WEDNESDAY, June 25 (HealthDay News) -- Infants who have a certain genetic mutation are more likely to develop eczema if there is a cat in the home, a new study suggests.

The idea that genetic mutations associated with a disease can be triggered by environmental exposures is not a new one, the researchers from Denmark and Great Britain noted.

"It's more of an example of a mechanism that's likely to happen between genes and the environment. It's sort of proof of a concept, or an idea that's been around for years," said study author Dr. Hans Bisgaard, of the Danish Pediatric Asthma Center at the University of Copenhagen. "You can have a gene for many diseases but never have the disease if you aren't exposed to triggers."

In the study, infants with the FLG mutation were studied in two groups, a high-risk group in Denmark and a representative sample in Great Britain. Children with the mutation were twice as likely to develop eczema during their first year of life. Those with the mutation and a cat in their home from the time of their birth had a further increased risk of having eczema. The study was published in the June issue of PLoS Medicine.

Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, begins in the first year of life for 65 percent of the people who have the condition, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. About 20 percent of all infants and children have symptoms.

Bisgaard explained that the study did not determine how exposure to cats triggered the eczema, but it did demonstrate that the eczema was not an allergic reaction to cats.

"It's probably too early to tell parents to go out and shoot the cat," Bisgaard added, because the finding needs to be replicated. "What is often misleading is that people try to learn some guidance from every new scientific research study. I wouldn't take much guidance from this. I would see it as proof of a concept, the right theory we're working around."

Bisgaard said there are a number of genes that predict asthma and allergies. In the foreseeable future, it is likely "we will be able to profile a child for the risk of these diseases."

In addition to the need to confirm the results before condemning cats, other factors besides the presence of cats need to be considered as potential triggers, added Dr. Marc Riedl, section head for allergy and immunology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. "The cat ownership or exposure could potentially be a surrogate for something else that wasn't measured," he said. For example, there could be a fungal exposure associated with cats, rather than the cats, that sets off the skin reaction, Riedl explained.

Riedl agreed the importance of the study is that "it once again demonstrates gene and environmental interactions in a medical condition. This is another example of how the genetics of an individual convey some susceptibility to environmental exposures."

More information

There's more on atopic dermatitis at National Institutes of Health.

THURSDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Adequate sun exposure and vitamin D levels may play an important role in helping to prevent type 1 diabetes in children, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, analyzed type 1 diabetes incidence rates and found that populations living at or near the equator -- where there is abundant sunshine -- have lower rates of the disease than populations at higher latitudes, where there is less sunlight.

Sunlight exposure causes the skin to produce vitamin D, which is also available through food and supplements.

"This is the first study, to our knowledge, to show that higher serum levels of vitamin D are associated with reduced incidence rates of type 1 diabetes worldwide," Cedric F. Garland, professor of family and preventive medicine, said in a prepared statement.

"The research suggests that childhood type 1 diabetes may be preventable with a modest intake of vitamin D3 (1,000 IU/day), ideally with five to 10 minutes of sunlight around noontime, when good weather allows," Garland said.

"Infants less than a year old should not be given more than 400 IU per day without consulting a doctor. Hats and dark glasses are a good idea to wear when in the sun at any age, and can be used if the child will tolerate them," he advised.

The study was published online Thursday in the journal Diabetologia.

Garland and his colleagues called for public health action to reduce widespread vitamin D inadequacy in U.S. children.

"This study presents strong epidemiological evidence to suggest that we may be able to prevent new cases of type 1 diabetes. By preventing this disease, we would prevent its many devastating consequences," Garland said.

Type 1 diabetes is the second most common chronic childhood disease, behind asthma. About 1.5 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, and about 15,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. The disease is the main cause of blindness in young and middle-aged adults and is among the leading causes of kidney failure and transplants in that age group, according to a news release about the study.

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about type 1 diabetes  .

FRIDAY, May 30 (HealthDay News) -- The number of young adults without health insurance rose again in 2006, so 38 percent of high school graduates and 34 percent of college graduates will spend some time uninsured in the year after graduation, a new report shows.

"We've been tracking this since 2003, and every year we've done the study, the number of uninsured has grown," said report co-author Sara Collins, an assistant vice president at the Commonwealth Fund.

There were 13.7 million Americans aged 19 to 29 without health insurance in 2006, up from 13.3 million in 2005, according to the latest federal data, the report said.

"There are a couple of transition periods when you turn 19," Collins said. "Many health insurance programs won't cover you as a child, and also when you graduate from college."

Public programs such as Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program end coverage at the age of 19. "Voluntary employer-provided insurance is tied to the ability to get a job, and the jobs available to young people tend to be those that don't carry benefits," Collins said.

While young people are less likely to need health care, "they do use the health-care system," she said. "Losing coverage at this time can affect your ability to transition effectively into a situation of health care."

And when young people do require health care, it can be because of a major accident, in which costs can be "catastrophic," Collins said. "And it is never a good idea to be without health insurance, no matter what your age."

Two-thirds of the young adults who went without health insurance for some time went without needed care because of cost, the report said. Half reported problems paying medical bills or said they were paying off medical debts over time.

Some action is being taken to remedy the situation, Collins said. Twenty states have passed legislation requiring insurance companies to extend coverage of minors after age 18 or 19. The age limits in state laws range from 24 in Delaware, Indiana and South Dakota to 30 in New Jersey.

On the federal level, a law has been proposed that would have dependent children of government workers covered to age 25.

Extending the age limit for federal programs such as Medicaid would have the greatest impact, because such programs cover poorer people, Collins said. "This is a problem facing people at all income levels, but the largest number of uninsured are in lower income families," she said. Raising the age limit for those programs would cover up to 7.6 million uninsured young adults in families with incomes below 200 percent of poverty, the report said.

States could help by having the colleges and universities that they fund offer insurance to students, both full time and part time, the report said.

The issue calls for a public-private approach, said Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, a group in Washington, D.C., that represents 1,300 insurers covering 200 million Americans.

The organization has made several proposals about better coverage for younger adults, including expansion of Medicaid to cover all members of a family, Zerkelbach said.

"We need to make health-care coverage more affordable," he said. "That has to be done by reducing the underlying costs of medical care."

More information

Learn about Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

FRIDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- Children think other youngsters who wear glasses look smarter and are more honest than those who don't wear glasses, according to a U.S. study of 80 children.

In addition, the researchers found that children tend not to judge peers who wear glasses in terms of appearance, potential as a playmate, or likely athletic abilities.

These findings may help comfort children as they're fitted for their first pair of glasses, lead author Jeffrey Walline, an assistant professor of optometry at Ohio State University, suggested in a prepared statement.

"If the impression of looking smarter will appeal to a child, I would use that information and tell the child it is based on research. Most kids getting glasses for the first time are sensitive about how they're going to look. Some kids simply refuse to wear glasses, because they think they'll look ugly," Walline said.

The study included 42 girls and 38 boys, aged 6 to 10. Of those, 30 wore glasses, 34 had at least one sibling with glasses, and almost two-thirds had at least one parent who wore glasses. The study participants were shown 24 pairs of pictures of children. The children in each pair of pictures differed by gender and ethnicity, and each pair of pictures included one child with glasses and one child without glasses.

The children were asked a series of questions about each pair of photos. About two-thirds said children wearing glasses looked smarter than those without glasses, and 57 percent said children wearing glasses looked more honest.

The results suggest the media portrayals that associate glasses with intelligence may be reinforcing a stereotype that even young children accept, Walline said.

The children's answers to other questions about who they'd rather play with, who looked better at sports, who looked more shy, and who was better looking weren't consistent enough for the researchers to derive any solid conclusions.

What was clear was that the children didn't automatically consider kids with glasses to be unattractive.

"The concern about attractiveness with glasses seems to be more internal to a particular child rather than an indicator of how they'll feel about other people who wear glasses," Walline said.

The study was published in the May issue of Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics.

More information

The American Academy of Ophthalmology has more about eyeglasses for children and infants  .