Health Spectator

A new study from the University of Michigan published in the November issue of Pediatrics found that children aged 9 to 12 who sleep less than nine hours a night are more likely to be overweight. Their risk of gaining weight was accompanied by other negative risk factors such as moodiness and a lack of alertness in school, according to primary study author Dr. Julie Lumeng.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that elementary school children receive 10 to 12 hours of sleep a night. Getting less sleep not only affects the children’s tendency to feel energetic and play outdoors, it also affects their hormone levels, which can lead to increased fat storage and an impaired tolerance for glucose. These same risk factors have been shown by other research to lead to increased weight and a tendency toward diabetes and heart disease in later life.

Patients taking Avandia, an oral diabetes drug from GlaxoSmithKline, proved 43 percent more likely to have heart attacks according to a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Higher death rates accompanied the greater heart attack rates, reported researcher Steven Nissen, MD, chair of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, along with associate Kathy Wolski, MPH.

Drugs used to treat diabetes are supposed to help lower blood sugar, which in turn is supposed to lessen the likelihood of heart disease, not increase it. Therefore the findings, if confirmed by other investigators, will likely curtail the popularity of GlaxoSmithKline’s number two drug in terms of sales.

The researchers re-examined existing data from previous studies to uncover the previously unnoticed dangers. In that regard, their work was similar to recent reports on Fosamax, also reported in the NEJM. Nissen in particular has uncovered such previously overlooked problems in the past, having been the first to question the safety of Merck’s pain killer Vioxx, subsequently withdrawn from the market.

Glaxo is disputing the findings, which are under review by the Food and Drug Adminstration.

Patients currently taking Avandia are urged to talk to their doctors before making any changes in their dosage regimen.