Late speech no cause for worry

In good news to parents of late talkers, an Australian study shows a slow start on language is unlikely to have lingering effects on kids' mental health.

Researchers followed late talkers into their teens and found the kids were no more likely to be shy, depressed or aggressive than their peers as they grew up.

That means a "wait-and-see" approach may be just fine for toddlers with a language lag, as long as they develop typically in other areas, the Australian team reports in the journal Pediatrics.

"This data is reassuring," says Julia Irwin, who studies language development at Haskins Laboratories, a non-profit research institute in New Haven, Connecticut.

"But parents will need to pay attention to other troubling symptoms of either psychosocial problems or language and reading problems."

One expert, who was not linked to the study, points out that it would have been helpful to know when the slower kids caught up with their typically developing peers.

"'Wait and see' may be okay at 2 years, but there should be a critical time after which language delays should be treated," says child psychologist Gail Ross, adding that age 2-and-a-half or 3 might be appropriate.

"The crucial question is, at what point is 'wait and see' no longer a valid approach?" says Ross, of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.

Too many cuppas make you jumpy

At a certain point coffee no longer works as a pick-me-up but instead leads to a loss in concentration as well as increased nervousness and irritability.

According to Lucie Nusbaum from Germany's Association of Nutritionists, once this breaking point has been reached, further cups of coffee no longer lead to improved concentration or performance.

Instead the contrary occurs, which is the clearest difference between coffee consumption and suffering from an addiction. Alcoholics, for example, experience the desired effects from alcohol with every extra drop.

The so-called coffee addiction is no more than a habit, according to the nutrition expert. Despite this reality, many people suffer from withdrawal headaches if they don't get the required amount of coffee in a day.

Coffee gives a short-term boost to the body's blood pressure and when this boost fails to arrive this can affect the head.

If a person wants to give up coffee due to a sensitive stomach, for instance, then he or she will have to wait some time until feeling fully normal again.

"I have to live with the withdrawal headaches, which can last a couple of days," explains Nusbaum, who doesn't want to give up drinking coffee entirely.

"It's an effective way for people with low blood pressure to get up and running in the day," she says.

A cup first thing in the morning can give a boost that lasts the whole day although the effects only last between 10 and 30 minutes for people with normal blood pressure.

"The general rule is that coffee works quickly, for a short length of time and the effects wear off," Nusbaum concludes.

Sedentary women at risk of blood clots

Lying around for long stretches outside of work doubles the risk of dangerous blood clots in the lungs, according to a study among women.

The study looked at the risk of pulmonary embolism - blood clots in the lungs that typically arise from a vein constriction in the legs - among 69,950 female nurses over an 18-year period.

Previous research has highlighted a number of factors for this condition, including age, immobility on long-haul flights, obesity, smoking and hypertension.

The new research suggests that a sedentary lifestyle can be added to the list.

The risk more than doubled in women who spent more than 41 hours a week sitting down outside the workplace compared to those who were seated for less than 10 hours per week.

Results held even after age, weight and tobacco consumption were taken into account.

The study, published online by the British Medical Journal, is led by Christopher Kabrhel at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Researchers point out that the mean age of the women studied was 55, leaving open the question of whether younger women would be subject to the same risks.

Reuters-DAP