bmj.com -- Press Releases

Press Releases Saturday 2 January 1999
No 7175 Volume 318

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(1) YOUNG WOMEN SUFFERING MIGRAINE ARE AT GREATER RISK OF STROKE

(2) FEMALE ARMY RECRUITS AT GREATER RISK OF BONE TRAUMA THAN MALES

(3) A FIFTH OF ASIAN CHILDREN DEFICIENT IN �SUNSHINE� VITAMIN D

(1) YOUNG WOMEN SUFFERING MIGRAINE ARE AT GREATER
RISK OF STROKE

(Migraine increases the risk of ischaemic but not haemorrhagic stroke in
women of childbearing age)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7175/13

In this week �s BMJ researchers from Imperial College School of Medicine and
the Radcliffe Infirmary warn that young women who have a history of
migraine are three and a half times more at risk of ischaemic stroke
(stroke caused by a deficiency of blood to the brain due to constriction of
or blockage in a blood vessel). Dr Limmie Chang and colleagues report that
these women increase their risk further if they also smoke, have high blood
pressure or use oral contraceptives. However, a change in the type or
frequency of migraine when a woman takes oral contraceptives, does not
predict a subsequent stroke.

In their study of 291 women aged 20 - 44 years who had suffered from stroke
the authors found that between 20 - 40 per cent of strokes in women who had
a history of migraine seemed to develop directly from a migraine attack.
They also found that a family history of migraine, irrespective of personal
migraine history, increased the risk of both ischaemic and haemorrhagic
stroke (where a deficiency of blood to the brain is caused by a burst blood
vessel).

Chang et al conclude that further research into the link between family
history of migraine, independent of personal experience needs further
investigation.

Contact:
Professor Neil Poulter,
Cardiovascular Studies Unit,
Department of Clinical Pharmacology,
Imperial College School of Medicine, London
email: n.poulter{at}ic.ac.uk

(2) FEMALE ARMY RECRUITS AT GREATER RISK OF BONE TRAUMA
THAN MALES

(Incidence of trauma related stress fractures and shin splints in male and
female army recruits: retrospective case study)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7175/29

Female army recruits in Britain may be more likely to endure stress
fractures during basic training than their male counterparts, say M Macleod
and colleagues at the Royal Hospital Haslar, Gosport, in this week�s BMJ.

The authors noted that since the Ministry of Defence introduced an equal
opportunities policy in 1993, female recruits have been put through the
same physically-demanding training schedule as men. They have observed a
fourfold increase in patient referrals between 1994 and 1996; their results
suggest that this reflects an increase in female patients presenting with
bone injuries, such as stress fractures, shin splints and covert fractures.

Contact:
Dr M McLeod,
Consultant in Nuclear Medicine,
Department of Nuclear Medicine,
Royal Hospital Haslar, Gosport, Hampshire
e-mail: murdo{at}haslar.demon.co.uk

(3) A FIFTH OF ASIAN CHILDREN DEFICIENT IN �SUNSHINE� VITAMIN D

(Vitamin D concentrations in Asian children aged 2 years living in England:
population survey)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7175/28

A fifth of British Asian children show signs of iron deficiency anaemia and
vitamin D deficiency, according to research by Margaret Lawson and Margaret
Thomas from the Institute of Child Health, London.

In their study in this week�s BMJ, over 600 children had their blood tested
for iron analysis and vitamin D concentration. The authors found that iron
deficiency was a significant risk factor for low vitamin D concentration.
They recommend that children with low haemoglobin concentrations should be
given vitamin D supplements and screened for rickets (abnormal bone
function caused by vitamin D deficiency).

Contact:
Dr Margaret Lawson,
Senior Lecturer in Paediatric Nutrition,
Childhood Nutrition Research Centre,
Institute of Child Health, London
e-mail: m.lawson{at}ich.ucl.ac.uk

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