VITAL SIGNS

Unhelpful attitude

Women who suffer vaginismus, the involuntary spasm of the outer third of the vagina, making penetrative sex impossible, find their GPs unhelpful, says a study in the journal Sexual and Marital Therapy.

While most women went first to their GP, 69.7 per cent of the 89 women in the survey said the GP was the least helpful. Others consulted were sex and psychotherapists, counsellors, gynaecologists, family planning experts and friends. Satisfaction may have depended on the degree to which women thought they needed emotional support, while doctors thought they had a medical problem.

Trouble spots

Sunburn freckles in children may indicate an increased risk of skin cancer in later life, Canadian researchers write in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. The survey of 1,592 schoolchildren found those with sunburn freckles had a similar pigmentation profile to adults in whom melanoma develops.

High iron, low weight

Overusing iron supplements in pregnancy may be linked to premature delivery and low birthweight, a report in Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin suggests. Supplements are sometimes prescribed in pregnancy to raise haemoglobin levels and avoid anaemia, but a study of 153,602 cases has found women with high haemoglobin levels are more than seven times more likely to deliver a low birthweight baby.