Swapping Spit Quadruples Risk of Meningitis
Reported February 13, 2006
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — It may be a favorite pastime for teens with raging hormones, but a new study shows kissing can be bad for your health. Specifically, intimate kissing (also known as Frenching or mouth kissing) can quadruple a teen’s risk of catching meningitis.
Researchers in England wanted to know which behaviors increased the risk of meningococcal disease in adolescents. The bacterium meningococcus causes meningococcal meningitis — an infection marked by swelling of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. It’s a life-threatening disease most common in early childhood and adolescence.
Investigators polled teenagers between ages 15 and 19 about their personal behaviors. The teens were all admitted into a hospital between 1999 and 2000 with meningitis.
They found teens with a previously diagnosed case of meningitis were most at risk of being diagnosed with the disease again. Other factors increasing risks were intimate kissing with multiple partners and frequently visiting friends’ homes. Being vaccinated for meningitis significantly lowered the risk of contracting the disease.
Researchers say calling for adolescents to be mindful of their risk factors could reduce the spread of meningococcal meningitis. They believe focus should now be placed on developing more effective meningococcal vaccines.
SOURCE: British Medical Journal, published online Feb. 9, 2006