The New England journal of medicine
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The life expectancy of people with mental retardation is shorter than that of the general population. Exact estimates of the length of survival for mentally retarded persons at especially high risk are not available, however. ⋯ Severe mental retardation is associated with a decrease in life expectancy, particularly for those who were immobile.
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Children with asthma commonly have positive skin tests for inhaled allergens, and in the United Kingdom the majority of older children with asthma are sensitized to the house-dust mite. In a cohort of British children at risk for allergic disease because of family history, we investigated prospectively from 1978 to 1989 the relation between exposure to the house-dust mite allergen (Der p I) and the development of sensitization and asthma. ⋯ In addition to genetic factors, exposure in early childhood to house-dust mite allergens is an important determinant of the subsequent development of asthma.
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Coagulase-negative staphylococci are now the chief cause of bacteremia in neonatal intensive care units. To investigate potential risk factors for this nosocomial infection, we conducted a case--control study among 882 infants treated in two neonatal intensive care units during 1982. ⋯ The risk of coagulase-negative staphylococcal bacteremia in infants in neonatal intensive care units can be attributed primarily to the intravenous administration of lipid emulsions. Since lipids are critical for the nutritional support of premature infants, further studies are needed to examine the pathogenesis and prevention of lipid-associated bacteremia.