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Male infants are more likely to be born by spontaneous preterm birth than are females, which is bourne out in laboratory studies as well, found researchers from Drexel University in Philadelphia. The cause of preterm birth is mostly unknown. But the researchers reported in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, that males were more likely to have umbilical cord blood with evidence of bacterial infection.

0 to 10

More family meals may help keep kids slim

Spending more time around the family dinner table — and less in front of TV — can help prevent kids from getting fat. Among 8,000 children followed from kindergarten to third grade, those who watched the most TV were at the greatest risk of being overweight, found researchers from the University of Missouri, Columbia. And the fewer meals they ate each week with their families, the more likely they were to put on excess pounds, they reported in Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

10 to 20

Intervention can protect teens from skin cancer

A collaborative approach involving parents, sports coaches, teachers, health professionals and youngsters may motivate teens to better protect themselves from the sun’s UV rays, and therefore skin cancer, say researchers from Dartmouth Medical School, New Hampshire. Previous research showed that children are less likely to use sunscreen or other sun-protective measures as they reach high-school age and young adulthood.

20 to 40

The pill may raise odds of having allergic kids

Mothers who have previously used oral contraceptives are more likely to have children with nasal allergies, report researchers from Kuopio University, Finland. The researchers reported in Allergy that compared to children whose mothers had not used oral contraceptives, those who had taken the pill within a year of becoming pregnant had a 67 per cent greater likelihood of having a child with nasal allergy. This was particularly true of families where parents had allergies, and the association was stronger in boys.

40 to 60

Women may not do as well as men in stroke rehab

Women seem to have less favorable results than men when they undergo rehabilitation after a stroke. Men and women had a similar neurological recovery, found researchers from Fondazione IRCCS Santa Lucia, Rome. However, men had better functional recovery, they wrote in Stroke. More men could independently undertake stair climbing and activities of daily living and they had a higher mobility score than women when they leave hospital.

60 and above

Alzheimer gene kicks in only in old age: study

A gene that predisposes its carriers to Alzheimer’s disease appears to kick in only in old age and has nothing to do with mental declines that are sometimes seen early in life, Australian researchers report in Neuropsychology. The gene, APOE4, does not appear active at all until very late in life, said the researchers after evaluating the cognitive powers of 6,560 people over 20 years.