CategoryEmily Oster [ParentData]

• Alcohol is a significant contributor to death, with liver disease, alcohol poisoning, and drunk-driving-related deaths being the most common causes.
• We do not have good data on the relationship between alcohol and health at lower levels of drinking due to observational data bias.
• The most comprehensive study of the link between alcohol and long-term health was published in The Lancet in 2018, which showed an upward-trending relationship between alcohol and colon/rectal cancer, and a dip initially between light drinking and heart health.
• The New York Times article on alcohol last week suggested that five years of drinking two alcoholic beverages a day can damage the liver, but this is not supported by data.
• A randomized trial of light drinking was shut down due to funding from alcohol manufacturers.
• Despite the lack of evidence that alcohol is good for health, it can still be enjoyed in moderation.
• If one feels like their alcohol consumption is too much, it is a time to re-evaluate.

Published January 26, 2023
Visit ParentData to read Emily Oster’s original post Alcohol and Health

• Fever is a body’s response to infection and is not necessarily a sign of a worse illness.
• Treating fever does not affect recovery in a positive or negative way.
• Treat fever if it makes your child feel better, and not if they seem fine.
• If a child is totally unconsolable or is very hard to wake up or hasn’t been peeing at all, this is when you worry.
• Ibuprofen seems to work better on fever in randomized trials.

Published January 23, 2023
Visit ParentData to read Emily Oster’s original post Fevers 101

• Constipation in kids is very common, affecting 10-30% of children over the course of childhood.
• Symptoms include frequency of bowel movements less than three per week, fecal incontinence, large stools, painful defecation, and withholding behaviors.
• Causes include introducing solid foods, toilet training, and school-related anxiety.
• Treatment involves clearing any existing stool blockage, using laxatives and behavior modification, and increasing fiber and water intake.
• Miralax is the medication of choice, as it has been shown to be more effective than a placebo and other alternatives.
• Side effects are mostly related to digestion, and there is no evidence that it causes behavioral problems.

Published January 16, 2023. Visit ParentData to read Emily Oster’s original post [What To Do About Chronic Constipation]

• A new paper suggests that gas stoves are responsible for 12.7% of childhood asthma cases, but existing literature on the relationship between gas stoves and asthma is mixed.
• The paper’s estimates are based on an assumption from existing literature that gas stove ownership increases asthma rates by about 30%.
• Studies have found positive correlations between asthma and gas stove exposure, but the effects are a bit noisy and do not necessarily paint a consistent picture.
• Cross-sectional data at the state level does not suggest a strong relationship between gas stove ownership and childhood asthma rates.
• Replacing gas stoves is not likely to be necessary for most people, but those with children with (or at risk for) asthma may want to consider it.
• If not replacing the gas stove, running the hood fan and using a HEPA filter with an activated carbon filter can help reduce nitrogen dioxide levels.

Published January 11, 2023. Visit ParentData to read Emily Oster’s original post.