Infants are sometimes treated for gastroesophageal reflux with acid-suppressing medicines, but a new study suggests that they may increase the risk for bone fracture later in childhood. Researchers studied records of more than 850,000 children up to 14 years old. About 97,000 had received acid suppression medicines in their first year of life. They found that compared with those who did not get them, those given proton pump inhibitors before age 1 were at a 23% increased risk for fracture. There was a 31% increased risk when the infants took H2 antagonists at the same time. The risk increased with longer use but did not rise when H2 antagonists were used alone.
Over 936 million people suffer sleep apnea
More than 936 million people have obstructive sleep apnea — the disease's first prevalence update in more than a decade — according to the Lancet Respiratory Medicine. This figure is nearly 10 times greater than the World Health Organization's 2007 estimate of more than 100 million, renewing calls for physicians to step up their efforts to screen, diagnose, and prescribe treatment for those who unknowingly suffer. "More than 85 percent of sleep apnea patients are undiagnosed, meaning hundreds of millions repeatedly suffocate instead of getting healthy, restful sleep each night," said Dr. Carlos M. Nunez. "This raises their risk of workplace and roadway accidents, and can contribute to other significant health problems."
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