Health Findings
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* Donya Currie

## Measles vaccine not linked to autism

There is “strong evidence against” a link between autism and persistent measles virus RNA in the gastrointestinal tract or exposure to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, according to a study published Sept. 4 in the *Public Library of Science One* journal.

Continued public concern with respect to the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine led researchers to examine whether children with gastrointestinal disturbances and autism are more likely than children with gastrointestinal disturbances alone to have measles virus RNA or inflammation in bowel tissue. The study also looked at whether gastrointestinal troubles coincided with the children receiving the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.

Tissues from 25 children with autism and gastrointestinal disturbances as well as those from 13 children with gastrointestinal problems but no autism were evaluated in three separate laboratories. Researchers found no differences between case and control groups in the presence of measles virus RNA in those tissues. Also, gastrointestinal symptoms and autism onset were unrelated with the timing of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, according to the study.

## Older women who sleep less fall more

Women ages 70 and older who sleep five hours or less per night may be more likely to fall than those who sleep more than seven hours to eight hours nightly, according to a study in the Sept. 8 *Archives of Internal Medicine.*

In the study of frequency of falls among about 3,000 women ages 70 and older, the risk of having two or more falls during the following year was higher for women who slept five hours or less per night compared to those who slept more than seven hours to eight hours per night. Sleep efficiency was measured as the time in bed spent sleeping. Those with a sleep efficiency of less than 70 percent were 1.36 times more likely to fall compared to those with a sleep efficiency of 70 percent or higher. And women with greater awake time after sleep onset were 1.33 times more likely to fall than those who spent less than 120 minutes awake after first falling asleep.

Women who used a particular kind of sleep aid drug, known as benzodiazepine, were also more likely to fall.

## Pigs can pass MRSA infections to humans

Methicillin-resistant *Staphylococcus aureus* can be spread from pigs to humans, according to a study of five farms where 23 of 50 pigs tested positive for MRSA.

![Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/https://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/38/9/6.3/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/38/9/6.3/F1)

Pigs can pass MRSA infections to humans, a farm study found.

Photo by Chris Hepburn, courtesy iStockphoto

The study, published in the September issue of *Emerging Infectious Diseases,* linked 13 of 21 human MRSA cases to farm workers reporting exposure to pigs. The farms were based in Denmark, which overall has a low incidence of MRSA.

“This study provides compelling epidemiologic and microbiologic evidence that persons living or working on farms in Denmark, particularly pig farms, are at increased risk of being colonized or infected with MRSA,” the study’s authors wrote.

They said their findings support those of earlier studies that found animal-to-human transmission of MRSA in France, the Netherlands and Canada. They recommended increased awareness among health care personnel that animals are a possible source of MRSA infection.

## Opiates a poisoning danger to young kids

Poison centers receive thousands of reports of very young children accidentally ingesting opiates prescribed for adults in their households, according to a study in the September *Annals of Emergency Medicine.*

Most of the poisonings involved hydrocodone or oxycodone, which are prescribed under such names as Lortab, Vicodin, Percocet and Oxycontin.

“Young children are naturally curious, and most of our reports indicated that the accidental overdosing occurred when children found lost or discarded tablets, an open container or partially filled cups of medication,” said study author J. Elise Bailey of the Researched Abuse, Diversion and Addiction-Related Surveillance System at the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver. “The effectiveness of child-proof closures is lost when an adult has left even a small amount of the medication where kids can get it.”

The study of poison center records kept between January 2003 and June 2006 found about 9,200 children were reported exposed to a prescription opiate, and all of the children were younger than age 6. The exposures resulted in eight deaths, 43 life-threatening or disabling events and 214 prolonged but not life-threatening effects.

“Only a portion of U.S. poison centers participated in our study, so the number of accidental ingestions is probably much higher than our numbers show,” Bailey said.

## Cadmium increases lung disease risks

Even low levels of cadmium, which is found in secondhand smoke, batteries and fertilizers, can increase lung disease risk, a study in the September issue of *Environmental Health Perspectives* found.

The study suggested cadmium is one of the critical ingredients causing emphysema and that higher cadmium levels can double the risk of developing a pulmonary disease. It was based on 96 men randomly selected from a national aging study and put to a lung function test using three different measures.

Study subjects with higher levels of urinary cadmium showed evidence of a reduced ability to exhale. Smokers and former smokers were most likely to have that reduced ability.

While cadmium is a well-known contaminant of cigarette smoke, more study is needed to determine how cadmium exposure among smokers and nonsmokers affects lung function over time, the authors said.

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association