Study briefs, 7/25: Fussy babies, longevity, pregnancy

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By The Washington Post

An antihistamine doesn’t seem to help fussy infants sleep

THE QUESTION Fussy babies who have trouble sleeping are not uncommon. Parents yearning for a way to help a child fall asleep — and not awaken repeatedly during the night — sometimes try giving the baby an antihistamine, which acts as a sedative. Does this work?

THIS STUDY involved 44 infants, 6 to 15 months old, who awoke an average of three times a night. They were randomly assigned to take liquid Benadryl (diphenhydramine hydrochloride) or a placebo 30 minutes before bedtime for a week. Among babies taking Benadryl, one child (5 percent) woke less often during the night, according to their parents, compared with three of the children (14 percent) taking the placebo. When asked how happy they were with their child’s sleep during that week, the parents’ responses were nearly identical: Both groups rated their happiness as a 4 on a scale of 0 to 10.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THESE FINDINGS? Babies who have trouble sleeping, and their parents. Studies have reported that 71 percent of parents give their infants medicine in hopes of helping them sleep and that 49 percent of pediatricians recommend antihistamines for this purpose.

CAVEATS Babies were given a standard dose of Benadryl (1 milligram per kilogram of weight); whether a higher dose would be more sedating was not tested. The researchers intended to enroll more participants but said they stopped the study early “because of lack of effectiveness” of the drug compared with the placebo.

FIND THIS STUDY July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine; abstract available online at www.archpediatrics.com.

LEARN MORE ABOUT children and sleep at www.sleepfoundation.org and http://kidshealth.org.

Simply moving about may help extend lives of older people

THE QUESTION When people urge exercising to live longer, they usually mean working out: running, walking, using a treadmill. Might the mantra hold true regardless of the type of activity — intentional exercise or simply moving about during daily life?

THIS STUDY followed 302 adults (average age 75) who had no mobility problems and were capable of physical activity. The energy they expended each day for two weeks was calculated using a technique that measured carbon dioxide expelled from the body, taking into account their metabolic rate; it captured all types of activity, from fidgeting to household chores to vigorous exercise. Over the next six years, 55 participants died. Those who had expended the most energy were the least likely to have died, regardless of the type of activity they did. They had a 12 percent risk of dying, compared with 25 percent for people who expended the least amount of energy and 17 percent for those in the middle.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THESE FINDINGS? Older people who are able to move about at least some day to day. The authors calculated that participants who did 75 minutes a day of activities such as vacuuming, child care and walking at a 2.5 mph pace lowered their risk of dying by 30 percent during the six years of the study.

CAVEATS The study did not delineate the relative energy expenditure of specific activities.

FIND THIS STUDY July 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association; abstract available online at www.jama.com.

LEARN MORE ABOUT aging at www.mayoclinic.com (under “Live Well,” click on “Senior Health”) and www.cdc.gov/aging.

Late-term sex seems to have little effect on delivery date

THE QUESTION With pregnancy come worries, including some about sex. Might having intercourse stimulate labor and hasten delivery?

THIS STUDY followed 200 healthy women from the 36th week of pregnancy until delivery. During this time, 116 women (58 percent) reported having sexual intercourse. At 41 weeks, 93 percent of the sexually active women had delivered their babies, compared with 70 percent of the others. Overall, women who had had intercourse late in pregnancy delivered about four days earlier and were less likely to need to have labor induced than those who had been abstinent. All babies were delivered safely and went home from the hospital with their mothers.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THESE FINDINGS? Pregnant women, who generally should expect a gestation period of 38 to 42 weeks. Babies delivered earlier are considered premature; labor usually is induced at about 41 or 42 weeks.

CAVEATS The study involved only pregnant women without complications of any sort; other women may want to ask their doctor whether intercourse would be safe or advisable.

FIND THIS STUDY July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology; abstract available online at www.greenjournal.org.

LEARN MORE ABOUT sex during pregnancy at www.kidshealth.org/parent and www.mayoclinic.com.