The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, are good news for parents and children, said study co-author Dr. Guillermo Montes of the Children's Institute in Rochester, New York.

Raising a child with autism is challenging and stressful, he told Reuters Health, but it's also reassuring to find that mothers are doing well in many ways.

It's possible, Montes noted, that mothers of autistic children have something to teach the rest of us about maintaining a good parent-child relationship in the face of serious challenges.

Autism is a developmental brain disorder that impairs, to varying degrees, a child's ability to communicate, interact socially and form relationships.

Some past studies have suggested that parents of autistic children have more marital strain and often feel they lack emotional support. However, many of those studies involved families seen at specialty clinics or who belonged to autism societies, which means they may not be representative of all families affected by autism.

So Montes and colleague Dr. Jill S. Halterman used data from a nationally representative survey that included mothers of 61,772 children ages 4 to 17. Of these, 364 had autism.

Overall, mothers of autistic children were more than twice as likely to say their mental and emotional health was fair or poor -- 17 percent, versus 7 percent of other women.

However, these mothers also showed "some remarkable strengths," according to Montes and Halterman. In particular, they were more likely than other women to say they had a very close relationship with their child, and that they were coping well with the demands of parenting.

Mothers of children with autism were also less likely to say they got angry at their child, and they were similar to other mothers in how they dealt with family disagreements.

"Perhaps there is something mothers of children with autism can teach us about how to maintain relationships with children in the context of high stress and poor social skills," Montes added.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, May 2007.

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People still ignore skin cancer warnings

Last Updated: 2007-05-10 14:42:36 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Many people still equate a tan with beauty and are not protecting themselves from the sun's harmful rays, according to a new survey.

Nearly one third of adults questioned in a national poll said they did not use sunscreen and 71 percent of people who used products to protect their skin do not apply them until after going out in the sun.

"Despite all the messages about the importance of protecting from the sun, there is still a significant subset of the population that doesn't use sunscreen and are exposed to the sun, which increases the risk of skin cancers," said Dr. Craig Eichler, a skin cancer specialist in Naples, Florida.

Many people presume that it is only sun exposure early in life that can lead to skin cancer but Eichler said it is not true.

"It is never too late to protect oneself. It can still decrease the risk of cancer," he added in an interview.

The survey of 2,385 adults showed that nearly half of the people who applied sunscreen said they were concerned about getting skin cancer.

"It is estimated that about one in five Americans will develop skin cancer," according to Eichler.

He added that although a tan is thought to be beautiful, it is damage to skin cells that induces a tan.

Cancer experts, researchers and doctors have been warning the public for years about the danger of too much sun exposure and the link to skin cancer.

The majority of skin cancers are basal cell carcinomas, which are not considered life-threatening. Malignant melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. It accounts for roughly 10 percent of reported cases of the illness and can spread throughout the body, forming secondary tumors.

Doctors advise people to limit their exposure to the sun, to wear hats and clothing and to do outdoor activities early or late in the day when the sun's rays are not as strong.

Eichler said typical sunscreen products need to be applied to the skin before going out because the sun's rays can start damaging the skin in as little as 15 minutes.

"It is a good habit to apply sunscreen before starting an activity," he added.

Copyright © 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.