ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Patients had no known coronary heart disease.

Researchers found that at baseline, 16.8% of participants had type 2 diabetes and 13.6% had metabolic syndrome. The remaining patients had neither condition. The risk of stroke was 18.1% among those with type 2 diabetes compared with 10.7% in people with metabolic syndrome and 11% for individuals without either condition.

Diabetic patients were more likely than those without the condition to have a major cardiovascular incident or revascularization procedure, the study said. Treatment with statin medication reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events and revascularization procedures in participants with type 2 diabetes.

The study is online (archneur.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/archneurol.2011.146.).

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Childhood food allergies more prevalent than thought

Eight percent of American children (an estimated 5.9 million) have a food allergy, according to a study published online June 20 in Pediatrics. The figure is up from previous estimates of food allergies that ranged from 2% to 8% of children.

Researchers examined data on 38,480 youths younger than 18 whose parents received a survey between June 2009 and February 2010 that assessed childhood food allergies. The survey included questions about when the allergy began, the method of the diagnosis and the type of allergic reaction the child experienced.

Researchers found that peanut allergy was the most common, affecting about 2% of children. It was followed closely by an allergy to milk, which is found in 1.7% of youths, and shellfish allergies, which impact 1.4% of children. Food allergies are more common in Asian and black children than in white youths (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21690110).

Severe allergic responses were reported in 38.7% of children with an allergy. Such reactions were most common among youths with allergies to tree nuts, peanuts, shellfish, soy and fin fish. The odds of having a severe reaction increased with age.

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