A study led by Adnan Custovic from the University of Manchester analyzing two surveys ten years apart (1993 and 2003) among 9-16 yr old schoolchildren attending urban and rural schools in Ghana showed that the prevalence of both exercise-induced bronchospasm and atopy had approximately doubled over the period.A related essay puts this survey into context through a discussion of the epidemiology of asthma in Africa. [click link for full article]

These collaborations represent an ongoing strategic investment by the Commonwealth Government to ensure that Australians remain at the forefront of international advances in health and medical research, and help maintain our status as a world leader in this area. [click link for full article]

Six projects will receive a total of $223,456 in 2007, with UQ researchers having received $800,000 in funding since 2002. The projects funded include a program led by Professor David Kavanagh from UQ’s School of Medicine, who will examine ways to improve services for people with mental and substance use disorders. [click link for full article]

A report of the American Psychological Association (APA) calls attention to the increasing mental health needs of military personnel and their families - needs that are straining the current military health services system. Many service personnel and their family members are going without mental health care because of the limited availability of such care and the barriers to accessing care. [click link for full article]

A number of patients with chest pain are investigated for coronary artery disease, but are found to have “normal-looking” coronary arteries. In a policy paper in PLoS Medicine, Raffaele Bugiardini (University of Bologna, Italy) and colleagues discuss the research evidence on how best to treat patients with chest pain and normal angiograms.Citation: Bugiardini R, Badimon L, Collins P, Erbel R, Fox K, et al. [click link for full article]

A study funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Sir Halley Stewart Trust has shown that opening windows can be more effective than using mechanical ventilation at reducing the risk of transmission of airborne diseases such as tuberculosis (TB).The spread of airborne infections in institutional settings such as hospitals, waiting rooms, prisons and homeless shelters is an important public health problem. [click link for full article]

A breath test can successfully pick up lung cancer with “moderate accuracy” even in the early stages, reveals research published ahead of print in Thorax.It could revolutionise the way cancer is detected and potentially save lives, say the authors.The test comprises a chemical colour sensor, which detects tiny changes in the unique chemical signature of the breath of people with lung cancer. [click link for full article]

In the absence of federal and state reformoffering universal health care coverage, local coalitions can make a bigdifference for children without health insurance. That¹s according to a study by University of Southern California (USC)researchers to appear in the April issue of the American Journal of PublicHealth and now available online. [click link for full article]

The number of pregnancies among girls under age 18 in England increased from 39,593 in 2004 to 39,683 in 2005, according to figures released Friday by the Office for National Statistics, London’s Daily Telegraph reports (Womack, Daily Telegraph, 2/23). [click link for full article]

A diet rich in black soya beans could help control weight, lower fat and cholesterol levels, and aid in the prevention of diabetes, reports Lisa Richards in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI.Yellow soya has already been hailed for its cholesterol lowering capabilities; this is one of the reasons why frozen food manufacturer Birds Eye has added the beans to its range. [click link for full article]