MONDAY, June 17 (HealthDay News) -- Fetal exposure to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) has been linked to low levels of a key developmental hormone in newborn boys with undescended testicles, according to an early new study.

The research adds to the list of growing health concerns related to BPA, which is widely used in food packaging. Government studies have shown that 92 percent of Americans have detectable levels of BPA in their bodies.

This study focused on boys with cryptorchidism, the medical term for undescended testicles. The condition occurs in 2 percent to 5 percent of newborn boys, according to the authors, and requires surgery to bring the testes out of the abdominal cavity. Boys born with cryptorchidism have an increased risk of fertility problems and testicular cancer in adulthood.

The researchers found that boys with cryptorchidism who had high levels of BPA in their fetal cord blood also had low levels of the hormone insulin-like 3, or INSL3, one of two hormones that regulate descent of the testicles.

The findings do not draw a direct link between BPA and cryptorchidism, as the newborns with undescended testicles did not have greatly increased levels of BPA compared with newborns without the birth defect.

Researchers found, however, that the BPA level in newborns' cord blood inversely correlated with the level of INSL3. That is, the higher the BPA level, the lower the level of the important testicular hormone.

The study was presented Sunday at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in San Francisco. The data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

"Alone, our study cannot be considered as definitive evidence for an environmental cause of undescended testis," lead author Dr. Patrick Fenichel, professor and head of reproductive endocrinology at the University Hospital of Nice, in France, said in a society news release. "But it suggests, for the first time in humans, a link that could contribute to one co-factor of [unexplained] undescended testis, the most frequent congenital malformation in male newborns."

This appears to be the first study that shows a link between INSL3 levels and BPA, said Shanna Swan, a professor and vice chair for research and mentoring in the department of preventive medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City.

"This hormone INSL3 has not been, to my knowledge, previously linked to any endocrine-disrupting chemicals," Swan said. "It's interesting, definitely, and it's an important step."

For the study, Fenichel and his colleagues studied 180 newborn boys between 2003 and 2005, including 52 boys born with one or two undescended testicles. They tested the infants' umbilical cord blood to measure levels of BPA and INSL3.

The infants with cryptorchidism had significantly lower levels of INSL3 compared to newborns without the birth defect, the authors reported. Fenichel speculated that BPA, considered a hormone disruptor, might repress expression of the gene that promotes production of INSL3.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of BPA in products such as baby bottles and sippy cups, but the chemical continues to be used in many other consumer products.

The most prominent continuing use of BPA is in the lining of aluminum and tin cans, where it prevents corrosion. "The linings of tin cans is probably the biggest source of our exposure," Swan said. "There is almost no canned food that comes in BPA-free cans."

BPA also is found in cash register receipts. "To have a cash register receipt that doesn't require ink, it is coated in BPA," Swan said, noting that studies have found increased BPA levels in the urine of people who have touched a receipt.

Both Swan and Dr. Leonardo Trasande, an associate professor of pediatrics, environmental medicine and health policy at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, noted that there are limitations to the new study.

BPA typically is not measured in blood, Trasande and Swan said. In most cases, doctors use urine to measure BPA exposure.

Swan also said the study does not make a clear link between BPA and undescended testicles, since BPA levels appeared consistent in all the newborns regardless of whether they had the birth defect.

"That said, you have to [ask], What is INSL3 related to?" she added. "It is definitely related to descent of the testicles, and required for descent of the testicles."

Trasande said the study "certainly raises another set of health concerns that haven't been raised before about BPA exposure."

"While research is needed to study exposure to BPA during pregnancy and risk of birth defects to confirm this association, it also adds further concern about the ongoing decision by the Food and Drug Administration not to ban BPA in food uses," Trasande said.

More information

To learn more about BPA, visit the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

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THURSDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Can women blame men for menopause?

They may have a case, according to new research that suggests it was men's interest in mating with younger females that gave evolutionary rise to menopause by sidelining older women from reproduction.

Menopause -- when a woman stops getting menstrual periods and can't become pregnant -- is unique to humans and its cause is still unknown, explained study author and evolutionary biologist Rama Singh. "We accept as a given the idea that older women tend to be unable to reproduce," but Singh said this is actually an "evolutionary puzzle."

It has long been thought that menopause is what causes women, primarily in their early 50s, to stop being able to get pregnant, but the researchers found evidence that things could actually have occurred the other way around. In other words, infertility may have been the cause, not the effect, of menopause in early humans.

There are at least 10 theories of why menopause occurs, according to the researchers, including ideas based on the fact that women are living longer and depleting the number of eggs in their ovaries, to what is called the "grandmother hypothesis." That idea holds that menopause allows older women to provide childcare that contributes to the survival of their grandchildren, making them more fit or valuable to the human tribe.

But Singh's research, published online June 13 in the journal PLOS Computational Biology, suggests something altogether new.

"This paper is saying that men have played the major or dominant part in choosing mates," said Singh, who is a professor of population genetics and evolution at McMaster University, in Canada. "Somewhere along the line in our evolutionary history, males did not mate randomly but preferred young women because they are more attractive."

Going way back in human history, people reproduced all their lives, explained Singh. While it's possible that some women may have experienced menopause 30,000 years ago, now 100 percent of women experience it. "Menopause is an evolutionary phenomenon," he said.

The scientists found that the development of menopause seems to have done nothing to improve the chances of human survival over time, but rather occurred because women of a certain age weren't finding mates, and thus reproductive ability was unnecessary for them.

Yet Singh pointed out that if women long ago had been the ones choosing younger mates, older men would have been the ones losing their fertility, not women.

The process of natural selection favors the most fit, so women who are most likely to reproduce are protected, explained Singh. Natural selection is the gradual, non-random process through which biological traits become either more or less common, due to the way reproduction occurs, Singh explained.

The researchers used computational models and computer simulations to show how male mating preference for younger females could increase the number of mutations that stopped women's reproductive ability, creating menopause.

Singh said his research suggests that it might be possible for women who delay childbearing to also postpone menopause, allowing them to have a longer window in which to conceive. "We might be able to extend the time period in which you can have children, rather than rush it," he said.

Lynnette Leidy Sievert, a biological anthropologist and a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, raised questions about the study.

"The study showed that by the age of 50 or 60, 50 percent of the population was still living, but that just doesn't match what we know about human evolution," she said. "By the age of 50, the skeletal evidence shows that only 10 percent of Neanderthals lived beyond 50. Our own homo sapiens [humans] had about 17 percent living past the age of 40."

Sievert, a member of the board of trustees of the North American Menopause Society, also questioned whether the concept of men mating with younger women fully explains menopause.

"Because it's a human and mammalian pattern for men to die younger [than women], you have a younger female with an older male who is going to die," she explained. "I get mixed up about how that pulls a woman's lifespan across menopause."

Singh said he's planning to do more simulations based on a Canadian long-term study of aging that is following 50,000 men and women. He is interested in learning more about the relationship between menopause, reproduction and genetic markers. "I really want to see if you can do something to delay menopause," he explained.

More information

Learn more about menopause from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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THURSDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- For dads aiming at marital bliss, a new study suggests just two factors are especially important: being engaged with the kids, for sure -- but also doing a fair share of the household chores.

In other words, just taking the children outside for a game of catch won't cut it.

"In our study, the wives thought father involvement with the kids and participation in household work are all inter-related and worked together to improve marital quality," said Adam Galovan, lead author of the study and a researcher at the University of Missouri, in Columbia. "They think being a good father involves more than just doing things involved in the care of children."

Galovan found that wives feel more cared for when husbands are involved with their children, yet helping out with the day-to-day responsibilities of running the household also matters.

But Galovan was surprised to find that how husbands and wives specifically divide the work doesn't seem to matter much. Husbands and wives are happier when they share parenting and household responsibilities, but the chores don't have to be divided equally, according to the study. What matters is that both parents are actively participating in both chores and child-rearing.

Doing household chores and being engaged with the children seem to be important ways for husbands to connect with their wives, and that connection is related to better relationships, Galovan explained.

The research was recently published in the Journal of Family Issues.

For the study, the researchers tapped data from a 2005 study that pulled marriage licenses of couples married for less than one year from the Utah Department of Health. Researchers looked at every third or fourth marriage license over a six-month period.

From that data, Galovan surveyed 160 couples between 21 and 55 years old who were in a first marriage. The majority of participants -- 73 percent -- were between 25 and 30 years old. Almost 97 percent were white. Of participants, 98 percent of the husbands and 16 percent of the wives reported they were employed full time, while 24 percent worked part time. The average couple had been married for about five years, and the average income of the participants was between $50,000 and $60,000 a year.

Couples indicated which spouse was generally responsible for completing 20 common household tasks -- or if both or neither of them were responsible. Fathers rated their involvement in their children's lives and mothers noted how involved they felt their husbands were with the kids. Both spouses rated how happy they were with how they divided household tasks and with their marriage.

Men and women differed in how they reported marital quality. For wives, the father-child relationship and father involvement was most important, followed by satisfaction with how the household work was accomplished.

For husbands, satisfaction with the division of family work came first, followed by their wife's feelings about the father-child relationship, and then the degree of involvement the dad had with his children.

For her part, Laurie Gerber, president of Handel Group Life Coaching in New York City, said the study rings true. Women really appreciate getting hands-on help at home, but men don't realize this intuitively because they see things very differently, she said. "If a man wants to get into his wife's good graces he should do a chore," she said. "If a woman wants to get into a man's good graces, she should jump him."

A study published earlier this year in American Sociological Review showed that married men who spend more time doing traditional household tasks reported having less frequent sex than do husbands who stick to more traditional masculine jobs, such as gardening or home repair. While women like getting help, doing too many of the chores may inadvertently turn the husband into more of a helpmate than a lover, the research found.

Rather than basing the choice of chores on traditional roles, Gerber recommends that tasks be divided based on both who cares most about getting the particular job done and who is best at it. "My husband doesn't care if my kids have matching outfits on and I don't care about getting the oil changed," she said. Couples need to sit down and discuss who will be primarily responsible for what. "That stops fights and clears so much air."

For Gerber, it's critical to try not to be influenced by how you were raised, what your culture says you should do or what the gender stereotyping says, but rather, by what you think is right. "Marriage is all about being there for the other person and you work as a team to get the job of the family done," she said.

More information

Learn more about parenting from the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- Taking high doses of iodine and kelp supplements can be hazardous to your health, warns the American Thyroid Association.

Adequate iodine intake is required for normal function of the thyroid, a gland in the neck that produces hormones that control the rate of many bodily activities. But too much iodine can lead to thyroid dysfunction.

Daily supplements containing more than 500 micrograms of iodine should be avoided, the association recommended. Many iodine, potassium iodide and kelp supplements contain iodine amounts that are up to several thousand times higher than the daily tolerable upper limit of 1,100 micrograms per day, they noted.

The recommended daily limit for iodine intake is 150 micrograms for men and non-pregnant women. The recommended daily intake is 220 to 250 micrograms for pregnant women and 250 to 290 micrograms for women who are breast-feeding.

Women should take multivitamins containing 150 micrograms of iodine daily before conceiving, during pregnancy and while breast-feeding, the experts said in an association news release.

"For other individuals, the U.S. diet generally contains enough iodine to meet nutritional needs, with common sources being iodized salt, dairy products, breads and seafood," Dr. Angela Leung, chair of the association's public health committee and an assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, said in the release.

There are only a few medical conditions in which the short-term use of high amounts of iodine is indicated, the association added.

More information

The U.S. Office of Dietary Supplements has more about iodine.

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WEDNESDAY, June 12 (HealthDay News) -- A pregnant woman's exposure to environmental contaminants affects her unborn baby's heart rate and movement, a new study says.

"Both fetal motor activity and heart rate reveal how the fetus is maturing and give us a way to evaluate how exposures may be affecting the developing nervous system," study lead author Janet DiPietro, associate dean for research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a school news release.

The researchers analyzed blood samples from 50 high- and low-income pregnant women in and around Baltimore and found that they all had detectable levels of organochlorines, including DDT, PCBs and other pesticides that have been banned in the United States for more than 30 years.

High-income women had a greater concentration of chemicals than low-income women.

The blood samples were collected at 36 weeks of pregnancy, and measurements of fetal heart rate and movement also were taken at that time, according to the study, which was published online in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

The researchers found that higher levels of some common environmental pollutants were associated with more frequent and vigorous fetal movement. Some of the chemicals also were associated with fewer changes in fetal heart rate, which normally parallel fetal movements.

"Most studies of environmental contaminants and child development wait until children are much older to evaluate effects of things the mother may have been exposed to during pregnancy," DiPietro said. "Here we have observed effects in utero."

How the prenatal period sets the stage for later child development is a subject of tremendous interest, DiPietro said.

"These results show that the developing fetus is susceptible to environmental exposures and that we can detect this by measuring fetal neurobehavior," she said. "This is yet more evidence for the need to protect the vulnerable developing brain from effects of environmental contaminants both before and after birth."

More information

The MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia has more about fetal development.

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TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Newer, costlier treatment for rheumatoid arthritis appears no better than an older, less-expensive regimen for people who don't respond to the first-line drug methotrexate, a new study suggests.

"Newer isn't always better," said researcher Dr. Ted Mikuls, an associate professor in the rheumatology division at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha. "Some of the older medications can be effective."

Rheumatoid arthritis causes inflammation in the joints, resulting in swelling, stiffness, pain and reduced joint function. It can also affect other parts of the body.

"We compared two different ways of treating rheumatoid arthritis -- one that included a new biologic [medication] with an older, more conventional oral medication," Mikuls explained. "We basically showed that at the end of the day patients, regardless of what they got, looked very similar in terms of pretty much every outcome we looked at in the study."

Patients whose arthritis didn't respond to methotrexate alone who were then given a combination of methotrexate, sulfasalazine (Azulfidine) and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) did as well as patients given methotrexate and the new biologic drug etanercept (Enbrel) -- which is given by injection -- the researchers said.

"The treatments are very different in terms of costs," Mikuls said. If a patient had to pay out of pocket for etanercept it could cost around $20,000 a year, while the out-of-pocket costs for the other drugs is a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, he said.

The out-of-pocket cost of etanercept varies by insurance provider, including those covering the Medicare drug benefit program, Mikuls added.

The report was published online June 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with presentation of the study at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology meeting in Madrid, Spain.

"This study addresses a real-life scenario for rheumatologists where patients are often on methotrexate and are not doing well and the question is what to do next," said Dr. Soumya Reddy, an assistant professor in the rheumatology division of the dermatology department at NYU Langone Medical Center, in New York City.

About 20 percent to 40 percent of patients don't respond methotrexate or can't take the drug either because of side effects or it is not indicated for them, said Reddy, who was not involved in the study.

The findings are "reassuring," in that when a biologic is not an option, due to cost or other reasons, the older regimen is effective, she said.

Which regimen is best really needs to be tailored to each patient, Reddy said.

For the study, researchers randomly assigned 353 patients to methotrexate, sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine or to methotrexate and etanercept for 48 weeks. Some patients switched from one regimen to another midway through the study.

The researchers found that both groups improved significantly, with no difference between the two treatments.

In addition, improvements in both groups were similar with regard to pain, quality of life, progression of their arthritis as seen on X-rays or side effects of the drugs.

For her part, Dr. Diane Horowitz, a rheumatologist at North Shore University Hospital, in Manhasset, N.Y., said the trial wasn't long enough to really tell if treatment with etanercept is equal to the three-drug regimen.

"In other studies, people on biologics did better over the long term," said Horowitz, who is also with the LIJ Medical Center, in New Hyde Park, N.Y. "I want to see more long-term data."

For patients who don't do well on methotrexate alone "there is some significant evidence that doing methotrexate plus sulfasalazine plus hydroxychloroquine [gives] a good response, and you don't always have to jump to a biologic right away," she said.

More information

To learn more about rheumatoid arthritis, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly all adult survivors of childhood cancer have at least one chronic health problem, according to a new study.

Many of these health conditions are believed to be linked to treatments used to combat the survivors' childhood cancer, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Researchers examined data from more than 1,700 adults who were diagnosed with childhood cancer between 1962 and 2001 and underwent health assessments between 2007 and 2012. The analysis revealed that 98 percent of the patients had a chronic health condition.

About 95 percent of the patients had a chronic health problem by age 45, or 35 years after cancer diagnosis. More than three-quarters had a serious, disabling or life-threatening condition at age 45.

The most common problems involved the lungs (65 percent), hearing (62 percent), endocrine or reproductive systems (62 percent), heart (56 percent) or declining mental ability (48 percent).

Liver, skeletal, kidney and blood problems were less common, according to the study, which was published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

"The percentage of survivors with one or more chronic health conditions prevalent in a young-adult population was extraordinarily high," Dr. Melissa Hudson, of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, said in a hospital news release.

The researchers said their findings highlight the need to monitor childhood cancer survivors for conditions that can cause significant illness if not detected and treated early -- such as second cancers and heart disease -- as well as conditions that can be treated to improve quality of life, such as hearing and vision problems.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about the late effects of childhood cancer treatment.

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TUESDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight or obese women who are pregnant are more likely to give birth prematurely, and the risk of preterm delivery increases with their amount of excess weight, according to a study of more than 1.5 million deliveries in Sweden.

Researchers speculate that the health problems associated with overweight and obesity -- high blood pressure, insulin resistance, high cholesterol, increased chance of infection -- have a direct impact on a woman's ability to carry their child to term, according to the study, which was published in the June 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Birth of an infant prior to 37 weeks of gestation is the leading cause of infant mortality, neonatal illness and long-term disability in children, said researchers led by Dr. Sven Cnattingius of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

A U.S. expert not involved with the study said he wasn't surprised by the findings.

"This just reinforces the fact that the complications of obesity and additional weight gain are deleterious to both mother and fetus," said Dr. Raul Artal, a professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics, gynecology and women's health at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

Artal said this study, along with previous research, makes the case that overweight and obese women who are pregnant can protect the health of their unborn child by maintaining their current weight or even shedding some pounds.

"The concept that we propagated for years that pregnancy is not a good time for weight loss and physical activity is wrong," he said.

For the study, researchers analyzed the records of 1.59 million births between 1992 and 2010, reviewing the body-mass index (BMI) of the women at their first prenatal doctor's visit as well as information recorded following birth about health risks, maternal diseases and pregnancy complications.

BMI is a measure of body fat based on height and weight.

The statistics came from the Swedish Medical Birth Register, which maintains detailed data on all births in that nation and serves as a valuable resource for researchers, a U.S. expert said.

"There's a lot of good obstetric data that comes out of Sweden because of that register," said Dr. Russ Fothergill, vice chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Scott and White Healthcare in Temple, Texas.

The researchers found that the risk of extremely premature (22 to 27 weeks), very premature (28 to 31 weeks) and moderately premature (32 to 36 weeks) deliveries increased with a woman's BMI.

The authors said that even though the study is Swedish, the results can be generalized to other populations with similar or higher rates of maternal obesity or preterm delivery.

For example, the United States has preterm delivery rates twice as high as Sweden's. In the United States, slightly more than half of women are either overweight or obese in early pregnancy, and severe obesity is much more common than in Sweden. Extremely preterm births accounted for 25 percent of all U.S. infant deaths among single births, and extremely preterm birth is also the leading cause of long-term disability, according to study background information.

The study's results seem to suggest an interplay between health risks linked to overweight and obesity, said Dr. Jill Rabin, chief of ambulatory care, obstetrics and gynecology, and head of urogynecology at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

Earlier studies have found that women who suffer a spontaneous preterm delivery have increased levels of inflammatory proteins called cytokines, which are associated with neonatal health problems such as weakening of the membranes and preterm contractions.

Both obesity itself and the health problems that come with obesity increase the amount of inflammation in a woman's body, Rabin said. Obesity and the inflammation that accompanies it also make it more likely that a woman could suffer an intrauterine bacterial infection.

"Obese women have increased risk of urinary tract infections and vaginal infections," Rabin said. "These increase the risk of preterm delivery."

The study noted that a bacterial infection is considered the most important risk factor for spontaneous extremely preterm delivery.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has issued a recommendation that it is OK for women who are overweight or obese to not gain weight during pregnancy, or even to lose weight, said Artal, of Saint Louis University.

"I consider pregnancy to be an ideal time for behavioral modification," Artal said. He noted that pregnant women have an improved chance to adopt healthy habits because they have better access to medical care than at any other time in their life, are more prone to comply with recommendations because they have the added responsibility of their unborn child, and are under close medical supervision.

Although the study found an association between maternal obesity and premature birth, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

For his part, Fothergill said the study cries out for follow-up research that will better elaborate upon the link between obesity and premature birth.

"There needs to some additional research that explains why these women are delivering early," he said. "What is it about obesity that's making these women go into labor early?"

More information

The March of Dimes has more about overweight and obesity during pregnancy.

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MONDAY, June 10 (HealthDay News) -- Hurricane season is here, and pregnant women need to take extra precautions to ensure their health and safety during a storm, an expert says.

Pregnant women who are close to their delivery date and those with high-risk pregnancies need to let their health care provider know where they will be during a hurricane. They should also ask their health care provider if it's safe for them to leave before a storm strikes, said Dr. Alfred Robichaux, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans.

Here are some other tips:

• Plan an alternate birth location in case of evacuation or problems with road travel.
• Have phone numbers and locations for local obstetricians and midwives in case you cannot reach your regular health care provider during evacuation.
• Women in late pregnancy who are evacuating should bring a copy of their prenatal care record and immunizations, as well as their birth bag. They should also bring a two weeks' supply of any medications, including prenatal vitamins and prescriptions.
• Pregnant women who go to an evacuation center should immediately notify officials and get information about the location of hospitals in the area.
• Do everything you can to reduce stress, which is a major factor in preterm labor. By planning and preparing early, you can help reduce stress levels.
• Create a family communication plan so everyone knows what needs to be done before and during evacuation.

Floodwaters after a storm may be polluted with infectious agents and toxic chemicals, which can harm both mother and baby. "If you are in a flood-prone area, it's probably a good idea to again fall back on your plan and evacuate so you avoid being put in that situation," Robichaux said in a medical center news release.

Robichaux also offered advice for new mothers, including creating a hurricane food kit for the entire family that can be used either at home or during a car ride to a safer location.

"Make sure mom has enough high-protein snacks and clean water to drink to prevent dehydration," Robichaux said.

He said breast milk is the sole source of recommended nutrition for babies less than 6 months old, and new mothers should pack a hand- or battery-operated pump and clean storage bottles or bags, and have a method of freezing or cold storage for pumped breast milk.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about hurricane readiness.

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FRIDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) -- You may have heard of "beer goggles" -- a sly way of describing how people seem to become less picky about potential sex partners when they've had a few drinks. Now, a new study suggests something similar happens to men when they're sleepy: They're slightly more likely to interpret signals from women as sexual come-ons.

"Sleepy men think women are more interested in them than when the men are not sleepy. We don't know why," said study lead author Jennifer Peszka, an associate professor of psychology at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark.

The findings, based on responses to surveys instead of real-life encounters, aren't definitive and don't say whether the men are accurately reading women's signals. And it's unclear if sleepy men would be more likely to inappropriately pursue women they believe to be sexually interested in them.

In the big picture, the study raises questions about whether sleep has the same perception-dulling effects on men as alcohol, Peszka said.

"If you're a man and you're sleepy, you could make a mistake in judging whether someone's interested in you," Peszka said. Sleepiness had no effect on women's perceptions of whether men were interested in them, but Peszka had a message for them, too: Since sleepy men "could make a mistake, you need to be very clear about what you want."

In the study, researchers recruited 60 college students and asked them to take surveys before and after they were deprived of sleep. To make them tired, the researchers kept them up for 24 hours past the time they arrived at the lab (5 p.m.).

The surveys presented different scenarios to the students and asked them to judge the motivation of the opposite gender. For example, a male student would be asked to gauge the likelihood that a woman wants to have sex with him if she puts her hand on his thigh. Or they might get a question like "When a woman goes out to a bar, how likely is it that she is interested in finding someone to have sex with that night?"

On a scale of 1 to 7, with higher numbers translating more interest, nonsleepy men ranked the "sexual intent" of women as 4.58. But when they were sleepy, the number grew to 5.06.

By contrast, women's perception of men's sexual interest (5.22 on 1-to-7 scale) stayed about the same.

What's going on? Peszka suspects that the effect of sleepiness on the frontal lobe of the brain, which controls things such as decision-making and control of emotions, could be a major factor.

Lisa Fucito, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine who studies alcohol use and sleep, said lack of sleep can have effects similar to those of alcohol.

Sleep deprivation narrows attention, slows the brain's processing speed and hurts short-term memory, she said. "When our attention is narrowed, we tend to lose sight of other pertinent information when making a decision."

Still, Fucito cautioned that the differences in the survey responses between the sleepy and nonsleepy men may not be meaningful.

"More research is needed before we could conclude that sleep deprivation influences male's perceptions of women's sexual interest," she said. For now, Fucito added, "the safety messages we tell women would remain."

Study author Peszka said future research should aim to see if the study results hold up in real-life situations when men and women encounter each other.

The study abstract was published online recently in the journal Sleep and it was presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Baltimore.

More information

For more about sleep, try the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these suggestions for moms-to-be:

• Visit your doctor regularly for prenatal care.
• Gain an appropriate amount of weight. Don't try to shed pounds during pregnancy.
• Eat a healthy, balanced, nutritious diet. Avoid ingredients that could harm your baby, such as caffeine.
• Take vitamins or prenatal supplements (including folic acid) as recommended by your doctor. Consult your doctor before taking any medications or supplements.
• Ask your doctor about whether it's safe to continue working, have sex and exercise throughout pregnancy.

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MONDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- The belt tightening triggered by the recent recession appears to have forced families to make tough choices about care for children with chronic physical or emotion problems, a new study suggests.

The study, which was published in the June issue of the journal Health Affairs, used a large government database to track out-of-pocket costs for families with private health insurance carriers from 2001 to 2009.

Researchers were particularly interested in spending for children with special health care needs.

"Those are children who require health or related services beyond those required by children generally," said lead researcher Pinar Karaca-Mandic, an assistant professor of public health at the University of Minnesota. "A child with asthma would fit in this category, for example. A child with depression, ADHD or a physical limitation would also fit this definition."

Nearly one in five children in the United States meets the criteria for having a special health care need. Parents pay about twice as much to care for children with special needs as they do caring for children without ongoing problems. Their own health care costs usually go up, too, as they deal with the added stress of caregiving.

In the years leading up to the recession, out-of-pocket expenses climbed steadily for all family members -- children and adults alike. But in 2007, the trend lines changed.

For children who were generally healthy, medical expenses jumped as insurance plans became less generous and families bore a greater share of the total tab for medical care. Average annual out-of-pocket costs rose from about $280 in 2007 to $310 in 2009.

But for children with special needs and adults, out-of-pocket costs actually dropped. Adults cut spending on their own care by an average of $40 if they had children without chronic conditions. In families with special-needs kids, adults pared their own medical bills by an average of about $65 during each year of the recession.

Spending on children with special health care needs fell even further, by about $73 each year of the recession. Families spent an average of $774 a year to care for children with special needs in 2007. By 2009, that figure was down to $626.

Taken together, researchers said it looks like parents cut back on their own care to continue to afford services for their kids.

But when those children had chronic conditions, even those sacrifices were not enough to keep up with the rising costs, and families started to make difficult decisions about the kinds of care they could do without.

"We looked at what kinds of services were most affected in terms of the utilization," Karaca-Mandic said. "We saw that services such as dental care and prescription drugs were the most hit."

The survey used to conduct the study, which is called the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, or MEPS, doesn't track health outcomes, so researchers couldn't tell if the drop in spending translated to poorer health.

An expert who was not involved in the research praised the study for offering the first direct, national comparison of out-of-pocket spending on children with and without special health care needs.

"What we are seeing is a slight increase in the prevalence of kids that have special health care needs and an increasing trend toward those involving emotional, behavioral and mental health problems, including things like autism, [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder], depression and anxiety," said Christina Bethell, professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health and Science University, in Portland. "We know that the health care system is the weakest in those areas."

"We're not putting a system of care together for kids that appears to be optimal, and families are struggling," said Bethell who also directs the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative at the university.

But Bethell said she has not seen a drop in out-of-pocket spending for children with special health care needs, even through the years of the recession. But she said that could be because her study is tracking slightly different measures.

She said one thing both studies seem to point to is the plight of low-income families with private insurance.

Many of the families in the study were low or middle income. More than a third had incomes that were less than 125 percent of the federal poverty threshold, which was about $22,000 for a family of four in 2009.

"They do the worst," Bethell said. "They need to be on public insurance. Public coverage is better for lower-income people."

In 2014, those families could be covered by Medicaid if they live in states that take advantage of federal funding through the Affordable Care Act to expand their programs. Bethell said the switch could ease the strain on low-income families that have children with special health care needs.

"It's going to vary a lot [state-by-state] because of how much freedom the states have," she said. "We're going to have to track it closely to see."

More information

To learn more about children with special health care needs, visit the Data Resource Center for Child & Adolescent Health.

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TUESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- Cancer survivors and their partners have an increased long-term risk of anxiety but not depression, researchers have found.

For the new study, investigators analyzed data from 27 publications that reported on a total of 43 comparison studies and found that levels of depression were similar among adults without cancer and adult cancer survivors two or more years after diagnosis, 10.2 percent and 11.6 percent, respectively.

However, cancer survivors were 27 percent more likely to report anxiety two or more years after their diagnosis and 50 percent more likely to experience anxiety 10 or more years after diagnosis, the findings indicated.

The researchers also found that cancer survivors' partners were even more likely than survivors to experience anxiety over the long term (40 percent versus 28 percent). Depression rates were similar among cancer survivors and their partners, according to the study published online June 4 in The Lancet Oncology.

"Depression is an important problem after cancer but it tends to improve within two years of a diagnosis unless there is a further complication. Anxiety is less predictable and is a cause for concern even 10 years after a diagnosis. However, detection of anxiety has been overlooked compared with screening for distress or depression," lead author Alex Mitchell, of Leicester General Hospital in England, said in a journal news release.

"Our results suggest that, after a cancer diagnosis, increased rates of anxiety tend to persist in both patients and their relatives. When patients are discharged from hospital care they usually receive only periodic check-ups from their medical teams and this autonomy in the post-acute period can be anxiety-provoking," Mitchell said.

"Further, the provision of rehabilitation and specialist emotional help is currently patchy. Efforts should be made to improve screening for anxiety and increase follow-up support for both survivors and their families," he added.

By 2020, more than 21 million people worldwide will be diagnosed with cancer each year. About 70 percent of cancer patients now survive for five or more years after diagnosis, however, it is unknown how this experience affects the long-term mental health of survivors and their loved ones, the study authors pointed out.

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about cancer survivors.

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TUESDAY, June 4 (HealthDay News) -- Soft cheese and raw produce have caused many recent listeria outbreaks in the United States, and at least 90 percent of cases typically occur among seniors, pregnant women, newborns and people with weakened immune systems, a new U.S. health report says.

Pregnant women are 10 times more likely to get this serious form of food poisoning than others in the general population, and the risk is 24 times higher among pregnant Hispanic women, according to the Vital Signs report, released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People aged 65 and older are four times more likely to get listeria infection than those in the general population, said the CDC researchers who analyzed 2009-2011 data on listeria illness rates and foods associated with listeria outbreaks.

"Listeria strikes hard at pregnant women, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, sending many to the hospital and causing miscarriage or death in as many as one in five," CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said in an agency news release.

"We need to develop new cutting-edge molecular technologies to help us link illnesses and outbreaks to foods faster to prevent illness and death, which is why the President's budget proposes investing in new tools to advance this work," Frieden added.

The findings highlight the need to educate people about how to prevent listeria infections, the report stated.

More than 1,650 listeria illnesses were reported to the CDC during the three-year study period, the report authors found.

About 20 percent of the infections caused a death, most of which occurred among seniors or as miscarriages or stillbirths. Pregnant women with listeria infections often have only mild symptoms or a fever, but their infections can result in miscarriage, premature labor and serious illness or death in their newborns, the report noted.

Twelve listeria outbreaks sickened 224 people in 38 states over the study period. These outbreaks included the large 2011 outbreak linked to cantaloupes from one farm. Of the 10 outbreaks with an identified food source, six were linked to soft cheese (mostly Mexican-style cheeses) and two to raw produce (whole cantaloupe and pre-cut celery).

Improved technology and regulatory changes led to a 25 percent drop in rates of listeria illness in the United States between the 1990s and early 2000s, largely because of changes affecting meat and poultry. But declining rates have since leveled off, and this report shows the need for additional measures to further reduce consumers' risk of developing listeria illness from foods, the CDC authors noted.

No one should drink unpasteurized milk or eat soft cheese made from unpasteurized milk, and hot dogs should be cooked until they're steaming hot, the CDC states. Also, proper cleaning, storage and refrigeration can help prevent listeria outbreaks.

More information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration outlines how to keep listeria out of your kitchen.

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MONDAY, June 3 (HealthDay News) -- If you're looking for the perfect mate, a new study suggests you might be on the right track if you turn to the Internet: Married couples who met online were slightly more likely to be happy and stay together than those who ran into each other the old-fashioned way.

The difference was small, although the number of people who met online was big, and researchers who study marriage say the study has some weaknesses. Still, lead author John Cacioppo, of the University of Chicago, said it should give comfort to anyone who fears that meeting online isn't the best way to begin a romantic relationship.

"I hope this encourages people to feel authentic and not odd if they feel so busy that they're going online to meet people," said Cacioppo, director of the university's Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience. "It's a new environment and a new world, and it's not one we should be afraid of."

In the new study, eHarmony, an online dating service, commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct an online survey of more than 19,000 people in the United States who were married to members of the opposite sex between 2005 and 2012. Independent statisticians verified the results of the survey.

Since the marriages were so recent, the rates of divorce (5 percent) and separation (2.5 percent) were low.

The researchers found that more than a third of those surveyed met their spouses online. Of those, 45 percent met through dating sites, while 21 percent met through social networks like Facebook.

Those who met offline were more likely to be very old, very young and not wealthy; they also were most likely to meet each other at work (22 percent), through friends (19 percent) or at school (11 percent).

The researchers found that 7.6 percent of those who met offline had gotten divorced, compared to 5.9 percent of those who met online. This difference held up even when researchers adjusted their statistics to account for high or low numbers of people who shared similarities like age or income.

The study also found that those who met online were slightly happier in their marriages. Their spouses, however, didn't get a say in the survey, and the study doesn't provide a layperson-friendly way to understand the differences in how happy the marriages seemed to be.

Why might marriages that had their start online be happier and more stable? One possibility is that they're more focused on finding relationships "rather than falling into a relationship with someone they met through a friend or at work," said Elizabeth Schoenfeld, a graduate student at the University of Texas who studies human behavior. "It is possible that this initial motivation to secure a relationship partner may translate into a later motivation to stay in the relationship."

Markie Blumer, an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who studies marriage, said the study is "pretty solid," although it has some flaws.

For one, she said, it's an online survey that would naturally include people who are especially Internet-savvy. For another, it ignores same-sex couples, which are even more likely to meet online, she said.

Future research, Blumer suggested, should take a closer look at how relationships evolve with or without technology. It's possible, for example, that some people meet online but then develop their romance in person.

The study appears in this week's online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has details about divorce.

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THURSDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- Men with high levels of narcissism -- an unrealistically positive self-image coupled with feelings of entitlement -- have an easier time than others attracting a potential mate, new German research says.

"Narcissism is linked to mate appeal in a real-life situation," said Michael Dufner, a researcher at Humboldt University of Berlin, who led the study.

The research is published in the July issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Dufner and his team first measured narcissism levels in 61 men with an average age of 25, who were invited to join a courtship study in Germany. "We focused on narcissism as a personality trait, not the personality disorder," he said. "This means that everybody has a certain narcissism level -- for some it is higher, for others lower."

Next, the researchers asked the men to approach women they did not know on the street and get contact information. It could be a phone number, email or Facebook contact.

Research assistants followed the men (which the men were aware of), observing the interactions. Dufner decided to focus on men in this study because men traditionally court a potential mate in this way, compared to women's typically more subtle approaches, such as flirting, he said.

"We tested if individuals with higher narcissism scores are more appealing," he said.

On average, the men approached about 23 women. To rule out the possibility that the more narcissistic men were more selective in who they approached, the researchers analyzed each woman who was approached on her physical attractiveness and manner of dress. The narcissists weren't more selective.

The narcissistic guys did get the girl more often. The higher the level of narcissism, the more likely they were to get more contacts.

"The effect was not due to high self-esteem, but indeed the narcissism," Dufner said. The physical attractiveness and social boldness of the narcissists were the two likely reasons for their appeal to women, he said.

Dufner offered some caveats about the research, though. "We were not able to directly test the causality underlying the association between narcissism and physical attractiveness," he said.

One possibility, he said, is that physical attractiveness may be a partial cause of narcissism, as other researchers have suggested.

For narcissists -- and the women they seek -- the news is not all good, Dufner said. "Narcissists are charming and appealing at first sight, but they are not long-term romantic partners," he said.

The study findings confirm what many experts have long suspected, said Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University who has written about narcissism. "Narcissists are very good at initiating relationships," she said. "On first impression, they come across as confident and charming. The problems arise later on, when you realize that he doesn't actually care about you -- it's all about him."

Twenge was not involved in the study, but reviewed the findings.

Caution is the byword for those attracted to narcissists, both experts agreed. "In the long run, narcissists made bad relationship partners," Twenge said. "They lack empathy and have a difficult time taking someone else's perspective."

Twenge said she does understand why women fall for narcissists. "The initial appeal of narcissists comes from their assertiveness and confidence," she said. "These are stereotypically masculine traits that many women find appealing."

More information

To learn more about narcissism, visit the American Psychological Association.

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WEDNESDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- Parts of the brain thought to support consolidation of emotional memories during sleep are less active in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new study.

This deficit in sleep-related emotional processing may worsen the emotional problems of children with this condition, researchers in Germany report.

Children with ADHD have difficulty sustaining attention, and often display hyperactivity and impulsive behavior. The neurobehavioral disorder affects 3 percent to 5 percent of U.S. children, more of them boys than girls.

For the study, published May 29 in the journal PLOS ONE, children with ADHD were shown pictures that evoked emotion, such as a scary animal, before they went to bed. They also viewed neutral pictures, such an image of an umbrella or lamp. Their brain activity was then monitored as they slept. When the kids woke up the next morning, the researchers also tested them about what they remembered. The same process was repeated with healthy children and adults.

During sleep, regions of the brain believed to be involved in consolidation of emotional memories were most active among the healthy children. The researchers noted there was less activity in this part of the brain among the healthy adults, and the least activity was noted in the children with ADHD.

The researchers concluded that sleep consolidates emotional memories in healthy children but not in those with ADHD.

"While several studies reported a benefit from sleep with respect to emotional memory in healthy individuals, our results showed for the first time that healthy children outperform healthy adults," the study authors, led by Alexander Prehn-Kristensen from University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, said in a journal news release. They added, however, that the child-oriented pictures used in the study may have influenced this finding.

More research is needed to determine if this issues resolves over time, or if it continues to affect people of all ages with ADHD, the study authors added.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides more information on ADHD.

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WEDNESDAY, May 29 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women with thyroid disorders are at greater risk for premature delivery and other pregnancy complications, a new study indicates.

Researchers caution that these complications could have both short-term and long-term health consequences for women and their babies. Thyroid disease occurs when the thyroid gland -- located at the front of the neck -- doesn't supply the proper amount of hormones needed by the body.

"In the United States, at least 80,000 pregnant women each year have thyroid diseases," study lead author, Dr. Tuija Mannisto, of the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), said in a news release from the Endocrine Society.

"These women are at increased risk of having serious adverse pregnancy outcomes, including hypertension and preterm birth. They also have a higher rate of labor inductions and other birth interventions," Mannisto explained.

In conducting the study, the researchers examined medical records from more than 223,000 pregnancies. The investigators found that women with thyroid conditions were more likely to develop preeclampsia, a complication marked by protein in the urine and a sharp rise in blood pressure during pregnancy. These women were also admitted to the intensive care unit more often, were more likely to develop gestational diabetes and had a higher rate of cesarean deliveries.

"Women need appropriate thyroid hormone levels to support a healthy pregnancy, so it is very important to carefully monitor expecting mothers who have thyroid diseases," said one of the study's authors, Pauline Mendola, from the NICHD. "We also need more research to identify ways to reduce the risks these women currently face."

Although the study found an association between having a thyroid condition and higher risk of pregnancy complications, it did not establish a cause-and-effect relationship.

The study appears in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about thyroid disease.

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TUESDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- A father's depression may not have a negative effect on his children if he has a strong marriage, according to a new study.

Although depressed dads may have difficulty addressing the emotional needs of their children, researchers from the University of Illinois found if these fathers have a supportive spouse who listens they may be able to improve their interactions with their children.

"When a parent is interacting with their child, they need to be able to attend to the child's emotional state, be cued in to his developmental stage and abilities, and notice whether he is getting frustrated or needs help. Depressed parents have more difficulty doing that," Nancy McElwain, a professor of human development, explained in a University of Illinois news release.

In conducting the study, the researchers examined information on 606 children and their parents enrolled in a study on early child development done by the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

When their child was 4.5 years old, parents ranked their symptoms of depression and their perceptions of emotional intimacy in their marriage. The researchers also observed the parents interacting with their child during semi-structured activities. This interaction was repeated when the children were 6.5 years old.

"A supportive spouse appears to buffer the effects of the father's depression. We can see it in children's behavior when they're working with their dad. The kids are more persistent and engaged," the study's lead author, Jennifer Engle, said in the news release.

"At this stage of a child's development, an engaged parent is very important," Engle added. "The son's or daughter's ability to focus and persist with a task when they are frustrated is critical in making a successful transition from preschool to formal schooling."

Although the depressed dads with a supportive spouse had better interactions with their child, the study revealed that depressed moms did not benefit from the same level of intimacy in their marriage. The authors suggested one explanation for this discrepancy is that women respond differently to depression.

"Men tend to withdraw; women tend to ruminate," Engle explained. "We think that high emotional intimacy and sharing in the marriage may encourage a woman's tendency to ruminate about her depression, disrupting her ability to be available and supportive with her children."

In contrast, depressed men are more likely to withdraw from their partners. "This makes emotional intimacy in the marriage an important protective factor for fathers," McElwain noted.

The researchers advised parents suffering from depression to seek help from their spouse, friends, family and medical professionals.

The study was published recently online in Developmental Psychology.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about depression.

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TUESDAY, May 28 (HealthDay News) -- Weight-loss operations in women could be a genetic bonus for the health of their future children, a new study suggests.

Researchers found differences in the activity of genes in children born to women after they'd had gastric bypass surgery compared to their siblings born before surgery. The changes suggest that the kids born after surgery, to thinner mothers, will fare better in terms of heart health because of benefits gained in the womb.

"It appears that there's an effect that is transmitted to the next generation," said study co-author Marie-Claude Vohl, a professor at Laval University in Quebec City. "This may have some consequence later in life for the health of the children."

The study isn't definitive, and researchers don't know exactly how much the health of kids may be affected by being born to a thinner mother. It's also not clear if there's something unique about weight-loss surgery or if the key is to simply drop pounds.

Weight-loss surgery, which aims to limit the amount of food that patients can eat, is no simple matter. It's expensive, involves risk and is not always covered by insurance. However, severe obesity is itself a major health risk.

In the new study, researchers examined the genetic makeup of 50 children who were born to 20 mothers before or after they underwent gastric bypass surgery.

The researchers suspected that the genes of children born after surgery would act differently than those born before. They found several thousand genes that did just that, and the differences in the post-surgery children suggest they're in better shape health-wise.

As far as physical differences, children born to mothers before weight-loss surgery weighed more and had greater waist and hip girth compared to the others. Children born to mothers after weight loss-surgery had better fasting insulin levels and lower blood pressure.

"It's more evidence that the benefits of gastric bypass surgery extend beyond the original aim of weight loss," said Dr. Francesco Rubino, a metabolic and bariatric surgeon with the Catholic University of Rome, who was not involved with the study. Other research has linked weight-loss surgery, in some cases, to major improvements in diabetes.

What's going on? It's not a matter of the mothers transferring different genes to the children based on whether they'd had surgery. Instead, weight-loss surgery seems to affect the activity of the genes in the children's bodies even outside the womb, he said.

Dr. Edward Phillips, vice chair of the department of surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles, said it's a mystery how that might happen.

"If you're a fetus, you're bathed in a bunch of chemicals and hormones," Phillips said. "But when you're out in the real world, why wouldn't your own genes go back to the basic set of what they were supposed to be?"

Could weight-loss surgery in fathers have a similar effect on their subsequent children? Researchers don't know. There are other questions too. Might the children born after their mothers had surgery be exposed to a different kind of environment than their older siblings, especially in regard to food? Could that affect how their genes act?

Phillips said those questions need to be answered. But, he said, this is still "an exciting early study" that opens the door toward greater understanding of genes and weight.

The study appeared online May 27 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

More information

For more about gastric bypass surgery, try the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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