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	news bulletins october 2003

• Infants fed cereal may have an increased risk of diabetes
• October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• P.O.V.'s Youth Views Institute 3-Day Workshop November 14-16, 2003
• Safe Minds Analysis of Denmark Data Finds Dramatic Drop in Autism Rates After Thimerosal Removal from Vaccines, Finds Flaw in Study Appearing in JAMA, Invalidating its Conclusions
• Lamaze International Kicks Off Worldwide Campaign to Promote Normal Birth

Infants fed cereal may have an increased risk of diabetes

Infants with a susceptibility to diabetes and exposed to cereal foods appear to have an increased risk of islet autoimmunity which is believed to precede the development of diabetes. An article in the October 1, 2003 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association shows such dietary exposures in infancy to be implicated, though inconsistently, as a factor in the development of type 1 diabetes mellitus. The study, conducted at the University of Colorade Health Sciences Center in Denver, included 1,183 children with increased risk of type 1 DM between the years 1994 and 2002 with a four-year follow-up average.
University of Colorado researcher Jill Norris and colleagues found a fourfold increased risk in babies started on any type of cereal before the recommended period of 4-6 months, and a fivefold higher risk for those fed afterward. She said it might be that introducing solid food too soon causes the production of antibodies that destroy insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

In a related article from researchers at the Diabetes Research Institute in Munich Germany timing of exposures to breast milk, formula, solid foods, and gluten-containing foods were examined as an associated risk of developing antibodies to islet cells in children. Their study followed 1,610 newborn children of parents with type 1 DM.

"Early introduction of gluten-containing foods was found to be a risk factor for the development of type 1 DM-associated autoantibodies in children of parents with type 1 DM," the authors write. "Exposure to dietary gluten before age 3 months showed a 5-fold higher risk for the development of islet autoantibodies than those who were exposed after age 3 months."

"These findings indicate that early introduction of gluten-containing foods should be avoided in children who are genetically predisposed to type 1 DM" and "... the data suggest that the prevalence of islet autoimmunity could be reduced if all families complied with infant feeding guidelines and did not introduce gluten-containing and solid foods to infants until after age 3 months. A significant effect on type 1 DM incidence may be expected if the association also is found with type 1 DM risk and if it is found in children of parents without DM." the authors wrote.

Both studies suggest that starting solid food at the wrong time could overwhelm at-risk infants' immature immune systems and trigger changes that might lead to diabetes. While the findings are far from exact proof the research could reveal environmental triggers that play a role in diabetes and other health issues.

References:
Timing of Initial Cereal Exposure in Infancy and Risk of Islet Autoimmunity (Abstract) http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/290/13/1713
When Infant Begins Eating Cereal May Be Related To Increased Risk for Developing Antibodies Associated With Diabetes www.medem.com/medlb/article_detaillb.cfm? article_ID=ZZZ121OU6LD&sub_cat=2
Timing of babies' solid food may raise diabetes risk http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/parenting /09/30/cereal.diabetes.ap/

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

During 2003 an estimated 211,300 new cases of breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States.

In 2003, the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign celebrates 18 years of educating women about breast cancer, especially the importance of detecting the disease in its earliest stages through screening mammography, clinical breast examination, and for women 20 years of age and older, breast self-examination.

The National Breast Cancer Awareness campaign is comprised of 17 national public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies working in partnership to raise awareness and provide access to screening services.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is dedicated to increasing awareness of breast cancer issues, especially the importance of early detection of breast cancer.

This message is communicated through a nationwide educational campaign to audiences including women in all age and ethnic groups, the general public, state and federal governments, women's health care professionals, and employers.

For more information on early detection, screening and how you can get involved in National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, go to the NBACM website at www.nbcam.org

P.O.V.'s Youth Views Institute 3-Day Workshop November 14-16, 2003

Are you interested in changing your community? Are you interested in using independent documentaries to do it? If the answer is YES, you want to join P.O.V.'s Youth Views Institute!

"This was a well-planned and packed weekend of exciting workshops and useful information about media, independent media, how to read media, how to use it to further social change. I hope to use the skills I have learned from the Youth View Training Institute to jumpstart my own actions and organizing events that promote social change in the future. These are skills that I highly value. Thank you." - Youth Views Institute 2002 participant Jennifer Tan

P.O.V.'s Youth Views is a peer-led initiative, offering new models for working with youth (ages 16-21) and the media for civic engagement that can be replicated by youth-serving and civic-minded organizations across the country. Begun as a pilot project in 2000, Youth Views works with youth-run and youth-serving organizations, with a particular emphasis ongroups working on behalf of communities of color and other marginalized communities, to present screening events nationwide and training and facilitation for youth in the New York City area.

P.O.V./American Documentary, Inc., a national non-profit organization dedicated to leveraging the potential of independent media in public life. Their core activity is P.O.V. (a cinematic term for "point of view"), PBS's award-winning showcase for independent non-fiction film. Since 1988, P.O.V. has pioneered methods for developing collaborative strategic engagement activities around socially relevant content on television, online, educationally and in community settings.

The Youth Views Institute comprises a three-day session of workshops on critical thinking and media literacy skills as applied to independent and commercial media; diversity training, including an introduction to the "-isms" (e.g., racism, sexism, ageism) and deconstructing socially reinforced power structures; group facilitation skills in orienting discussion toward discovery, solution seeking, and next steps; and community organizing, including outreach methods and event planning and promotion. This year's Institute is produced in partnership with The Esperanza Peace & Justice Center, Project Reach and the American Indian Community House.

Presenters include P.O.V. staff, independent media artists, academics, and community organizers, including representatives from Youth Views partnering organizations from around the country.

The current list of presenters and performers includes Andolan: Organizing South Asian Workers, Hima B. (P.O.V.), Prudence Browne (Beyondmedia), Cetliztli Nauh Campa, Faye Chiang (Project Reach), Hortensia Colorado and Elvira Colorado (Coatlicue Theatre),Tracyann Cummings (Project Reach), Sheila Dauer (Amnesty International), Monroe France (New York University), Jennie Jeddry (New School University), Frank Mok (Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS), Don Kao (Project Reach), Eliza Licht (P.O.V.), Cynthia Lopez (P.O.V.), Cara Mertes (P.O.V.), Jon Roman (Downtown Community Television Center), J.T.Takagi (Third World Newsreel), Jennifer Tan (Project Reach), Irene Villasenor (P.O.V.), and Margaret Yellow Wolf Tarrant (American Indian Community House).

Who should apply? Young people (14-21 years old) who are students, organizers and media makers interested in meeting progressive, like-minded peers are invited to submit an appplication. They encourage people from diverse backgrounds, especially those who identify as people of color, immigrants, working class, queer and transgendered youth. Organizations and schools can recommend up to three young people to the Youth Views Institute. Participation is limited to 20 and applications are also open to out-of-state youth (ages 18-21). Meals will be provided and there are no fees, but participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation and accommodations.

In reviewing applications the following things are sought:

Commitment to attending all days of the Institute.
Passion for social justice and social change.
Willingness to work in and create an environment that is anti-sexist, anti-racist, anti-xenophobic, anti-homophobic, and is a transgendered-positive environment.
Able to share resources from the Youth Views Institute with their communities.
Thinkers and problem-solvers.
Interest in using independent media.
Additional information, applications, recommendation forms and fact sheets are available on-line. Please contact Irene Villaseor at 212-989-8121 x319 or by email to villasenor@pov.orgif you have any questions. The deadline for applications is Friday October 17, 2003.

Safe Minds Analysis of Denmark Data Finds Dramatic Drop in Autism Rates After Thimerosal Removal from Vaccines, Finds Flaw in Study Appearing in JAMA, Invalidating its Conclusions

In the October 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association Danish investigators reported the results of their "population-based cohort study" of 467450 Danish children in which they examined the association between thimerosal and autism. The conclusion? "The results do not support a causal relationship between childhood vaccination with thimerosal-containing vaccines and development of autistic-spectrum disorders, " stated the investigators. However, a follow-up analysis of the Denmark data by Safe Minds, a non-profit autism organization, found the exact opposite - that Autism rates dramatically dropped after removal of Thimerosal from vaccines.

In the JAMA report the investigators conveyed their reviewed of Danish Civil Registration System records of children born in Denmark between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 1996. The only thimerosal-containing vaccine given in Denmark's vaccination program since 1970 was the whole-cell pertusssis vaccine, released and distributed by Statens Serum Institut. Thimerosal was removed from the production of this same vaccine and that reformulation was given to children up until 1997 when it was then replaced with an acellular vaccine. Children who a received thimerosal-free vaccine after one or two thimerosal-containing vaccines were classified as receiving thimerosal-containing vaccines. Comparasions were made with the autism and other autistic-spectrum disorder diagnoses which were recorded by the Danish Psychiatric Central register. According to their report of the data there was no evidence of an association between the vaccine containing thimerosal and autism in children who received the same vaccines thimerosal-free, nor was there a dose response association between autism and the amount of ethylmercury received.

Is that the final say? Not at all. Safe Minds released an analysis of the autism registry data from Denmark that showed the rate of autism dropped sharply after removal of thimerosal from infant vaccines in that country in 1992. Their findings showed the rate of autism declined from an incidence of 1 in 500 prior to 1992 to 1 in 1,500 today. The analysis also uncovered a flaw in the methodology of Danish investigators publishing in the October issue of JAMA (Hviid et al), who utilized the same Danish registry data and concluded that autism rates in Denmark rose after thimerosal removal from vaccines. "In our review of the Danish data we identified a flaw which resulted in a substantial loss of autism case records from the registry which essentially renders the findings from the JAMA study by Hviid and colleagues invalid", said Sallie Bernard, executive director of Safe Minds. "The registry allows 10-25% of diagnosed autism cases to be lost from its records each year. The effect of this loss is such that the records will disappear from older age groups to a much greater degree than from younger age groups in any given registry year."

The Hviid findings are based on finding fewer older children in their 2000 registry cohort than younger ones. Since the older children received thimerosal vaccines and the younger ones did not, Hviid falsely concluded that thimerosal is not a factor in autism. The Safe Minds analysis shows instead that the decline is likely due to the loss of records of older children from the registry records, rather than a true decline in autism rates in the older group.

Safe Minds reanalyzed the Denmark registry data and used an alternative method to avoid the record removal bias. The analysis looked at same-age children - 5-9 year olds - but from different registry years: 1992, when all of the children received thimerosal-containing vaccines, and 2002, when none of the children received vaccines with thimerosal. After adjusting for the lack of outpatient records in the 1992 registry, the analysis found a 2.3 higher number of autism cases among the 1992 thimerosal-exposed group relative to the 2002 non-exposed group.

The analysis then determined an autism incidence rate for the non-thimerosal group of 1 in 1,500, while the thimerosal-exposed group had an incidence of 1 in 500, a 3-fold increase. The higher figure is comparable to the 1 in 500 incidence level for core autism recently found in England and the 1 in 250 incidence level recently calculated for the US. The thimerosal exposure level and timing in pre-1992 Denmark was comparable to that in England, while that for the US was somewhat more aggressive.

The Safe Minds analysis also revealed how small shifts in study design using the Denmark data can result in large changes to the results. The volatility stems from the many changes that the data set has gone through in the past decade. This makes the data set especially prone to possible bias.

"In the Hviid study in JAMA we can clearly see how the data was misinterpreted so a conclusion could be drawn to clear thimerosal from any role in autism," said Lyn Redwood, president of Safe Minds. "This misinterpretation is not surprising given the authors' employment with the manufacturer and promoter of vaccines in Denmark, Statens Serum Institut. This conflict of interest should have been stated by JAMA."

Safe Minds is calling for a complete analysis of the Denmark autism registry data set by independent, unbiased epidemiologists who have no involvement in vaccine development, production, promotion, or administration.

The complete Safe Minds analysis is available at www.safeminds.org

Lamaze International Kicks Off Worldwide Campaign to Promote Normal Birth

Lamaze International recently announced that it is kicking off a worldwide campaign to promote normal birth. The organization, founded in 1960, is launching this initiative to educate women, childbirth educators and healthcare professionals about the benefits of safeguarding the normal, natural process of birth.
The Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth, the centerpiece of this campaign, is a new online resource center at www.normalbirth.lamaze.org now available to healthcare professionals, childbirth educators and parents who are committed to promoting, protecting and supporting normal birth.

The Institute is designed to address Lamaze International's Six Care Practices, adapted from the World Health Organization.

Labor begins on its own
Freedom of movement throughout labor
Continuous labor support
No routine interventions
Non-supine (e.g. side-lying, upright) positions for birth
No separation of mother and baby after birth
The Six Care Practices are detailed in position papers that will be unveiled through the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth at Lamaze International's Annual Conference in Albuquerque, N.M. today. These evidence-based papers will be stored in the Institute with other reference materials that support normal birth.

Birth in the 21st century is characterized by interventions designed to start, continue and end labor by routine management that "expects trouble," in stark contrast to allowing the normal, natural physiologic process of birth to unfold. The induction rate has reached 44 percent (Listening to Mothers survey, 2002) with more than half of the reported labors stimulated to move more quickly. More than 60 percent of U.S. women have epidural anesthesia during labor and almost 10 percent of vaginal births were assisted with forceps or vacuum extractors. More than 90 percent of women have fetal monitoring throughout labor. More than one-fourth of all mothers gave birth by cesarean in 2002, the highest rate in U.S. history (National Vital Statistics, 2003). Research suggests that this medically managed birth not only does not improve outcomes, but also increases risks for mother and baby.

"The safety of birth is enhanced by respecting the normal, natural physiologic process of birth and not interfering unless there are compelling medical indications," said Lamaze International President Barbara Hotelling.

Lamaze believes the Institute is another way to continue its strong history of collaboration with organizations and individuals that share the Lamaze mission to promote, support and protect normal birth. Lamaze is calling on those who share this mission to join the organization in this worldwide effort.

Lamaze International, based in Washington, DC, envisions a world of confident women choosing normal birth. Visit Lamaze at www.lamaze.org for more information on books and classes that support normal birth. The papers on the Six Care Practices are available through the Lamaze Institute for Normal Birth at www.normalbirth.lamaze.org.

Contact: Lynne Harris, 505-843-2723 or 202-367-2349 lharris@smithbucklin.com

Source: Lamaze International