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EXTRACTS FROM THE “OTHER” JOURNALS RELATING TO CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES —
IN THE FIELDS OF HEALTH, SUBSTANCE ABUSE, EDUCATION, PSYCHOLOGY, SCIENCE ...

April 2006

Alberta to force child addicts into detox

Alberta is setting up five centres where young drug addicts will be locked up and forced to take treatment, despite doubts about how well the program will work and criticism of the confinement process. The Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission unveiled plans for 20 forcible-confinement beds in group homes known as safe protection houses, to be ready by July 1. A new law will allow desperate parents and guardians to seek court orders forcing their addicted children into five days of detox. Alberta has spent the last year preparing the program, which will cost $13.9 million in the first year for the 20 beds and 24 extra front-line staff. The commission hopes child addicts who have refused help will agree while in detox to enlist in voluntary drug treatment, but it doesn't know if the scheme will work. "The research literature is sort of 50-50," Murray Finnerty, commission president said. Finnerty is optimistic, however, after looking at a couple U.S. locations that have similar programs. "We actually do think it will give us a good opportunity to get to some kids that maybe wouldn't come to us any other way."

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=e15fd159-2886-428a-9df3-1c14a66a3614&k=32128
 

Unhealthy dieting may fuel weight gain in teens

Teens who try to control their weight by skipping meals or using laxatives are actually more likely to be overweight in later years, research indicates. "We found that dieting, and particularly unhealthy weight control behaviors, were not effective in weight management over time, and were actually associated with weight gain," study author Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, of the University of Minnesota, told Reuters Health. "We concluded that dieting was ineffective and even dangerous," she added.

Previous researchers have also reported an association between dieting, obesity and eating disorders. In one study, researchers found that dieting adolescents -- girls and boys -- were more likely to experience weight gain than nondieters and in other studies, involving middle and high school girls, researchers found that those who dieted had a higher risk of becoming obese than those who did not diet. Neumark-Sztainer and her colleagues further explored the association in a five-year study of 2,516 adolescents who completed Project EAT (Eating Among Teens) surveys in 1999 and 2004.

Responses to the 1999 survey indicate that over half (57 percent) of the girls and one quarter (25.3 percent) of the boys dieted and roughly 58 percent of girls and 31 percent of boys skipped meals, used laxatives or otherwise engaged in unhealthy weight-control behaviors. By 2004, however, 27 percent of girls and 25 percent of boys were overweight. In fact, teens who used unhealthy methods of weight control in 1999 were about three times as likely to be overweight by 2004 than those who did not use any weight control behaviors, Neumark-Sztainer and her team report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

These unhealthy dieters were also at a six-fold higher risk for binge eating with loss of control and were also much more likely to practice self-induced vomiting and to use diet pills, laxatives and diuretics than their peers, study findings indicate. In light of the findings, "teens should avoid dieting and the adults in their lives need to help them to do so," Neumark-Sztainer advised. "Dieting tends to be a short-term, ineffective behavior," she explained, adding "we've all seen people say, 'I'm starting my diet on Monday so I can eat what I want now' or 'I broke my diet...so I might as well go all out.'" "Instead, teens should be encouraged to engage in eating and exercise behaviors that can be implemented over a long period of time," Neumark-Sztainer told Reuters Health.

Adults should also model healthy behaviors for their children, focus less on their child's weight and more on his or her overall health, and provide a supportive environment whereby their children can freely discuss their weight concerns and other issues, according to Neumark-Sztainer. She refers to these actions as "cornerstone behaviors" families can engage in to help their teens achieve a healthy weight and positive body image, in her 2005 book, "'I'm, Like, SO Fat!' Helping Your Teen Make Healthy Choices about Eating and Exercise in a Weight-Obsessed World."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, April 2006.
Charnicia Huggins
27 April 2006

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=
2006-04-27T174110Z_01_COL763066_RTRUKOC_0_US-UNHEALTHY-DIETING.xml

US FDA delays decision on Cephalon ADHD drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has delayed its decision on whether Cephalon Inc. can sell Sparlon, its experimental treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the company said on Monday. Regulators now have until August 22 to decide whether Sparlon, a version of Cephalon's sleep disorder drug Provigil, can be sold in the United States for the new use, the biotechnology company said. The company last week said it submitted additional information to the FDA indicating that a controversial case of a skin rash found during a clinical trial of the drug was not Stevens Johnson Syndrome -- a serious, blistering rash that can lead to hospitalization -- as previously feared.

The rash case was at the center of an FDA advisory panel meeting in March that concluded the drug was not safe enough for approval in one of a series of setbacks for the drug that the company had initially believed would be on the U.S. market in the first quarter of this year. On Monday, Cephalon said the new finding came from various discussions with physicians who treated the patient, a 7-year-old Asian boy, as well as leading experts. "We are very pleased that the FDA has decided to review this new information very carefully," said Dr. Paul Blake, the drug maker's executive vice president of worldwide medical and regulatory operations. "We anticipate further discussions with the FDA in the coming weeks." The FDA, which had been expected to rule by May 22, will make the final decision but usually follows the advice of its advisory panels.

25 April 2006

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=
2006-04-25T123700Z_01_N24340110_RTRUKOC_0_US-CEPHALON-FDA.xml
 

Fewer teens realize dangers of "huffing"

About 20 percent of U.S. teenagers admit they have gotten high by inhaling common household products, and fewer understand the dangers of this practice compared with teenagers five years ago, according to a report released Monday. The findings reflect a drop-off in educational efforts begun in the 1990s to combat the growth of inhalant abuse, says the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which is publishing the report. Sniffing or "huffing" vapors from ordinary products like glue, spray paint, nail polish remover and gasoline was once a "fringe" activity, said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership. But by the mid-1990s, the practice had "exploded nationwide," he told Reuters Health, and even elementary school children were experimenting with the inhalants readily available under their kitchen sinks.

In 1995, the Partnership launched a large advertising campaign that was credited with boosting awareness of the dangers of inhalant abuse -- which include damage to the brain, liver, kidneys, vision, hearing and even sudden death from suffocation or heart arrhythmias. More importantly, surveys found an accompanying decline in the percentage of kids who'd ever tried huffing, from 23 percent in 1995 to 18 percent in 2001. But the new findings, based on a national survey of more than 7,200 teenagers and 1,200 parents, suggest awareness has waned and abuse is on the rise.

Overall, the survey found, 64 percent of teens "strongly" agreed that huffing can be fatal, down 19 percent from 2001. And 77 percent strongly agreed that inhalants can cause brain damage, down 9 percent. "It's a lack of education," Pasierb said, noting that parents and kids alike need more information. Only 5 percent of the parents in the survey thought their child had ever abused an inhalant, although 20 percent of teens said they had. Some parents may simply be unaware of the practice, but many may believe that their child wouldn't do it, Pasierb noted. He said the Partnership is restarting its ad campaign warning against inhalant abuse, because today's middle-schoolers weren't exposed to the educational efforts of the 1990s. "This is something we need to keep up," Pasierb said. The campaign includes advice on how parents can recognize signs of inhalant abuse, such as chemical odors on children's hands or clothes, spray cans or soaked rags in their rooms, and physical and behavioral signs such as a dazed appearance, red and runny eyes or nose, irritability and problems at school.

A parents' guide is published on the Partnership's Web site, www.drugfree.org

24 April 2006

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=
2006-04-24T144656Z_01_COL451605_RTRUKOC_0_US-TEENS-HUFFING.xml
 

Britain facing “timebomb” as its children get fatter

Britain is facing a “public health timebomb”, health experts warned on Friday, after fresh data revealed that childhood 
obesity has almost doubled in a decade.One in three of the nation’s children are now either overweight or obese, 
while the number of obese children aged 11 to 15 has almost doubled in the last 10 years, the Health and Social 
Care Information Centre revealed.Colin Waine, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said the official figures 
revealed a “public health timebomb”, and warned that children who are obese at ages 11 to 15 were twice as likely 
to die by the time they are 50. “This is serious news because obesity in adolescence is associated with the premature 
onset of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases,” he said. 
“It really augurs very badly for the future health of the population.”
Whereas 14 percent of boys 11 to 15 years old, and 15 percent of girls the same age, were obese in 1995, the 
proportion in 2004 were 24 percent and 26 percent respectively.The annual Health Survey for England 2004 also 
ound that among children aged two to 10, the figures have gone up from 10 percent in 1995 to 16 percent in 2004 
for boys, and from 10 percent in 1995 to 11 percent in 2004 for girls.
Some 35.1 percent of girls aged two to 15 were overweight or obese in 2004, up from 25 percent in 1995 -- while 
for boys in the same age group, the figures were 33 percent and 24 percent.

22 April 2004

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theworld/2006/
April/theworld_April818.xml&section=theworld

Bullying pushes overweight kids away from sport, increasing health problems

Playground taunts may seem like harmless child's play, but bullying may keep overweight children on the sidelines, making it more difficult for them to shed pounds, University of Florida researchers say. Most kids are bullied at some point in their lives, but overweight children are more often the targets of bullies' slings and arrows. Now a new UF study reveals this frequently leads them to avoid situations where they have been picked on before, such as gym class and sports. The findings appear this month in the online edition of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.

About one out of every five children is chronically bullied, said Eric Storch, Ph.D., a UF assistant professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at UF's College of Medicine and the study's lead author. Aside from causing its victims to avoid events where they might be teased, bullying also is linked to depression and loneliness. Either way, bullying spells serious trouble for children's health, Storch said. Negative attitudes toward exercise can last a lifetime, making it more difficult for overweight children to lose weight and making it easier for them to become obese adults, he added. "We found that as rates of peer victimization among overweight kids went up, rates of physical activity went down," he said. "When you speak to overweight kids, one of the things you often hear is just this," he added. "Kids are targeting them. Kids are picking on them. You're going to end up avoiding those types of situations. The problem clinically is if kids are avoiding PE class or playing sports because of fears of negative peer relationships, their health status is affected."

Storch and researchers from pediatrics, psychiatry and the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions studied 100 overweight or at-risk-for-being-overweight children between the ages of 8 and 18 to find out how bullying affected their exercise. Several measures were used to assess how much of a problem bullying was for children and determine whether they were exhibiting signs of depression, anxiety or even behavioral problems as a result. About one-quarter of the children reported significant problems with bullies during the two weeks preceding the study. The researchers also found links between bullying and depression, loneliness and anxiety, further explaining why their physical activity rates were low. Bullying not only contributes to children avoiding situations where they could be subject to ridicule, such as sports or gym class, but also can lead to depressed feelings that keep children from wanting to take part in activities. "When you think about it, it makes intuitive sense, when you consider the hallmark signs of depression - sadness, fatigue, lack of interest in things you used to like," Storch said. "When kids are having a tough time with peers, and struggling with depression, then this can translate to reduced rates of physical activity."

Teasing and the stigma of adolescent obesity can have a big effect on children, said Mitch Prinstein, an associate professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "The kids in this study spanned a wide age range, but it's important to remember that at the onset of adolescence, peers become the most important social factor," he said. "How kids are viewed by their peers affects how they view themselves as they transition into adulthood." But bullying is just one of the issues that affects how much exercise an overweight child gets. For example, positive support from family and friends can lessen the blows bullies inflict, and some parents insist their children exercise at home when they don't at school, Storch said.

The best thing parents, teachers and doctors can do is to figure out what is causing the problem and find a way to work around it so overweight children still get exercise, he said. Schools should create a zero-tolerance culture for bullying and perhaps provide gym teachers with training on how to recognize bullying and intervene, the researchers say. Doctors should keep peer problems in mind when assessing overweight children and take not only a medical history of the child but also a social history, so they can pinpoint the underlying problem and devise a solution, Storch said. It's important to prevent the problem early before it gets worse, he added. "Childhood is a time when we form many of our habits that we're going to hold over later," he said. "When one has multiple negative experiences that are centered around sports early on, this can often translate into adulthood with decreased involvement (in exercise)."

Child Health News
23 April 2006

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=17547

FDA speaks out against marijuana legalization

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will publish a statement Friday criticizing state measures to legalize the medical use of marijuana, calling them attempts to bypass scientific review. The agency said it was posting the statement in response to requests from lawmakers and others, but advocates for legalizing marijuana said the FDA was making an unusual and inappropriate foray into politics. "In response to inquiries, including from Congress, we are clarifying our position on the science," said FDA spokeswoman Susan Bro in an interview. "The FDA continues to support medical researchers whose intention is to undertake rigorous, peer-reviewed investigations and well-controlled clinical trials, in line with the FDA's drug approval process," she added in an e-mail.

But Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project said he was puzzled by the FDA's decision. "It's fascinating that they are making what strikes me as essentially a political move here," said Mirken in an interview. "There are plenty of herbal products that people use ... that are not FDA-approved. It really sounds to me like the FDA is inappropriately intruding itself into a political process and I have to say I find it very sad." The issue of the medical use of marijuana has been long contested on the state and federal level. Some patients with diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma say only the herb provides relief, and sometimes their doctors agree. But the federal government maintains that FDA-approved drugs, including a synthetic form of the active ingredient in marijuana, are adequate for these patients. The Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecutors say the medical marijuana movement is a thinly disguised effort to allow for recreational use of the illegal drug.

STRICT LEGAL CONTROL

Marijuana is a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, the most restrictive schedule. Last June, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a bill that would allow the medical use of marijuana. But 11 states have rebelled, most recently the Rhode Island state legislature which in January overrode Gov. Don Carcieri's veto of a law legalizing marijuana used for symptom relief. Efforts are underway in several other states, including Minnesota and Illinois, to legalize marijuana use. The FDA expressed concern about this. "These measures are inconsistent with efforts to ensure that medications undergo the rigorous scientific scrutiny of the FDA approval process and are proven safe and effective," it says in the statement, made available to Reuters.
The interagency statement is to be posted at
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01362.html

20 April 2006

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=
2006-04-21T025041Z_01_N20284948_RTRUKOC_0_US-MARIJUANA.xml

Signs of long-term problems seen in teens' dieting

Teenagers who go on diets or take unhealthy measures to lose weight may end up gaining pounds in the long run, according to a new study. What's more, researchers found, these teens seem likely to get trapped in a pattern of unhealthy eating, extreme weight-loss tactics and, in some cases, overt eating disorders. Among more than 2,500 teenagers in the study, those who said they were trying to control their weight were three times more likely than their peers to be overweight five years later. They were also at greater risk of having a binge-eating disorder, or to be vomiting or using diet pills, laxatives or diuretics in an effort to lose weight. The findings, according to the study authors, suggest that dieting and other forms of weight control are either spurring weight gain and eating disorders, or serving as an early warning of problems ahead.

Whatever the case, they say, it seems that when teenagers diet -- even in a healthy way -- it often brings little benefit. Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer and her colleagues at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis report the findings in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The study included 2,516 Minnesota students who were surveyed about any weight-control measures they were taking. That included unhealthy forms of dieting -- like skipping meals or replacing food with diet drinks -- as well as diet changes that are considered healthful, such as eating more fruits and vegetables and fewer sweets.

The teens were also asked whether they used diet pills, laxatives or diuretics to shed pounds. Overall, 58 percent of girls and 31 percent of boys reported some form of unhealthy weight-control practice. These teens were more likely to be overweight five years later, even with their current weight taken into account. Moreover, they were roughly six times more likely to develop a binge-eating disorder, and were at greater risk of using extreme measures to lose weight. Girls who reported unhealthy weight-loss tactics were also more likely to report any form of eating disorder five years later. And although unhealthy measures were most harmful, healthy dieting was also linked to a higher risk of being overweight or developing a binge-eating problem - at least among girls. This, Neumark-Sztainer and her colleagues write, suggests the need for a "major shift" in attitudes toward weight control. Many teenagers, they point out, are likely to need help in making lasting, healthy changes in their diets and exercise habits, as opposed to quick fixes. But most concerning, according to the researchers, are the lasting problems linked to teenagers' weight-control efforts - particularly unhealthy forms. "Clearly," they write, "dieting is not an innocuous behavior that can be brushed aside as normative for teens."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, April 2006.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=
2006-04-19T163523Z_01_COL959637_RTRUKOC_0_US-TEENS-DIETING.xml
 

Autism – worst welfare disaster in history

Scientist and medical experts say that unless the government forces the pharmaceutical industry to pay for the damage caused by mercury-laced vaccines, in the not too distant future, Americans will experience the worst welfare disaster in the history of this country.

No doubt with that in mind, eight members of Congress are calling for a new investigation into the link between the autism epidemic and the mercury-based preservative, thimerosal, that children received in vaccines during the 1990s, and that some children received as late as 2003.

After six years of hearings, and testimony from medical experts, scientists, special education teachers, school nurses, and parents of autistic children, several lawmakers say they are convinced that a review of the vaccine database will show a causal link between autism and thimerosal. Throughout the 1990s, when thimerosal was most heavily used, the number of children diagnosed with autism reached epidemic proportions. During this period, the levels of mercury that children received were 120 times greater than safety standards set for oral ingestion of mercury in food, according to the lawmakers.

Evelyn Pringle April 19 2006

http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/29441
 

"Goth" youths more likely to self-harm: study

Young people who adopt the "Goth" lifestyle of dark clothes and introspective music are more likely to commit self-harm or attempt suicide than other youngsters, according to a study on Friday. "Although only fairly small numbers of young people identify themselves as belonging to the Goth subculture, rates of self-harm and attempted suicide are very high among this group," said Robert Young, lead researcher of the Glasgow University study.

The Scottish team described Goths as being a subgenre of Punk "with a dark and sinister aesthetic, with aficionados conspicuous by their range of distinctive clothing and makeup and tastes in music". Shock rockers such as Marilyn Manson are said to be popular amongst Goths and the subculture has often attracted suspicion and criticism from the media. Two U.S. students who massacred 13 people at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 were said to have been fascinated by the Goth image.

The Glasgow researchers studied of 1,258 young people who were quizzed at the ages of 11, 13, 15 and 19 about self harm and their links to various youth cultures. In the UK, the rate of self harm among young people is between 7-14 percent. Although other subcultures were associated with self harm, such as Punk, the link was strongest with Goths.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that 53 percent of those who were linked to the Goth subculture reported self-harm and 47 percent had attempted suicide.

Even adjusting for other factors, such as alcohol abuse and previous depression, Goth identification was the strongest predictor of self harm or suicide attempts, the report said. "One common suggestion is they may be copying subcultural icons or peers," Young said. "But since our study found that more reported self-harm before, rather than after, becoming a Goth, this suggests that young people with a tendency to self-harm are attracted to the Goth subculture." Michael van Beinum, a child-and-adolescent psychiatrist, said the Goth subculture might be attractive to young people with mental health problems, allowing them to find a community where their distress might be more easily understood.

17 April 2006

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyid=
2006-04-17T122314Z_01_L13742868_RTRUKOC_0_US-GOTHS.xml
 

New hope for earlier diagnosis of schizophrenia

A brain scan method showing a chemical abnormality in a critical part of the brain could herald an early method of diagnosis for schizophrenia thanks to the work of a collaborative team at the new Centre for Psychosis, Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, and University College London, Institute of Nuclear Medicine.

Schizophrenia is one of the most serious mental disorders, involving disrupted thinking and behaviour and can be devastating for the sufferer and their carers alike. It is as common as diabetes in the UK affecting one per cent of the population and it can often strike young people at the height of an individual's potential, for example during A-levels, or when embarking on a career or at university. In some cases lifelong and expensive treatment is required. “What this intriguing finding means is that for the first time we may have a non-invasive method for scanning chemicals in the brains of living patients which may lead to new treatment and diagnostic approaches in the disorder. This is work in progress and we desperately need more funding to develop and extend this very exciting development,” said Professor Pilowsky.

Structural brain scans have already revealed that schizophrenic patients as a group often have smaller brains, with subtle evidence of shrinkage in particular areas associated with emotions, thinking and memory and scientists have long thought from studying patients brains at post mortem that a chemical abnormality in the NMDA system might exist . This new chemistry deficit in the temporal cortex found in living patients now confirms this. Pilowsky and her colleagues revealed this defect after a long period of investigation. This included development of the SPET scan itself, and application of the technique to scanning of schizophrenic patients, who were not being treated with anti psychotic medication. Scans of a small group of these patients were compared to healthy individuals using the most up-to-date analytic methods.

In the brain, nerve cells ‘talk' to each other using special chemical messengers (called neurotransmitters). When a cell releases one of these chemical messengers it fits into its unique receptor to transmit a message. NMDA, and its messenger chemical glutamate that are essential for cell-to-cell communication within the brain. A deficiency in this system could literally result in ‘loose' wiring, with fragile connections between areas of the brain that need to communicate. Schizophrenia researchers have suspected that this may be happening in the disorder, but early studies were affected by medications patients had been taking before their death, and by the event itself. SPET and PET scanning allow imaging of brain and body chemicals in humans in life.

12 April 2006

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=41450

Splitting parents who shack up with new partners can unwittingly push their children towards cannabis use.

University of Queensland research has shown a link between cannabis use and marital changes after studying 3008 mothers and their children up to age 21, between 2001 and 2004 in Brisbane. "Our study suggests that exposure to three or more changes in maternal marital status during childhood and early adolescence more than doubles the risk of a child beginning to use cannabis," lead researcher Dr Reza Hayatbakhsh said. "More frequent changes in marital status predict greater risk and also the earlier onset of use of cannabis." Dr Hayatbakhsh, from UQ's School of Population Health, said almost half of the young adults had used cannabis at some time, about a quarter before the age of 15.

Children who experienced no change in their parents' marital partners between ages five and 14 were less likely to report cannabis use. The results are the latest from the ongoing Mater-UQ Study of Pregnancy -- one of the world's longest running health studies. The Mater Study was started at UQ in 1981 as a health and social study of 7223 pregnant women. Researchers continue to extract new information about social, emotional and medical issues as the families grow. Dr Hayatbakhsh, who is now studying for his PhD in epidemiology, said mothers and children in the study were asked how often children used cannabis and when they first began to use it.

http://www.news-medical.net/?id=17281

Sociologists find low self-esteem at 11 predicts drug dependency at 20

Every parent worries that his or her child may turn to drugs, or worse, become dependent on them, and a new Florida State University study indicates that parents of boys who have very low self-esteem and have friends who approve of drug and alcohol use may have good cause to worry. FSU sociology professors John Taylor and Donald Lloyd, along with University of Miami professor emeritus George Warheit, found that low self-esteem and peer approval of drug use at age 11 predicted drug dependency at age 20. The researchers came to that conclusion after analyzing data from a multiethnic sample of 872 boys collected over a period of nine years. The study was published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse. "Low self-esteem is kind of the spark plug for self-destructive behaviors, and drug use is one of these," Taylor said. "It's a fundamental need to have a good sense of self. Without it, people may become pathologically unhappy with themselves, and that can lead to some very serious problems."

Children with very low self-esteem, or what the researchers called self-derogation, were 1.6 times more likely to meet the criteria for drug dependence nine years later than other children. The researchers also found that early drug use is an important risk factor in drug dependence. The odds of drug dependence among early drug users were 17.6 times greater than among those who had not tried drugs by age 13. Put another way, 37 percent of those who reported using drugs at age 13 later met criteria for drug dependence compared to only 3 percent of those who had not tried drugs by 13.

The findings underscore the importance of identifying children with low self-esteem for prevention and early intervention efforts before they reach ages that are associated with initial experimentation with drugs, Taylor said. "The fact that you can identify a group of people who are at risk for problematic behaviors is very important," Taylor said. "If you can intervene on a group of people before they begin drug use or embark on a cycle of addiction, that could have huge health benefits." A simple questionnaire such as the one the researchers used could help parents and teachers identify at-risk kids, Taylor said. "If you're a parent of a young child and you notice that the child has very low self-esteem, that should be a warning signal that this child needs some attention or perhaps professional counseling," he said, adding that intervention needs to go beyond the feel-good efforts of the self-esteem movement of a decade ago.

To test self-derogation, the boys were asked to rate the truthfulness of statements such as "In general I feel I am a failure" and "I don't like myself as much as I used to." They also were asked to rate the level of approval their close friends had for people who smoked marijuana or cigarettes, used cocaine or drank alcohol. By the time the study participants were 20 years old, nearly 64 percent had used drugs, and 10 percent of those drug users had developed a drug dependency as defined by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The manual defines dependence as someone who exhibits three or more symptoms, such as failing attempts to quit using drugs, giving up important activities like work, sports or seeing family or friends in order to get or use drugs and using increasingly larger amounts of a chosen drug or for a greater period of time than intended when the drug use began.

The study sample was randomly drawn from a census of students in the Miami-Dade County school system. Data were first gathered when the participants were in either sixth or seventh grade; the subjects were then interviewed three more times over a nine-year period with the final follow-up when most were between 19 and 21 years old. The researchers did not include female students in this study, and Taylor cautioned against generalizing the findings to girls. Studies show low self-esteem in girls typically manifests itself in depression and eating disorders rather than substance abuse.

Jill Elish
10 April 2006

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=41115

Violent video games linked to risky behaviors

After playing a violent video game, young men are more likely to think it's OK to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, raising the possibility that exposure to violent media could negatively affect health-related behavior. "Parents have been told the message that violent video games and violent media in general can influence the likelihood that their kids will be aggressive," Dr. Sonya S. Brady, now at the University of California, San Francisco, told Reuters Health. "What this study suggests is that they might increase any type of risk-taking behavior." Brady and her colleague Dr. Karen A. Matthews at the University of Pittsburgh also found that young men were more likely to see others' attitudes toward them as hostile if they had just played a violent game. "You're kind of on the lookout for other people being rude to you," Brady said.

Brady and Matthews had a group of 100 male undergraduates aged 18 to 21 play either Grand Theft Auto III or The Simpsons: Hit and Run. In the Simpsons game, players took the role of Homer Simpson and their task was to deliver daughter Lisa's science project to school before it could be marked late. In Grand Theft Auto III, players took the role of a criminal, and were instructed by the Mafia to beat up a drug dealer with a baseball bat. Playing the violent game boosted young men's blood pressures, and appeared to have more of an effect on those who came from more violent homes or communities, the researchers report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. In this game, Brady noted, the depiction of the violent task is quite realistic. "When they strike the person with the bat then the person crumples to the ground and a pool of blood starts to expand slowly underneath the body," she said. The more blows the player gives, the wider the pool of blood. For youth who had been previously exposed to real violence, Snyder added, the game may have seemed more real. Regardless of whether they grew up in a violent environment, the researchers found, young men who had played the violent game were less cooperative and more competitive in completing an assigned task with another person, compared to those who played the Simpsons game. They were also more likely to have permissive attitudes toward alcohol and marijuana use.

After playing the game, study participants watched a scenario in which a teacher told a class he suspects some students of cheating on a test, and that while he is very disappointed in those who have cheated he is proud of those who did well. The teacher then asks to see "Billy" after class. The study participants were told to imagine themselves as Billy, and asked how likely it was that the teacher was going to accuse them of cheating. Students who'd played Grand Theft Auto were more likely to think they'd be accused of cheating. Brady urges parents to be aware of what sorts of video games their children are playing. And kids themselves, she adds, should understand that violent games can change the way they think.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, April 2006.
Anne Harding
7 April 2006

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=
2006-04-07T163654Z_01_COL759791_RTRUKOC_0_US-VIDEO-GAMES.xml

Twice as many youths are on diabetes drugs, study says

Twice as many youngsters and teens are taking medication typically used to treat or prevent Type 2 diabetes than four years ago, according to a study by Express Scripts Inc. of Maryland Heights, one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers. The findings, released late Tuesday, could have big implications for the nation's health system, largely because Type 2 diabetes is often accompanied by serious and expensive medical complications. The release of the study coincided with government research that found more U.S. kids are overweight, a major cause of Type 2 diabetes. "This study is the first of its kind nationally to reveal the long-suspected national increase in prevalence of children with or at risk for diabetes," said Emily Cox, Express Scripts senior director of research and one of the study's lead authors. She said Express Scripts did the study to find ways to better manage the cost of prescriptions and understand the reasons behind rising health care costs.

In the study, Cox and other researchers reviewed the prescription records of at least 3.7 million of its members, all Americans between the ages of 5 and 19. They found the number of prescriptions for anti-diabetic medication rose to 0.6 per 1,000 children from 0.3. The use of these medications was most prevalent in older teens. By 2005, slightly more than 1 one out of every 1,000 15- to 19-year-olds had been prescribed medication to treat or prevent Type 2 diabetes. There are two types of diabetes. Type I diabetes results from the body's inability to make enough insulin. People with Type 2 diabetes respond abnormally to the insulin their bodies produce. Type 2 diabetes is frequently referred to as adult-onset diabetes because it was most commonly found in middle-aged adults and seniors. "The increase in Type 2 diabetes carries enormous health care risks," said Dr. Ed Weisbart, Express Scripts chief medical officer. "Diabetes is known to shorten life expectancy by about a decade, on average."

Mary Jo Feldstein
6 April 2006

http://www.stltoday.com/
stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/D1FB979C1223B93786257148000A3CDF?OpenDocument
 

40% lose virginity by 14th b'day, survey says

Urban teens are increasingly losing their virginity before they can legally drive. A new survey shows four out of 10 city kids say they have had intercourse before age 14, and have engaged in oral and even anal sex by 17. "This study makes clear that urban young adults engage in a variety of sexual behavior beyond vaginal intercourse," said Dr. Danielle Ompad, who authored the survey for The New York Academy of Medicine. Ompad said the findings raise concerns about the possibility of a boom in sexually transmitted diseases among teens who don't know about safe sex. "Sex education and intervention programs should address the risk for the unintended consequences of sexual behavior," Ompad said.

The study, published in The Archives of Sexual Behavior, examined the sexual habits of 2,311 Baltimore youths. But Ompad said, "I don't think other cities would be too different." The study showed that 42% had engaged in vaginal intercourse by the age of 14. About 14% of kids said they had sex before the age of 13, a 9% jump from a similar survey by the Centers for Disease Control in 1995. Former radio sex therapist Judy Kuriansky, author of "Generation Sex," said she found the results disturbing, but not surprising. Kuriansky said 14 is far too young to have sex. "They're not emotionally capable of dealing with this," she told the Daily News. She blamed the youth sex surge on the media's obsession with sex and the explosion of sexually explicit Internet chat rooms.

Bill Hutchinson
5 April 2006

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/406126p-343777c.html

Some diabetic kids may need depression check-up

Poor blood sugar control and frequent emergency room visits are among the signs that a child or adolescent with diabetes may be suffering from depression, according to new research. The findings suggest that pediatricians or other healthcare providers "might want to consider screening for depressed mood" in young diabetic patients having trouble keeping their blood sugar under control, Dr. Jean M. Lawrence told Reuters Health.

This study is not the first to investigate depressive symptoms in children with diabetes, lead author Lawrence, from Kaiser Permanente Southern California in Pasadena, said. However, most of the other studies were small, included only type 1 diabetics or used a rigid psychiatric definition of depression, she said. "The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth is actually the largest study of diabetes in kids in the United States to date," Lawrence commented.

The analysis involved 2672 individuals, between 10 and 21 years of age, who had diabetes for an average duration of 5 years. As reported in the medical journal Pediatrics, most had type 1 diabetes, which is the form of the disease in which insulin-producing cells are knocked out by a faulty immune reaction, but 371 had type 2 diabetes, which is usually related to obesity and results from the body's inability to use insulin properly. The researchers found that 14 percent of the subjects had a mildly depressed mood and 8.6 percent had a moderately or severely depressed mood. On average, females were more depressed than males. As mentioned, poorer diabetes control and more frequent ER visits were both associated with depressed mood. In male subjects, type 2 diabetes was more closely linked to depressed mood than type 1 diabetes. In females, the presence of other illnesses was predictive of depressed mood.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, April 2006.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=
2006-04-03T160242Z_01_COL351867_RTRUKOC_0_US-DIABETIC-DEPRESSION.xml
 

Heavier TV watching may mean earlier sex for teens

Certain teenagers who watch more television are more likely to become sexually active than those who spend less time in front of the tube, a new study shows. Dr. Sarah Ashby of the University of Wisconsin School of Public Health in Madison and her colleagues found that, among a group of 4,808 boys and girls younger than 16, those who said their parents strongly disapproved of sex -- nearly three quarters of the group -- were more likely to start having sex in the following year if they watched two hours or more of TV daily. The findings, appearing in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, support the hypothesis that "kids who are at overall lower risk of initiating sex may be more influenced by things that they see," Ashby told Reuters Health. For teens who don't sense parental disapproval, she added, "the cat is already out of the bag."

Parental disapproval in itself did indeed cut the risk of kids becoming sexually active -- 12.5 percent of these teens started having sex, compared to 24.1 percent of those who didn't feel their parents disapproved of sex. Among kids who sensed parental disapproval, the more TV they watched, the greater their likelihood of becoming sexually active -- up to a point. Those who watched two to five hours were more than twice as likely as those who watched less than an hour daily to start having sex. But teens logging five hours of daily TV or more were at no greater risk of starting to have sex than those who watched less than two hours.

It's possible that these children were watching so much television that they had no time for other activities, including sex, the researchers note. The researchers also found that sexual initiation was more likely among teens who sensed parental disapproval of sex if their parents made no effort to regulate their TV watching. The findings show, Ashby told Reuters Health, that "it's important that parents convey very clearly their values about sexual behavior to their children." What's more, she added, they should take other steps to reduce their children's risk of having sex, including keeping an eye on their TV viewing habits.

SOURCE: Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, April 2006.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=
2006-04-04T033817Z_01_SCH413071_RTRUKOC_0_US-TV-WATCHING.xml
 

Vaccine trial aims to prevent childhood asthma

Perth scientists have launched an international trial of a vaccine designed to prevent asthma in children. Over a 12-month period, the treatment, which has been developed by the Institute for Child Health Research, involves giving high-risk babies and toddlers a daily oral vaccine of common allergens. The children will then be monitored for three years to see whether they develop asthma.

Researchers expect the oral drops will educate the immune system to prevent allergies that trigger asthma. The trial will initially involve 200 children in Perth, Melbourne and New York, and could expand to Germany and Sweden. Professor Peter Sly from Perth's Institute for Child Health Research says animal trials have shown the treatment is effective. "This is the first time anything like this has been attempted in children," he said. "These same sorts of drops are used for treatment for people who have established allergies, so we know that they're safe but what we are doing here is using these to prevent the development of allergies and no one has tried to do that before. "If it's successful, it'll change the way people look at preventing asthma in the future."

Perth toddler Xavier Mackay is one of 200 children who will take part in the trial. Xavier's father, Kristian Mackay, says there is a history of asthma in his family. "It's not a pleasant experience so if we can prevent him from getting it in the first place, we don't have to go through that scenario," he said. WA Premier Alan Carpenter says it is important parents with a history of asthma in their family get behind the research. "Clearly if we can develop this vaccine there are enormous benefits that can flow not just to our community but to children all over the world," he said. "Very high percentage of Australian children develop asthma or have some sort of allergy - I think the figure is close to 40 per cent. "So if we can develop the vaccine, the benefits that will flow medically, economically of course as well, and to the general well being of the community are enormous in potential."

Institute for Child Health Research
3 April 2006

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200604/s1607244.htm
 

Removal of tonsils sometimes produces improved behaviour

Child hyperactivity tied to sleep apnea

Children who have had their tonsils removed were more likely to behave better a year after the surgery, says a study that probes the link between attention-deficit problems and sleep disorders. A University of Michigan study of 78 tonsillectomy patients and a control group of 27 children who had other types of surgery found that the children who had their tonsils out were more likely to have sleep and behaviour problems before their surgery than the control group. And 11 of the 22 children who had a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) before the tonsillectomy no longer had an ADHD diagnosis a year later, said the study, to be published today in the journal Pediatrics.

Researchers are piling up evidence that points to sleep disturbances such as sleep apnea, which is characterized by temporary breathing interruptions during sleep, as one of the factors behind hyperactivity in children, said lead researcher Dr. Ronald Chervin, a neurologist and director of the sleep disorders lab at the University of Michigan medical school. About half of the children who have tonsillectomies have them because enlarged tonsils and adenoids impair their ability to breathe.

Previous studies have shown that children with ADHD are more likely to habitually snore than other children, especially young boys, Chervin said. Habitual snoring also predicted that a patient would become hyperactive in the future, he said. And it is estimated that between 15 and 25 per cent of children with ADHD would benefit from a diagnosis of sleep disorders. Some researchers believe children who are deprived of sleep have a strong motivation to stay alert, and will create their own stimulus, including hyperactivity, in order to stay alert, Chervin said. Still, there is no clear-cut cause-and-effect relationship between sleep disorders and ADHD, and it's not likely that tonsillectomies will be prescribed as a blanket treatment for ADHD.

There are still some puzzles to be solved. For example, children without sleep apnea benefited just as much as those subjects who had sleep apnea. It's possible that the relationship between sleep disturbance and hyperactivity is a matter of degree, Chervin said. Mild or moderate sleep disturbances may help spark hyperactivity, while severe sleep disturbances merely cause fatigue and sleepiness. "At some point, sleepiness may be overwhelming." Still, he believes this research is exciting news for a significant minority of children with ADHD and their families. "Eventually, I would like to be able to say: 'I see a reason. Here are the sleep abnormalities and he will do better a year later if he has a tonsillectomy.' "

Joanne Laucius
3 April 2006

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/sports/
story.html?id=44e9a1d3-fa19-4c56-ba36-880d898bc5d9&k=17506
 

Risperidone: Maintenance therapy controls disruptive behavior

In children and adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders who respond to initial treatment with risperidone, continuation of treatment can control symptoms for many over the long term, according to findings published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Dr. Magali Reyes from Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Titusville, New Jersey, and colleagues compared the effects of risperidone maintenance therapy versus withdrawal in subjects with disruptive behavior disorders.

Patients between the ages of 5 and 17 years who had responded to risperidone treatment over 12 weeks were randomly assigned to 6 months of risperidone or placebo. Of 527 subjects treated initially, 335 were included in the maintenance trial. Reyes's team found that 47 (27.3 percent) of patients treated with risperidone and 69 (42.3 percent) treated with placebo experienced symptom recurrence, a statistically significant difference. The time to symptom recurrence was also significantly longer in patients continuing on risperidone compared with those treated with placebo -- 25 percent after 119 days and 37 days, respectively. Discontinuation rates because of symptom recurrence, disruptive behavior disorder symptoms, and general function - also favored risperidone over placebo, according to the authors.

Headache, drowsiness, fatigue, and increased appetite were the most frequently reported treatment side effects. Most adverse events were mild to moderate. Overall, 1.7 percent of risperidone-treated patients and 0.6 percent of placebo-treated patients discontinued treatment during the maintenance phase. Intellectual function, including verbal learning, memory and attention, was not affected by risperidone treatment, Reyes and colleagues point out. The researchers conclude that maintenance therapy with risperidone improves symptoms of disruptive behavior disorder and conduct disorder symptoms, while preserving intellectual functioning. This finding is important because about 66 percent of the patients also had attention deficient hypertension disorder.

SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry
March 2006.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=
2006-03-31T184035Z_01_COL167094_RTRUKOC_0_US-MAINTENANCE-THERAPY.xml
 

AUSTRALIA

Heroin a bigger killer than speed

Heroin kills far more people than speed, or methamphetamine, according to a national drugs survey. But the lead author of the survey says young recreational drug users need to be better educated about the risks associated with speed. Many more people use speed than heroin, but deaths from heroin overdose remain a far greater problem than speed-related deaths. And heroin deaths are increasing in the older, 45-54 years age group.

The National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre today released its latest annual report on drug induced deaths. The new figures show there were 75 drug induced deaths in Australia in 2004 where methamphetamine was mentioned, compared to only 50 in 2003. Just under half of the 2004 deaths, 33, occurred in NSW while just under one-third occurred in Victoria, and 15 per cent in Western Australia. These findings are consistent with indicators of methamphetamine availability in Australia, the study says.

Recent years have seen increases in Australian border detections of methamphetamine, particularly crystal methamphetamine or ice, which is a particularly strong form of methamphetamine. There have also been increases in the number of clandestine lab detections in Australia. These suggest the availability of methamphetamine in stronger forms has increased in recent years. Dr Louisa Degenhardt, lead author of the report, stressed that although the increase was of concern, heroin overdose continued to be a far greater problem. "Even though the number of deaths has increased, it is still far lower than the number of deaths due to opioids," Dr Degenhardt said. "Opioids remain by far the drugs that account for the majority of illicit drug related deaths, despite the fact that methamphetamine is used by so many more people.".

The figures also show gradual increases in deaths among older age groups – particularly those aged between 45-54 – due to opioids. "Often we forget older users of illicit drugs, yet these appear to be the group where increases in fatal overdoses are occurring," Dr Degenhardt said. "Clearly we need to be doing more to help this older group to reduce their risks of overdosing on the drug." Dr Degenhardt is calling for a response to the increasing popularity of methamphetamine. Young recreational drug users need to be educated about the risks associated with speed. And effort needs to be directed at limiting both the supply of methamphetamine and demand for the drug. "Effective treatments for methamphetamine use are going to be increasingly important to circumvent the harms associated with methamphetamine," Dr Degenhardt said.

1 April 2006

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18674447%255E29277,00.html

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