Health Report: Apr. 20, 1998

THE GOOD NEWS

FOLATE FOR ALL A new recommendation for women of childbearing age: take a daily supplement of 400 micro-grams of folic acid, a B vitamin, to prevent birth defects. A separate study finds that eating cereal fortified with 400 mcg of folic acid can lower a man’s blood levels of homocysteine, an amino acid linked to heart disease.

BAG IT Ford plans to offer side air bags on all models. That should put a dent in the 7,000 deaths from side-impact crashes each year.

ATTENTION! Though everyone seems to know a child with attention- deficit disorder, a review of 20 years of data concludes the problem is not overdiagnosed–and the drug Ritalin is not overprescribed.

Sources: National Academy of Sciences and New England Journal of Medicine; Ford Motor; Journal of the A.M.A.

THE BAD NEWS

CEASE C? Just 500 mg a day of vitamin C, a typical supplement dose, may be too much, suggests a British study. Taken at this level, the vitamin seems to cause genetic damage to part of the DNA. For now, you may be better off sticking to low doses–or getting C from food.

HORMONES OF A DILEMMA Adding progestin to estrogen-replacement therapy may weaken estrogen’s healthy effect on the heart. But estrogen alone may raise the risk of uterine cancer.

O YE OF TOO MUCH FAITH Research on sick kids who died after parents spurned doctors for faith healers finds traditional medical care could easily have saved 80%.

Sources: Nature; Circulation; Pediatrics

–By Janice M. Horowitz