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Undetected autism link to anorexia
Autism may often be going undetected in
women and could play a key role in anorexia, a leading expert has
claimed. The brain disorder, characterised by restrictive behaviour and
defects in communication and social interaction, is largely seen as a
male problem.
Between three and four times more boys than girls are said to develop
autistic traits.
Autism is associated with certain “male” occupations, such as
engineering and science. And some experts even talk about it being an
aspect of the “male brain”.
But this picture may be a distortion of the truth, according to
Professor Christopher Gillberg, from the National Centre of Autism
Studies at the University of Strathclyde.
He believes many cases of autism in young
girls and adult women are being missed because their autistic traits may
be less obvious and presented differently from those of males.
An obsession with counting calories, for instance, may be an outward
sign of autism linked to anorexia.
“Autism may be behind many cases of anorexia,” said Prof Gillberg. “A
girl may be withdrawn and uncommunicative, without attracting attention,
but when she develops a calorie fixation it becomes a serious problem.
“Counting calories may be a manifestation of autism, and it's very
important to take this into account when deciding on therapies. I've
seen quite a number of cases where the anorexia has become completely
entrenched because people haven't understood that underlying the eating
disorder is autism.”
About 500,000 people in the UK — just under 1% of the population — are thought to have autistic traits. These might range from a mild inability to empathise and communicate to profound learning disabilities. The disorder costs the UK an estimated £1 billion each year, most of which is spent on education and care.
30 June 2005
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Teens' problem behavior linked to later trouble
Teenagers who smoke, drink alcohol, use
drugs, and engage in other risky behaviors are more likely to struggle
with drugs and mental health problems as adults, according to new study
findings.
People who had problem behaviors before age 15 were particularly at risk
of reporting additional problems as adults. For instance, 90 percent of
men and 60 percent of women who reported at least four problem behaviors
before age 15 abused drugs, alcohol or nicotine as adults.
Study author Dr. Matt McGue of the University of Minnesota in
Minneapolis noted that teenagers who act out may “change the course of
their development in a way that increases the likelihood that they will
have substance abuse and mental health problems in adulthood.”
Teenagers who take risks may become
connected to “deviant peers,” McGue noted, and less connected to
schools, parents, religious groups, and other helpful networks.
Alternatively, some children may inherit an “impulsive personality
style,” and as a result, often ignore the long-term consequences of
their behavior. This in turn causes them to have problems both as
teenagers and adults.
During their study, the researchers interviewed 578 male and 674 female
twins at ages 17 and 20 about their behavior as teenagers, and their
issues as adults.
The participants reported if, as teenagers, they had ever smoked, drank
alcohol, used drugs, got in trouble with the police, or had intercourse.
As adults, the participants answered questions designed to determine if
they abused or were addicted to drugs, alcohol or nicotine, were
depressed, or had developed antisocial personality disorder, a mental
illness associated with deviant behavior.
The investigators found that people who said they engaged in dangerous
behaviors as teenagers were significantly more likely to report
additional problems as adults.
For instance, 90 percent of men and 35
percent of women who acted out in at least four ways as teenagers
developed antisocial personality disorder.
Another 30 percent of men and 55 percent of women who reported multiple
problem behaviors as teenagers developed depression as adults, the team
reports in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
McGue noted that these results suggest that teenagers who engage in
problem behaviors need “early intervention,” to ensure that their
youthful experimentation doesn't snowball into long-term problems.
“Adolescent experimentation — at least when expressed early — with drugs and sex, may not be as benign as the broader culture sometimes seems to suggest,” McGue added.
SOURCE: American Journal of Psychiatry, June 2005.
Alison McCook
28 June 2005
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Mental ills often affect kids with type 2
diabetes
Nearly one out of every five children
with type 2 diabetes (which is associated with being overweight) also
has a psychiatric illness or behavioral disorder, according to a study
conducted at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
It's not clear which comes first, the mental problems or diabetes. For
one thing, the medications used to treat some mental conditions often
cause weight gain and high blood sugar levels.
“We started seeing pediatric patients who had gained a tremendous amount
of weight while they were on some of the newer atypical antipsychotic
agents,” lead investigator Dr. Lorraine E. Levitt Katz told Reuters
Health. “We thought initially this would all be medication related, but
it appears to be more multifactorial than that.”
Katz and her associates reviewed the
medical charts of their young patients who had type 2 diabetes to
determine how many were being treated for a neuropsychiatric disease at
the time of their diabetes diagnosis.
Among the 237 patients, 46 (19 percent) had been diagnosed with a
neuropsychiatric disease and 29 were prescribed at least one
psychotropic medication, the team reports in the journal Pediatric
Diabetes.
However, the children with mental illness were actually no heavier, on
average, than the kids with no mental problems and therefore no history
of treatment with antipsychotic drugs.
The authors say a number of mechanisms besides drug side effects might
explain the link between type 2 diabetes and mental ills. They theorize
that “diabetes could appear in these patients due to a common
neuroendocrine basis between the two diseases, a sudden increase in
weight, overeating related to poor impulse control, and altered brain
physiology due to neuropsychiatric disease.”
They recommend that obese children with
neuropsychiatric conditions be tested for diabetes, and that those with
diabetes or insulin resistance be screened for psychiatric disorders.
“Before putting children on medications that may cause weight gain and
an increase in insulin resistance, a risk-benefit analysis needs to be
done,” Katz stressed.
She noted that children with psychiatric diagnoses may be more sedentary
and less prone to regular physical activity. “I think there needs to be
an individualized lifestyle-related program,” she added, “because for
these kids there are more challenges associated with their additional
diagnoses.”
SOURCE: Pediatric Diabetes, June 2005.
Karla Gale
27 June 2005
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Blow to drug's safety
Cannabis use among schoolchildren has
risen tenfold over the past 20 years, and there's growing concern that
teenagers' brains appear to be particularly susceptible to the drug,
putting them at risk of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.
According to the latest study by the Schools Health Education Unit, one
in 16 12-year-olds and one in four 15-year-olds admits to having used
the drug. Studies have shown that schizophrenia is more common among
regular cannabis users than in those not using the drug — around seven
times more common in people who have used the drug on at least 50
occasions. The lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia for the average
person is around one in 100, so regular cannabis users have a one-in-15
chance of developing an illness that can last a lifetime.
The latest research suggests that the
younger the brain, the higher the risk. A study in New Zealand found
that children who had started using cannabis by the age of 15 were
nearly five times more likely to develop serious mental illness by their
late twenties than those who started at 18.
I used to take a fairly liberal stance on cannabis and have compared it
favourably to alcohol and tobacco, each of which exact a considerably
higher toll on our society than all illegal drugs combined. But while
only a small proportion of cannabis users will be unlucky enough to
develop schizophrenia, I can't think of a single patient of mine with a
serious mental illness who hasn't used the drug. Hardly evidence-based
medicine, I know, but cannabis has become a depressingly common feature
in the history of young people with serious mental illnesses.
Cannabis is perceived by many as a “safe” drug, but there is now growing evidence that it is anything but. For more advice and information on schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses, visit www.sane.org.uk.
Dr. Mark Porter
28 June 2005
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UK: Randon drug testing questioned
The British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) has published an
editorial paper arguing that the current trend of random testing in
schools is a poor method of both identifying and supporting children who
use illicit drugs.
Authors Clare Gerada, director of the RCGP Substance Misuse Unit, and
Eilish Gilvarry, consultant psychiatrist in addiction, Centre for
Alcohol and Drugs Studies, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, say there is little
evidence that random testing prevents drug use in those that have not
started, or deters those already engaged in drug taking.
They believe, parents and children should receive accurate and detailed
information on their children's school drug policy and any drug
prevention activity that the school is engaged in. All those concerned,
they argue, should be fully informed of the problems involved with
biological testing and the course of action that will be taken on the
result of a test.
The authors conclude that any policy
introduced in schools should at the very least involve children, parents
and the wider community in a consensus on the type of testing carried
out and responses to such testing. They add that if drug testing
programmes are instituted, a supportive environment with links to young
people's health services may be more appropriate.
Dr Gerada said: “I believe that the introduction of random drug testing
in schools will detract us all from using effective models of drug
prevention and education. I am concerned that this type of testing may
paradoxically mean that children will hide their drug use, that drug use
will be harder to detect and that this policy will foster further
exclusion of our most vulnerable young people.”
The BJGP is published monthly and distributed to over 22,500 RCGP
members, associates, and subscribers in more than 40 countries
worldwide. Its primary purpose is to publish first-rate, peer reviewed
research papers on topics relevant to primary care.
The Royal College of General
Practitioners ( RCGP ) is the largest membership organisation in the
United Kingdom solely for GPs. It aims to encourage and maintain the
highest standards of general medical practice and to act as the “voice”
of GPs on issues concerned with education, training, research, and
clinical standards. Founded in 1952, the RCGP has over 22,500 members
who are committed to improving patient care, developing their own skills
and promoting general practice as a discipline.
28 June 2005
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Cream relieves children's IV pain: The new
ointment may improve pediatric hospital care
Hospitalization can be a frightening and
painful experience for children. But Canadian researchers report one
small improvement in care: a new topical anesthetic cream that reduced
pain for children during IV insertion while improving procedural success
rates.
A team of emergency department doctors at The Hospital for Sick Children
in Toronto focused on children aged 1 month to 17 years who required an
IV insertion (a process called cannulation). The young patients received
either the new cream called liposomal lidocaine (Maxilene) or a placebo
cream rubbed on their skin before the IV was inserted.
IVs were successfully inserted on the
first attempt in 74 percent of the children who received the liposomal
lidocaine and in 55 percent of the children who received the placebo.
The children who received the liposomal lidocaine also reported less
pain during IV insertion.
“In this study, we showed that the topical local anesthetic liposomal
lidocaine not only decreased pain during IV cannulation, but actually
facilitated the procedure,” study lead author Dr. Anna Taddio, a
hospital scientist and pharmacist, said in a prepared statement.
“Based on these results, we would recommend implementing its use as a
routine part of every cannulation procedure. Not only will children
benefit from less pain and less procedures, but children, their parents
and health-care workers will have less stress during procedures as
well,” said Taddio, who is also an assistant professor of pharmacy at
the University of Toronto.
For this study, Ferndale Laboratories provided the liposomal lidocaine and the placebo cream. Funding for the pharmacy dispensing costs was provided by RGR Pharma, the Canadian distributor of liposomal lidocaine.
The study was published in the June 21 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
27 June 2005
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Carbohydrates, sugar, and your child
Often called carbs, carbohydrates are the body's most important and
readily available source of energy. Even though they've gotten a bad rap
in the 2000s and have often been blamed for the obesity epidemic in
America, carbohydrates are a necessary part of a healthy diet for both
children and adults.
The two major forms are:
- simple sugars (simple carbohydrates), found in sugars such as fructose, glucose, and lactose, as well as in nutritious whole fruits
- starches (complex carbohydrates), found in foods such as starchy vegetables, grains, rice, and breads and cereals
So how, exactly, does the body process
carbohydrates and sugar? All carbohydrates are broken down into simple
sugars. These sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream. As the sugar
level rises, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin, which is
needed to move sugar from the blood into the cells, where the sugar can
be used as a source of energy.
The carbohydrates in some foods (mostly those that contain simple sugars
and highly refined grains, such as white flour and white rice) cause
your child's blood sugar level to rise more quickly than others. Complex
carbohydrates (found in whole grains), on the other hand, are broken
down more slowly, allowing blood sugar to rise more gradually. Eating a
diet that's high in foods that cause a rapid rise in blood sugar may
increase a person's risk of developing health problems like diabetes and
heart disease, although these studies have been done mostly in adults.
Despite the recent craze to cut carbs, the bottom line is that not all foods containing carbohydrates are bad for your child, whether they're complex, as in whole grains, or simple carbohydrates, such as those found in fruits. If carbohydrates were such a no-no, we'd have a huge problem, considering that most foods contain them. But, of course, some carbohydrate foods are healthier than others.
Good sources of carbohydrates include:
- whole-grain cereals
- brown rice
- whole-grain breads
- fruits
- vegetables
A healthy balanced diet for children over
2 years should include 50% to 60% of the calories consumed coming from
carbohydrates. The key is to make sure that the majority of
carbohydrates your child eats are from good sources and to limit the
amount of added sugar in your child's diet.
“Good” vs. “Bad” Carbs Carbohydrates have taken a lot of heat in recent
years. Why? Because many medical experts think excess consumption of
refined carbohydrates (refined sugars found in foods and beverages like
candy and soda, and refined grains like white rice and white flour,
found in many pastas and breads) are one reason behind the dramatic rise
of obesity in the United States.
But how could any one type of food cause such a big problem? Of course,
not exercising and eating larger portions of any foods than we need take
the lion's share of blame for the obesity epidemic. But the so-called
“bad” carbs — sugar and refined foods — tend to be significant
contributors to excess calories. Why? Because they're easy to get our
hands on, come in large portions, taste good, and aren't too filling.
People tend to eat more of these refined
foods than needed. And, often, foods like colas and candy provide no
required nutrients, so we really don't need to eat them at all.
Now the 2005 dietary guidelines are pushing for Americans to eat more
unrefined (often called “good”) carbohydrates by saying that everyone —
including kids and teens — should increase whole-grain consumption and
limit their intake of added sugar. For children, at least half of their
grain intake should come from whole grains. (The Food Guide Pyramid will
be revised soon to reflect the new dietary guidelines, which are
published every 5 years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.)
Whole grains certainly sound like the healthy way to go. But what makes
them so different than simple carbohydrates? Whole grains are complex
carbohydrates (like brown rice, oatmeal, and whole-grain breads and
cereals) that are:
- broken down more slowly in the body. Whole grains contain all three parts of the grain (the bran, germ, and endosperm), whereas refined grains are mainly just the endosperm — and that means more for your body to break down.
- More to break down means the breakdown is slower, the carbohydrates enter the body slower, and it's easier for your body to regulate them.
- high in fiber. Not just for the senior-citizen crowd, foods that are good sources of fiber are beneficial because they're filling and, therefore, discourage overeating. Plus, when combined with adequate fluid, they help move food through the digestive system and protect against gut cancers and constipation. packed with other vitamins and minerals.
- In addition to fiber, whole grains contain more essential fatty acids, vitamin E, magnesium, and zinc than their processed equivalents.
And if that's not enough, studies indicate that eating whole grains reduces your long-term risk of cancer and heart disease!
Kids Health
22 June 2005
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UK: BMA calls for action on childhood
obesity
Doctors’ group the British Medical
Association has called for a serious of measures to combat childhood
obesity including no ‘junk’ food advertising or sponsorship and bans on
‘unhealthy’ food and drinks vending machines in schools.
According to a BMA report called ‘Preventing Childhood Obesity,’
worldwide over 22 million children under five are severely overweight.
In the UK there are around 1 million obese children under 16 years of
age. These soaring rates in obesity have lead to an increase in
childhood type II diabetes and will lead to more future cases of heart
disease, osteoarthritis and some cancers, says the report from the BMA’s
Board of Science.
There is no precise figure of how much obesity costs the NHS, but every
year the health service spends at least £2bn (US$3.6bn) on treating ill
health caused by poor diet. Estimates indicate that, if current trends
continue, at least one fifth of boys and one third of girls will be
obese by 2020. Therefore the cost to the health service is likely to
increase unless measures are put in place to halt this growing problem.
“The recommendations in our report focus
on preventing childhood obesity,” said Dr Vivienne Nathanson, Head of
the BMA Science and Ethics. “There is no room for complacency and it’s
essential that the government listens to what doctors are saying. We
know that parents want to do the best for their children and we hope
this report will help them to do that.”
“It is madness that at a time when children are being told to eat less
and do more exercise, they go into school and are sold fizzy drinks and
doughnuts and do less than two hours time-tabled exercise a week,” she
said. “Children are being bombarded with mixed messages. On one hand
they might learn about healthy eating at school and then they go home
and spend hours watching TV and see celebrities eating hamburgers,
crisps or drinking fizzy drinks. Children and parents are surrounded by
the marketing of unhealthy cereals, snacks and processed meals – this
has to stop.”
The BMA said the government should mount
a sustained public education campaign to improve parents’ and children’s
understanding of the benefits of healthy living. There should be
mandatory nutrient and compositional standards for school meals.
Maximum/minimum levels should be set for fat, sugar, salt, vitamins and
minerals. In order to ensure compliance, the profile of health in school
inspections should be raised.
The sale of unhealthy food and drink products from school vending
machines should be banned in secondary and upper schools to continue the
healthy eating message given in primary schools. All schools should make
free water available from clean and hygienic sources.
The Government should subsidise the cost of fruit and vegetables to
encourage health eating. All manufacturers should be legally obliged to
reduce salt, sugar and fat in pre-prepared meals to an agreed level
within a defined time frame.
There should be a ban on the advertising of unhealthy foodstuffs,
including inappropriate sponsorship programmes, targeted at school
children.
Celebrities and children’s television
characters should only endorse healthy products that meet nutritional
criteria laid down by the Foods Standards Agency.
There should be resources to allow children from any region within the
UK to gain access to specialist regional obesity services.
The government should increase funding and improve access to sport and
recreation facilities within school and communities.
The BMA said it remained deeply concerned by the sale of school playing
fields.
23 June 2005
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American Medical Association to seek limits
on tanning, video games, alcohol
The American Medical Association voted
Wednesday to take on indoor tanning, violent video games and drinking in
an effort to promote healthier lifestyles among the young.
The nation's largest physicians' group also adopted new policies to
strengthen its campaign against childhood obesity, including urging
doctors to include waist measurements in children's routine exams.
The AMA's newly elected president, Dr. J. Edward Hill, suggested in his
inaugural remarks Tuesday that doctors use the campaign “as a
springboard to improve the health of our nation's most precious
commodity, our children.”
The measures adopted by AMA
member-delegates Wednesday, the final day of the annual meeting,
included a push for a federal ban on minors using tanning salons and
more appropriate labeling so only adults would be able to buy violent
video games.
States and cities have tried restricting the sale of violent video games
to minors, but federal courts have declared the efforts violations of
free speech.
Delegates also voted Wednesday to approve
resolutions asking the AMA to lobby for higher alcohol taxes and for
taxes to be based on the amount of alcohol per beverage, rather, rather
than volume.
Evidence suggests “that tax increases lead to lower alcohol consumption
rates among adults and youth, fewer binge-drinking episodes, and lower
traffic fatality rates,” a committee told the meeting delegates.
Dr. Ronald Davis, an AMA trustee, said it makes sense for a 120-proof
beverage to have a higher tax than a 20-proof beverage because the
higher alcohol content makes it more risky.
Interest groups say the AMA's new stance is misguided.
The Distilled Spirits Council of the
United States says liquor excise taxes are discriminatory and backfire
because by reducing demand, they also reduce tax revenue generated.
The Indoor Tanning Association similarly opposes the AMA push for
federal legislation to prohibit anyone under age 18 from using indoor
tanning equipment, a move that stemmed from concerns about skin cancer.
Several states have parental consent laws for teen indoor tanning but
none have successfully banned it outright, said Melissa Haynes of the
Indoor Tanning Association. She said her group believes “decisions on
whether or not a teen gets tan should be left up to their parents and
not the government.”
Lindsey Tanner
22 June 2005
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MRI shows up brain differences in bipolar
disorder
Efforts to define the abnormally
activated areas in the brains of people with bipolar disorder could lead
to new drug treatments and better coping strategies, investigators
reported at the International Conference on Bipolar Disorder in
Pittsburgh.
People with bipolar disorder suffer from extreme swings in mood, from
depression to mania. Dr. Stephen M. Strakowski and colleagues used
functional MRI, which measures levels of metabolic activity in different
areas, to examine the brains of 10 patients with bipolar disorder while
they were in a manic episode and 15 healthy people.
The study participants performed a
“stop-signal task,” in which they were instructed to respond to
projected letters depending on the letter color. The test provides a
measure of impulse control, Strakowski explained in an interview with
Reuters Health.
During the test, bipolar patients exhibited increased activation in a
“distributed network of brain regions known to involve the control of
emotion and emotional expression,” Strakowski said. His group found that
these mood networks are connected with the cognitive networks, “so when
mood networks are overactivated they interfere with cognition,” leading
to reduced impulse control.
The researchers looked at areas of the posterior brain typically
involved in attentional processes in healthy people. These areas become
activated as attentional tasks become more difficult.
Bipolar patients seem to have these areas
activated at baseline, “suggesting that they try to recruit these
compensatory areas to manage the interference from the emotional
network,” the researcher noted.
This means that bipolar patients tend not to trade speed for accuracy as
tasks become more complicated, he continued. “They won't slow down to do
better.”
He hopes that their findings will lead to new therapeutic approaches for
bipolar disorder, such as helping patients learn how to delay reactions
so that decision-making is more functional.
These findings will also assist the researchers in the next stage of
their work, Strakowski said. “The next step is to use other imaging
methods like magnetic resonance spectroscopy to define neurochemical
abnormalities that underlie these activation abnormalities.”
Such neurochemical abnormalities could provide direct targets for drug
development.
Karla Gale
20 June 2005
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Acting violently could be protective
against the effects of community violence
Researchers have known for some time that
violent adolescents tend to become more depressed over time than other
adolescents. And young people living in violent neighborhoods also are
more subject to depression. But violent adolescent boys who also live in
unsafe neighborhoods where they witness violent acts do not appear to
get as depressed. According to a new Cornell University study, being
aggressive in the context of community violence could be an adaptive
strategy that preserves adolescents' sense of control in a volatile and
unpredictable environment. “This may seem counter intuitive, that
violence in a violent context could be somewhat protective for
psychological well-being among adolescent boys,” said Raymond Swisher,
assistant professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell.
To examine the interactive relationships among adolescent violence,
street violence and depression, Swisher and Robert D. Latzman '03, now a
graduate student in clinical psychology at the University of Iowa,
analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health,
a nationally representative sample of 8,939 adolescents in grades 7 to
12; data on the adolescents was collected twice, once in 1995 and again
in 1996.
The research, which was the basis of
Latzman's senior honors thesis when he was an undergraduate student in
the College of Human Ecology at Cornell, is published in a recent issue
of the Journal of Community Psychology (33: 355-371, May 2005). It also
was presented at the American Psychological Society's annual meeting in
May 2004.
“The consequences of community violence are widespread,” said Swisher.
“Exposure to community violence destroys the notion that homes, schools
and communities are safe places, and youths exposed to community
violence have higher rates of emotional, behavioral and cognitive
problems. Witnessing community violence has emerged as a risk factor for
all kinds of problems, from depression and post-traumatic stress
symptoms to suicidal behaviors, aggression and violence.”
It was somewhat surprising, therefore, to find that acting violently
could be protective against the effects of community violence, Swisher
said. Violence was defined as getting into a physical fight, pulling a
knife or gun, shooting or stabbing someone, seriously injuring someone
or taking part in a group fight.
However, the protective factor was found only among males, and the older the males, the stronger the effect. On the other hand, adolescent girls who act violently tend to become more depressed, and the more violent their environments are, the deeper their depression, said Swisher, who noted that American adolescents are increasingly exposed to violence.
“While U.S. crime rates have declined steadily in recent years, adolescents comprise one segment of the population that continues to be plagued with the problem of violence,” said Swisher. “So much so, that some consider violence a public health epidemic for today's youth.”
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Lifestyle link to Alzheimer's strengthens
Drinking fruit and vegetable juice,
getting regular exercise, even brushing your teeth could offer
protection against Alzheimer's, a much-feared brain disease that affects
4.5 million people in the USA. Those and other findings were reported
Sunday in Washington, D.C., at the first Alzheimer's Association
International Conference on the Prevention of Dementia. They suggest
that lifestyle is closely linked to the development of this disease,
which causes confusion, memory loss and behavioral changes
If lifestyle changes can prevent or slow the disease, people might get a
diagnosis at age 75 instead of at 70, says Ronald Petersen of the Mayo
Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Center in Rochester, Minn. In some cases, a
delay could mean the disease never fully takes hold, he adds.
The race to prevent Alzheimer's has taken on an urgency as the number of
Americans with the disease is expected to soar in the coming decades. If
current rates hold, up to 16 million people will develop Alzheimer's by
the middle of the century, according to the Alzheimer's Association.
Their care could push Medicare spending for the disease from about $91
billion in 2005 to more than $1 trillion by 2050, Petersen says.
“We've got to do something about this disease or it's going to bankrupt
the system,” he says.
Could something as simple as drinking juice help hold off Alzheimer's?
Maybe.
Amy Borenstein of the University of South
Florida College of Public Health studied more than 1,800 people and
found that those who drank fruit or vegetable juice three times or more
a week were four times less likely to develop Alzheimer's late in life
than people who rarely or never drank juice.
Borenstein and her colleagues believe the protective power of juice
comes from polyphenols, powerful antioxidants found in the skin and peel
of fruits and vegetables. Polyphenols are concentrated in juice that is
made by crushing the whole fruit, she says.
The findings must be verified by additional studies. But Borenstein says
her research suggests that drinking at least three 8-ounce glasses of
juice each week might be beneficial.
Another prescription for a better
brain: Work out. Take a walk. Ride a bike.
“In our study, almost any report of exercise seemed to be good for the
brain,” says Mark Sager, a researcher at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison Medical School.
Sager and his colleagues studied nearly 500 men and women with an
average age of 53. None had any sign of Alzheimer's, but tests revealed
that people who reported regular exercise performed slightly better on
memory tests.
Sager says the results fit with other research showing that exercise can
boost the number of new brain-cell connections that provide a mental
edge in midlife and might offer a hedge against Alzheimer's.
Sager's study found another habit that helped boost brainpower: Men and
women who reported drinking one to three alcoholic drinks a week also
did slightly better on such tests.
Other studies have suggested red wine,
which also is rich in protective polyphenols, reduces the risk of
developing the disease, he says.
Margaret Gatz of the University of Southern California reported that
people with signs of gum disease, a bacterial infection of the mouth,
have a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's. Her study of 109 pairs of
identical twins adds to evidence that chronic inflammation caused by gum
disease can lead to a number of health problems, including Alzheimer's.
To sidestep this risk factor, brush and floss your teeth, Gatz advises.
Alzheimer's smolders in the brain for decades before erupting into
full-fledged symptoms, usually after age 60, says William Thies of the
Alzheimer's Association. Sager and others say it's best to develop
brain-healthy habits as early as possible. “We're hoping that 55 is not
too late,” he says.
Kathy Facklemann
19 June 2005
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Children eat according to the size of the serving
Contrary to what many people believe,
preschool children do not adjust how much they eat in response to how
much they ate at their last meal or in the past 24 hours or how
calorie-rich their meal is. By far, the most powerful predictor for how
much children eat is how much food is put on their plate, concludes a
new study by Cornell University researchers.
“We examined all the predictors we could of how much a child eats at a
meal,” said David Levitsky, professor of nutritional sciences and of
psychology at Cornell. “We found that portion size is, by far, the most
important factor in predicting how much a child will eat. These findings
suggest that both the onus of controlling children's weight — both in
causing overweight in children as well as in its prevention — must rest
squarely in the hands of parents and other caregivers.”
Levitsky and Gordana Mrdjenovic, Cornell Ph.D. '00, monitored the food
intake of 16 preschool children, ages 4-6, for five to seven consecutive
days in day-care centers, and parents kept a food diary of what their
children ate in the evenings and weekends.
“We found that the more food children are served, the more they eat,
regardless of what they've eaten previously in the day, including how
big their breakfast was,” said Levitsky. “We also found that the more
snacks children are offered, the greater their total daily food and
calorie intake.”
The study is published in the June issue of Appetite ( 44:3, pp. 273-282 ).
Although previous studies had suggested
that children regulate their food intake much more precisely than
adults, most of those studies were conducted in laboratories, not in
natural settings where environmental factors can play a very powerful
role in determining a child's food intake, Levitsky said.
A previous study by the two Cornell nutritionists similarly reported
that children do not adjust for the amount of food they eat to
compensate for how many sweetened drinks they have either at meals or
between meals. And in a previous study, Levitsky, with a different
co-author, reported that the more food young adults are served, the more
they eat.
Childhood obesity is now considered an epidemic in the United States.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the number of children
who are overweight has doubled in the last two to three decades;
currently one child in five is overweight. The increase is in both
children and adolescents, and in all age, race and gender groups. Obese
children are now developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, that used
to occur only in adults. Researchers now know that overweight children
tend to become overweight adults, continuing to put them at greater risk
for heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. Overweight children
not only suffer more health problems but also social discrimination,
which puts them at higher risk for low self-esteem and depression.
The study, which was part of the Ph.D. degree awarded to Mrdjenovic, was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Susan S. Lang
20 June 2005
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Study ties state laws, unwed child births
Tough child support laws may dissuade men
from becoming unwed fathers, as states with the most stringent laws and
strict enforcement have up to 20 percent fewer out-of-wedlock births, a
new study shows.
Researchers at the University of Washington and Columbia University said
Friday that child support laws' power to reduce single parenthood is an
unintended consequence of a policy designed to help children and cut
public welfare costs.
“Often the unintended effects are bad, so it's refreshing to see that,”
said lead study author Robert Plotnick, a University of Washington
professor of public affairs. “Women living in states that do a better
job of enforcing child support are less likely to become an unwed
mother.”
The percentage of unmarried births in the United States has increased
from 10 percent in the 1960s to about a third of all births today.
Because children of single parents run a higher risk of poverty,
academic failure and other problems, lawmakers are always seeking
policies that will discourage unwed births — usually focusing on the
mothers.
Researchers said their study recognizes
the father's responsibility.
“Decisions about sexual intercourse and marriage involve two people,”
said study co-author Irwin Garfinkel, a Columbia University professor
and one of the nation's top experts on child support.
The study, which has not yet been published, looked at a nationwide
sample of 5,195 women of childbearing age using data from 1980-1993.
It didn't show whether tougher child support laws prevented pregnancies
or encouraged marriage. Plotnick said the data limited the researchers
to observing a strong correlation between tough child support
enforcement and fewer out-of-wedlock births. Whether that's caused by
fewer unmarried people getting pregnant or more couples marrying when
the woman is expecting, he could not say. But he said the findings
warrant further study.
“It's been very hard to find conventional programs that reduce unwed
childbearing that work,” Plotnick said Friday. “If you found a program
cutting nonmarried births by 20 percent, you'd be happy.”
Researchers noted wide disparities in
child support policies. For example, in 2002 — the most recent year for
which data were available — only one state, New Jersey, collected at
least 80 percent of owed child support.
According to Columbia University's National Center for Children in
Poverty, 31 states collected 41 percent to 60 percent of child support
orders. The District of Columbia collected less than 20 percent of all
child support owed.
Rebecca Cook
18 June 2005
___
Suicide in one partner substantially
increases suicide risk in the other
Suicide in one partner significantly increases the risk of suicide in
the other, finds a large study in the Journal of Epidemiology and
Community Health. But there are gender differences, the research
shows.
The findings are based on 475,000 Danes, comprising 9,000 suicides aged
25 to 60, their partners and children, and a comparison group.
The author used national Danish population, employment, and health
registers to obtain information on causes of death, admissions to
psychiatric units, marital status, family size, and socioeconomic
factors.
Women whose partner had first been admitted to a psychiatric unit within
the preceding two years were almost seven times as likely to commit
suicide as women with partners whose mental health was good. This was
almost double the risk of men in the same circumstances, who ran nearly
a fourfold risk.
But men who had lost their partner to
suicide were 46 times as likely to commit suicide themselves. This was
around three times the risk of women bereaved by suicide.
Men might be less likely to seek support, or have untreated or
undetected mental illness, suggests the author, in a bid to explain the
differences between the sexes.
Being separated or divorced roughly doubled the risk of suicide, but
affected both sexes to the same extent.
The loss of a child through suicide or other causes roughly doubled the
risk of suicide in both parents, although parenthood seemed to be a
protective factor in women.
An accompanying editorial contends that “assortative mating” — like
seeking out like — might account for the figures.
Source: Editorial: Suicide risk after spousal suicide or psychiatric admission: effects of assortative mating on heritable traits compared with environmental explanations. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2005; 59: 347-8
20 June 2005
___
Home Alone Kids Would Prefer Parents' Company
Children left home alone spend their time watching television, surfing the internet and using online chatrooms, but few of their parents know what they are doing, a survey reveals today.
Girls are more studious with nearly half spending their time doing homework, compared with 15% of boys. Boys, on the other hand, are addicted to playing video games while their parents are out, with 42% admitting to playing, compared with 7% of girls.
Almost a quarter of 11 to 16-year-olds are left home alone for at least an hour a day with many left feeling worried or upset by the experience, the poll for Readers Digest found. Almost 300,000 children are left alone for as much as three hours a day.
Over half said they spent all or a lot of the time watching television, but only 27% of parents think this is what they are doing. Some 40% also use internet chat rooms when home alone in the afternoon , the time when sexual predators flock to the internet, according to experts. Yet only 13% of parents believe their offspring are using the internet when they are not there to supervise.
Katherine Walker, editor-in-chief of Readers Digest, said this is a “real wake-up call for parents”. She said: “Not only are parents unaware of what their children are doing when they are not around, children themselves are lonely and at risk. With two parents working, leaving youngsters on their own may often be unavoidable, but parents should tell their kids that they would rather it did not have to be that way.”
A quarter of 11 to 13-year-olds say they feel lonely, worried or upset when left home alone after school, according to the poll. And almost one in three (31%) children would prefer their mum and dad to be home more often with boys (34%) feeling this more than girls (23%).
More than a third (37%) of parents are worried about leaving their children at home with no adult present.
BMRB interviewed 587 parents or guardians aged over 27 and interviewed 500 children aged 11-16 online for the Readers Digest poll.
By Karen Attwood http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4660685
___
Faulty filters: Children with ADD can't tune out distractions
Recently, a parent expressed concern about her son's
performance in second grade. Although enjoying school, according to his
teacher, John was having problems. He did not listen to directions and
was constantly in motion. While lessons were being taught, he seemed to
be in his own world. His grades were beginning to suffer.
Alice was a sophomore in high school. Always an honor student, she found
her grades deteriorating since beginning high school. She spent more and
more time studying and doing homework, yet the results continued to
worsen. She found herself distracted, frustrated and disappointed..
These children are having difficulties and may share a common problem.
Could they have Attention Deficit Disorder?
What is ADD?
Here is a way to think about ADD; it may not be the
most scientifically accurate model, but it allows us to understand what
appears to happen. Think of the brain as a computer. And as all
computers require input through disks, keyboard or modem, so does our
brain receive input for sensory systems such as our eyes, ears, and
senses of taste, smell and touch. While we are awake, we are constantly
bombarded by many thousands of bits of information. In order to
function, our brain has a “filter” that tunes out irrelevant
information. For example, will you remember in six months what color
shirt you are wearing today? Or will you hear the humming of your
air-conditioning system while you read this? We automatically ignore
these things in order to concentrate on things at hand.
Children with ADD have “filters” that are immature. Thus they react to
things that most of us ignore. The child in the next row drops his
pencil and John looks up. Then someone coughs and his attention is again
diverted. This inability to prevent distraction is a hallmark of ADD.
It is estimated that three percent to five percent of children in the
United States have ADD. This corresponds to roughly 2 million children
or one to two children in every class of 25. ADD was first described in
1845. A fidgety child who had trouble paying attention was the subject
of that report.
All children with ADD share certain characteristics. The distractibility described above is universal. “But he can sit in front of his PlayStation for hours,” I am often told. However, that setting is entirely different from one that includes a lot of people. Children with ADD are also impulsive, acting before considering the consequences. The child jumping up and down, waving his arms, volunteering an answer to a question that has not been asked is demonstrating impulsive behavior. Generally these kids also have trouble with organization. They know the facts, but they have trouble writing a book report. Some kids, but not all, have hyperactive behavior, being unable to sit still. This group is said to have ADHD, Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder.
ADD is diagnosed only by observational surveys
completed by parents, teachers, and others working with a child. A
variety of causes have been proposed; these include environmental
agents, such as lead or mercury, food additives and sugar. As many as 25
percent of close relatives of children with ADD have ADD themselves,
suggesting a strong genetic component. Boys are more affected than
girls. Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of children improve
when the above conditions are corrected.
Children with ADD are likely to have other accompanying conditions:
learning disabilities, depression, oppositional behavior or bipolar
disease. These conditions cannot be ignored when attempting a diagnosis.
Clinical studies have demonstrated that behavioral
therapy and medication together are the most effective remedies for ADD.
In essence, the medicines work to tune the filter described above,
allowing less distraction, better impulse control and improved
organization skills. Therapies such as herbal medications and
chiropractic have not had proven effects.
Is ADD over-diagnosed? I believe so. BUT it does exist and the
consequences can be devastating. Children with ADD often begin to show
symptoms as they enter the structure of school settings. I have seen
children improve from C and D students to honors students with proper
therapy. I've seen social outcasts develop friendships and relationship
skills. I've seen depressed children become happy. Properly diagnosed
and treated, children with ADD are truly a joy to watch as their lives
change for the better.
If questions exist about your child, be concerned without overreacting.
Your pediatrician can help you find the right course. Ignoring the
situation might dig a hole from which a child will have difficulty
escaping. Be educated, be aware and unafraid to find answers if there is
a problem. These concerns can only help your child.
Mark Diamond
June 15, 2005
Mark Diamond, M.D., who has been in pediatric practice for 27 years in the South Hills, writes occasional columns in Your Health about trends in children's health http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05166/521438.stm
___
Teens on obesity drug: Report on study
funded by the maker of the medication
A report on the study of 539 patients ages 12 to 16 was published in
this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association; an
arm of the study was carried out at Schneider Children's Hospital in New
Hyde Park.
The study was the first randomized clinical trial to evaluate the use of
orlistat, trade-named Xenical, in adolescents, and it was published
along with an accompanying editorial cautioning against using the drug
as “stand-alone treatment” to combat rising rates of obesity among
children and youth.
Even the researchers noted that the benefits of the drug were modest:
Overall, decreases in body mass index occurred in both groups during the
first 12 weeks of the study, but were stabilized with orlistat and
started climbing back up past the baseline for patients taking placebo
pills.
“This should not be considered a miracle drug,” said author Dr. Jean
Pierre Chanoine, of the British Columbia Children's Hospital in
Vancouver. “I don't think there is a magic answer.”
But he pointed out that a subset of teens
within each group were considerably more successful, with 26.5 percent
of those taking orlistat and 15.7 percent of patients on placebo seeing
reductions of more than 5 percent in BMI, while 13.3 percent of the
orlistat patients and 4.5 percent of the placebo patients reduced their
BMI by 10 percent or more.
Dr. Marc Jacobson, who enrolled 16 teens in the study at Schneider, said
the modest weight loss seen in the clinical trial should not be
misconstrued. “It's normal for kids to gain weight during adolescence,
because they're growing,” he explained. “So for these kids, a period of
time without gaining weight is positive; it's comparable to an adult
losing weight.”
Vincenzo Rosignano, 14, a high school student from Corona who goes to
Schneider for help with his weight problem, said he's lost 15 pounds
this past year with orlistat's help. During the previous year, despite
changes in diet and exercise, he lost only half that amount.
“I don't have any side effects, as long as I don't eat cheese,” he said.
Recently, he was trying on old summer clothes and noticed he was able to
fit into last year's shorts — a major milestone, he said, though he
still wants to lose at least 50 pounds more.
Orlistat works by decreasing intestinal
fat absorption. While on the drug, patients must take supplements of
fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D and K, doctors said. Side
effects include loose stools, nausea, abdominal pain and cramps, but
experts say the drug is unlikely to have deleterious long-term effects
because it remains in the gut and is not absorbed systemically.
An editorial accompanying the paper noted that obesity tends to be a
chronic condition and questioned whether orlistat will have to be used
as a lifelong medication to achieve permanent losses.
“What will be critical to determine is whether the weight loss (or
slowing of weight gain) achieved by those treated with orlistat is
sustainable over time,” wrote Dr. Alain Joffe of Johns Hopkins
University. “Once adolescents stop using orlistat, will they maintain
their weight loss, or will maintenance require ongoing use of the
medication?”
Chanoine, responding to this question, compared obesity to other chronic
conditions, such as hypertension. “If your hypertension is controlled
with a drug you're taking, you don't expect to stop the drug after a
year or two; you're expected to continue taking it.”
The study was funded by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., which manufactures the drug.
Roni Rabin
15 June 2005
___
If your children eat junk food, it's your
own fault
I’m a lunchbox spy. I can’t help it. When I sit down for dinner with my children I ask what their classmates ate that day at school in their packed lunches. It’s great family entertainment. We laugh. We cry. And it’s cheaper than a West End show. Try it sometime if you have kids. Borrow some if you don’t. Steel yourself, however. In my experience the answer to “What did everyone eat at school?” won’t be “nothing”, but it could be “two Mars bars and a packet of crisps”. That’s the lunchtime diet of a six-year-old boy in my younger son’s class. Really.
I didn’t believe it myself until I saw it on a school trip. I used to think that my son was having me on. He knows how to wind up his mother. Then I went to the British Museum with 60 children from our West London state primary, and under the same roof as the Rosetta Stone, that triumph of human intelligence, a Year 2 child in full view of his class teacher ploughed his way through two caramel-filled chocolate bars and fistfuls of Walkers. I almost choked on my multi-grain ham sandwich.
It’s here that I’ll confess to being what passes in the UK as a bit of a health nut. At home we bake wholemeal bread, and I’m one of a dying breed of parents who make time to eat at a table most evenings with my children. Try not to hate me. We have a national problem. Jamie Oliver is a treasure, to be sure. British school meals are a disgrace. Our Government has betrayed us by letting standards sink. But let’s be honest. Too many parents these days are lazy about feeding their children. Send me hate mail if you must, but I won’t back down. I’ve seen too many nightmare lunchboxes.
The dirty little secret of Britain’s
lunchboxes, of course, is that food in our country is a class issue.
Most of the children eating unhealthily at my son’s school are poorer
than those eating well. On a visit last month to a junior school on a
housing estate outside Birmingham, only one girl in a group of Year 5s
(aged 10 to 11) had a fresh piece of fruit. One of her friends had a Kit
Kat, a packet of Hula Hoops and a Snickers bar. Her drink was orange
soda. No one had brown bread. Several of the girls were fat. “My mum
never buys brown bread,” said one child. “I only like white.”
My friend works for an educational publisher that has access to market
research on how families eat; this shows that parents are giving their
children low-quality food to eat because they eat it themselves. It’s
not ignorance about what is healthy, nor is it always a money issue.
Many cannot be bothered to make the effort. Shockingly, many low-income
families buy ready-made meals that cost more per person than roasting a
chicken. It’s faster and easier to buy ten croissants from Somerfield
than it is to split open a pitta bread and fill it with grated carrots
and cheese.
Yet it’s taboo to complain publicly about
the food in children’s boxes. The social divide at our primary school is
acute. I’m seen as one of the “rich” ones, a white middle-class mummy
who can afford to shop at the local farmers’ market. The reality is that
I’ve been as tired, strapped for cash and busy as anyone else over the
past year. But I’m fussy about food. I think my children deserve to eat
well. If they’re hungry, they can help themselves without asking to
fruit, toast and milk. They don’t have video-games. We bike to school.
We’re so old-fashioned we’re almost hip.
Even my children realise how tricky it is to comment on what others eat.
When I told my eight-year-old that I was planning to write about his
friends’ lunchboxes, he looked pained. “Don’t you think that’s rather
personal?” he asked.
Personal, yes. But political, too. We’re kidding ourselves if we deny
that what others eat affects us, too. The boy in my son’s class who eats
the two Mars bars and packet of crisps each day is also the most
disruptive child in the class. I don’t need a scientific study to
persuade me that diet affects behaviour — I’ve seen my boys after
chocolate ice-cream.
It’s too easy to pass the buck. Everyone has had a hand in letting our children down. Yes, the big food companies are shameful for pitching Thomas the Tank Engine yoghurts at our toddlers. The muscled Williams sister who promotes McDonald’s in TV ads with the slogan “I’m Lovin’ It” should be made to play at Wimbledon with her serving arm tied behind her back. But no one is forcing us to feed junk to our kids. If you can’t or won’t cook, give them a banana. Scramble an egg.
How to teach your children healthy eating
It’s not difficult to get most children to eat well if you set a good example, make mealtimes fun and refuse to let food become a battleground with fussy eaters. My friends used to laugh at me when my sons were babies, but I made all of their food. Whatever I cooked for my husband and me I served to them without salt as a purée. When possible, I ate with my toddlers, even if that meant eating a second dinner later, and discouraged the ordering of dumbed-down “kiddie meals” when we ate out. My boys would split an adult portion of “real” food instead of nuggets, baked beans and chips.
At home, we cook together. I’ve always been happiest in a kitchen, and we eat a variety of foods. I invent recipes for them, often just by giving a silly name to leftovers, and they go for it. I try to buy in season, and am fussy about quality for reasons of taste. You won’t get a child to love runner beans if they’re tough and taste of nothing. Mine will try many vegetables if there’s a good sauce for dipping, and they like colours. A good way to trick reluctant vegetable eaters is with soups. My six-year-old won’t eat pumpkin, but loves pumpkin soup. A hand-held blender is an essential gadget if you want to feed kids. I keep the food I make for them fast to prepare. There’s nothing worse than a child rejecting a dish you’ve slaved to prepare.
On a budget, look for special offers and
scour farmers’ markets. Most children aren’t keen on supermarkets —
neither am I — but I take them to open-air markets, where they often
pick out items I’d not have chosen. Then they get a brownie as a treat.
My younger son was a picky eater when he was little, refusing most
vegetables and protein. When anaemia was diagnosed, we drew a chart of
all iron-rich foods, and he was delighted to find that chocolate was on
it. I don’t ban any foods, but I restrict them. We bake cakes as a treat
and have home-made rice pudding or fruit crumble once or twice a week.
The rest of the time we eat mostly fruit and yoghurt as desserts. Last
Sunday we had friends to tea and made scones with Cornish clotted cream,
jam and strawberries. Then all the children ate a scoop each of vanilla
ice-cream.
An exception to the healthy rule is when we fly on long-haul trips; my
husband is American so we do this more than many families. I let them
have any snack on offer, including caffeine-free fizzy drinks. And they
still talk about a holiday in Italy when I let them eat 12 flavours of
ice-cream in one day. At children’s parties, I let them eat whatever
anyone else is having. But they’ve become quite health-conscious over
time on their own.
We’re omniverous. I cook with meat,
butter, whole milk. I don’t like reduced fat foods. It’s a small bit of
the real thing or not at all.
When they were tiny I started asking my children to chop or grate or
pinch salt for me, and they were usually happy to eat what they had
helped to prepare. Now they make smoothies, scrambled eggs, toast and
vinaigrette dressing.
It’s hard not to be anxious when a child refuses to eat, but it’s a good
rule of thumb that they won’t starve themselves. If mine say they don’t
want something, I try to say “OK”. I don’t provide an alternative. If
they don’t eat any of the main course, they get no dessert. But if
they’ve done a reasonable job, that’s fine. (Not that I’m a saint; I do
get short-tempered sometimes if they refuse to eat anything at all. I’ll
offer them toast, maybe with cheese, but they cannot pick another meal.
I’m not running a restaurant.)
They can help themselves to as much fruit as they like, and I try not to
worry about my food bills. We buy almost no processed or prepared foods.
And I don’t really buy juice, except as a treat. It’s costly, less
nutritious than fresh fruit and fills their tummies at mealtimes. I tell
my boys they can drink water or milk.
Before we moved to London, we had a
garden and grew things. That got the younger one keen on eating his
crops. These days, we have strawberry plants on our kitchen table.
My boys eat snacks, but I rarely give them sweets or candy bars. At
Granny’s house they get crisps and chocolate bars, which they love. I
leave bowls of nuts, dried fruit, crackers and breadsticks on the
kitchen table for after school. We got into the habit of stopping at a
bakery on our cycle ride back home from school last year, but my then
five-year-old was too full at dinner to eat well. So now we pedal home
first.
Sue Ellicott
14 June 2005
___
Media violence may alter brain activity in
children
Watching violent television programs or video games may affect
children’s minds even if they don’t have a history of aggressive
behavior, a new study shows.
Researchers found non-aggressive children who had been exposed to high
levels of media violence had similar patterns of activity in an area of
the brain linked to self-control and attention as aggressive children
who had been diagnosed with disruptive behavior disorder.
“This observation is the first demonstration of differences in brain
function being associated with media violence exposure,” says researcher
Vincent Mathews, MD, of the Indiana University School of Medicine, in a
news release.
Although this study shows a link between violent media exposure and
brain function differences, researchers say more study is needed before
they know if the violent media exposure caused these differences.
Violence may change the brain
In the study, researchers measured
activity in the frontal cortex (the front part) of the brain in two
groups of 14 boys and five girls while they performed a task requiring
concentration. Less activity in the frontal cortex has been associated
with problems with self-control and attention.
One group of children was considered aggressive and had been diagnosed
with disruptive behavior disorder and the other had no history of
behavior problems.
About half of the children in each group had been exposed to high levels
of media violence, as defined as a higher than average amount of time
spent each week watching television programs or playing video games
depicting human injury.
As expected, the results showed that all of the aggressive children had
reduced activity in their frontal cortex while completing the task,
regardless of their levels of media violence exposure.
But researchers found that non-aggressive children who had high levels
of media violence exposure also displayed a similar pattern of low
activity in the frontal cortex. Children in this group who weren’t
exposed to high levels of media violence had more frontal cortex
activity.
“We found high rates of exposure to violent television and video games
in teens, but we are just beginning to explore the possible implications
of this exposure for brain and behavioral development,” says researcher
Kronenberger, PhD, of Indiana University, in the release. “There are
myriad articles showing that exposure to violent TV, especially, causes
individuals to be more aggressive. We are studying the neurological and
self-control processes that underlie the aggressive behavior.”
Jennifer Warner
13 June 2005
SOURCES: Matthews, V. Journal of
Computer Assisted Tomography, May/June 2005; vol 29: pp 287-292.
News release, Indiana University School of Medicine.
___
Parents' depression linked to children's
allergy
Parents with major depression or panic
disorder are more likely to have children with asthma and other
allergy-based conditions, according to study findings published in the
journal Psychosomatic Medicine. The fact that the association held only
for biological children supports the idea of a “shared genetic
liability.”
Dr. Ramin Mojtabai, from Columbia University, in New York, assessed the
link between childhood allergy disorders and parental major depression,
generalized anxiety disorder, and panic attacks in a sample of 9,240
parent-child pairs drawn from the 1999 US National Health Interview
Survey.
The Composite International Diagnostic Interview, Short Form was used to
make parental psychiatric diagnoses, and allergic disorders included hay
fever, respiratory allergies, eczema, wheezing, food allergies and
asthma.
A total of 8686 of the parent-child pairs
were biological and 554 were nonbiological. Thirty-one percent of the
children and 19 percent of the adults had allergic disorders. Major
depression was diagnosed 6 percent of the parents, panic attacks in 3
percent and generalized anxiety disorder in 3 percent.
A statistically significant association between major depression and
panic attacks in parents and allergic disorders in children was seen
only in biological parent-child pairs.
Further, in analyzes restricted to biological parent-child pairs, the
association between parental major depression and panic attacks and
childhood allergy-based disorders was statistically significant only in
mothers.
Mojtabai, who is currently at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New
York, observed an association between parental allergic disorders and
childhood allergic disorders in biological and nonbiological
parent-child pairs. There were no gender differences found in the
association of parental and childhood allergic disorders.
An additive effect of parental allergic disorders and psychopathology
was observed in the risk of allergic disorders in children.
These findings should be viewed in the context of previous studies that
found an increased risk of depression in children of parents with
allergic disorders, Mojtabai told Reuters Health.
“In this context, data from the present study further support the possibility of common genes for depression and panic disorder on the one hand, and allergic disorders on the other hand,” Mojtabai said.
Michelle Rizzo
9 June 2005
SOURCE: Psychosomatic Medicine, May 2005.
___
New Zealand MPs to rethink drinking age
Buying alcohol could be off limits to 18
and 19-year-olds after legislation returning the drinking age to 20
overwhelmingly passed its first crucial round in Parliament.
With an election looming, MPs yesterday voted almost 2-1 to back a bid
to lift the drinking age in a conscience vote — a sign they are under
pressure in their constituencies to take action over teen drinking.
The vote was 78 to 41 in favour of sending it to a select committee for
further examination.
But the outcome of the final vote after the election is far from
certain, with the bill's author, Progressive MP Matt Robson,
acknowledging that some MPs are guaranteeing their support only through
the initial stages.
Opponents of the bill say stripping 18 and 19-year-olds of their legal
right to drink is bizarre. They are predicting the bill will be killed
on its final vote.
But health and alcohol groups welcomed
the chance to re-examine New Zealand's drinking culture.
“This is not about criminalising young people,” Drug Foundation
executive director Ross Bell said.
“The impact of lowering the drinking age has been bleakly reflected in
many negative social indicators, such as binge drinking rates, the
increase in alcohol accessed by children younger than 16 and
drink-driving rates among young people.”
The Medical Association said it was a chance for Parliament to “get it
right”.
The Sale of Liquor (Youth Alcohol Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill comes
just six years after Parliament narrowly supported lowering the drinking
age from 20 to 18.
Those who backed the bill on its first vote yesterday included Prime
Minister Helen Clark, who also voted against lowering the drinking age
in 1999. National Party leader Don Brash opposed the bill in yesterday's
vote.
As well as lifting the drinking age, the bill imposes tougher rules on
alcohol advertising and supplying alcohol to minors.
Mr Robson said there was a groundswell of concern about the effect of
lowering the drinking age. It was time Parliament examined the evidence.
“Did the decision to lower the alcohol purchasing age...in turn lower
the effective age at which minors easily access alcohol by two years?”
he said.
“Did the law change exacerbate
under-18-year-old youth binge drinking and associated problems, such as
road accidents and unplanned pregnancies? Did the law change exacerbate
hospital admissions for heavily intoxicated 13 to 17-year-olds?”
ACT MP Keith Shirley said it was “bizarre” to think that making alcohol
illegal for 18 and 19-year-olds who at the moment drink with the law's
blessing would fix binge drinking.
“Binge drinking is a problem in our country, I think underage drinking
is a problem. But this does not address it. We're saying that people can
go to war, vote, get married — but they can't buy a beer?”
Mr Shirley did not believe the bill would survive its final vote.
“What we've seen with that vote I believe is a lot of electorate MPs
getting very nervous about the election — knowing that there are views
and attitudes out there about this and not wanting to upset anyone.”
Hospitality Association chief executive Bruce Robertson said the bill
was “regressive”. But he was not surprised by the vote. “A number of MPs
had indicated that while they thought the bill was silly they wanted to
have a look at it in the select committee.”
Tracy Watkins
9 June 2005
___
Italy — Drugs and underage: Initiation
begins at 11
Drugs and youth. Actually, drugs and
children. The alarm comes from Dr Andrea Fantoma, General Director of
the National Dept for Drug Policies, who mentions some data contained in
the Yearly Report to the Parliament on 2005 Drug Addiction.
“The first, casual encounter with drugs is usually around the age of 11:
cannabinoids. It's not like the old spliff in the 70's, the percentage
of cannabinoids now reached 15-16 pct. The use of cannabinoids and
cocaine is increasing at a concerning rate throughout the country”. Dr
Claudio Leonardi, FeDerSerD president agrees: “cocaine and hashish are
being taken by 11 and 12 year-olds.
When they are 15, they move on to SerT.
The percentage of girls is increasing too. Insuspectable, they go well
at school, then they freak out on Saturdays. Dealers actually give
credit to some boys and girls: dealership or sexual acts to pay off the
debt.
And parents don't seem to notice all this, because of a lack of
communication. Teachers seem to be more attentive. Druge prices are
falling: heroin and hashish can be bought for only 5 euro. Hashis is
growing stronger, and has hallucinogic effects. Hardly anyone still uses
syringes: people prefer to smoke heroin and cocaine. The latest trend is
the 'catata', smoking cocaine from a bottle. SerTs include methadone,
heroine, cocaine and buprenorphine”
(AGI) Rome, Italy
8 June 2005
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Suicidal behavior in adolescents,
perception of weight appears to be an important factor risk
A study found that perception of weight
appears to be an important factor risk for suicidal behavior in
adolescents than their actual weight.
The percentage of U.S. adolescents who are overweight has tripled during
the past 20 years, from five percent in 1980 to 15 percent by 2000.
Negative mental health outcomes are the most widespread health
consequence associated with overweight and obesity in adolescents.
Adolescents, particularly girls, who are overweight are at increased
risk for considering suicide and suicide attempts. However, it is
unclear whether one's actual weight or one's perception of body weight
is a more important risk factor for suicidal behavior.
Danice K. Eaton, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (
CDC ), Atlanta, and colleagues used data from the 2001 Youth Risk
Behavior Survey ( YRBS ) to determine how body mass index ( BMI ) and
perceived weight were associated with thoughts of suicide and suicide
attempts in adolescents.
Study participants ( n = 13,601 ) were in grades nine through 12 from a
national sample of schools. Students were asked whether they would
describe their weight as very underweight, slightly underweight, about
the right weight, slightly overweight, or very overweight. They were
also asked whether they had seriously considered attempting suicide
during the past 12 months, and how many times they had actually
attempted suicide in the past 12 months.
The researchers found that the prevalence of self-reported suicidal
ideation ( i.e., seriously considering suicide in the past 12 months )
was 14.2 percent for males and 23.6 percent for females, whereas the
self-reported prevalence of attempting suicide in the past 12 months was
6.2 percent for males and 11.2 percent for females.
When perceived weight was not taken into account, BMI was associated
with suicidal ideation, with the odds of suicidal ideation greater among
students who were underweight or overweight compared to those of normal
weight. However, once perceived weight was taken into account, there no
longer was an association between BMI and suicidal ideation but there
was an association between perceived weight and suicidal ideation.
Compared to students who perceived themselves as about the right weight,
those who saw themselves as very underweight, slightly underweight,
slightly overweight, or very overweight had a greater likelihood of
suicidal thoughts.
Similarly, among white and Hispanic students, BMI was associated with
suicide attempts when perceived weight was not taken into account, but
there was no longer an association between BMI and suicide attempts when
perceived weight was taken into account. White students who perceived
themselves as very underweight or very overweight were more likely to
have attempted suicide compared to those who perceived themselves as
about the right weight. Black and Hispanic students who perceived
themselves as very underweight were more likely to have attempted
suicide compared to those who perceived themselves as about the right
weight.
The author's conclude “ Our results suggest that, regardless of actual
BMI, students with extreme perceptions of body size are at increased
risk for suicide ideation and suicide attempts, though important
racial/ethnic differences exist. ”
In an accompanying editorial, Alain Joffe, from Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, discusses the role perception plays in how
individuals behave in managing their health.
“In this issue of Archives, Danice Eaton et al examine the role of body
mass index ( BMI ) and perceived weight in relation to suicide ideation
and suicide attempts among adolescents,” Joffe writes. “ Their results
are timely, not only because of the growing epidemic of obesity in our
country and its potential impact on the health of young people, but also
because it underscores the importance of considering the role perception
plays in the health of adolescents.”
“As Eaton et al write, we need to know more about how adolescents
develop their perceptions of body size. What is the explanation for the
fact that almost 72 percent of females in their study had a normal BMI,
yet approximately 12 percent and 37 percent considered themselves
underweight or overweight, respectively? Do they receive subtle or not
so subtle cues from peers and parents ?” the editorialist asks. “In one
prospective study, girls who read magazines targeted to them at least
weekly were more likely to develop an eating disorder over the ensuing
18 months compared to girls who read such magazines less than weekly.”
Source: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2005
8 June 2005
___
Weight loss can't be forced on children
Browbeating won't work. Neither will bribes or threats. If you really
want to help your overweight child slim down, set a good example, create
a healthy environment at home and remember that real change has to come
from within the child.
Teenage
Waistland author Abby Ellin encourages parents
to model healthy behaviors that their kids can follow.
Click
here to
purchase this book :
That's the advice of several authors who
have interviewed children, parents and experts for their new books about
weight loss.
“I would not use the word 'dieting' — ever,” says Abby Ellin, 37, a
freelance writer in New York and author of Teenage Waistland: A
Former Fat Kid Weighs In on Living Large, Losing Weight and How Parents
Can (and Can't) Help. (PublicAffairs, $25)
“Don't use shame, fear or humiliation as motivation for weight loss. It
doesn't work,” Ellin says. “It just makes kids feel worse, and it causes
them to rebel.”
Instead, she says, “with younger children, the most important thing a
parent can do is model healthy behavior: eating right, exercising and
demonstrating a positive attitude by caring for themselves at any size.
That's more important than lobbying school boards about sodas, or taxes
on Twinkies, or shipping them off to fat camp.”
Fostering an environment in which it's easier to have self-control
helps, she says. “But the bottom line is the responsibility falls on the
person trying to change the behavior.”
“If you are a parent of a teen — only they can do it. They are
rebelling, anyway, and if you make weight loss the end-all and be-all,
they will not go there. It has to be an inside job. They have to be
disgusted with themselves and feel fed up or want to wear certain
clothes or bathing suits.”
In an ideal world, she says, “they are going to come to you and say, 'I
want to lose weight. Help me.' And then you do so, without ridicule or
shame but with support and love.”
What parents can do
Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, a professor in the School of Public Health at
the University of Minnesota, is the author of I'm, Like, So Fat!
(Guilford Press, $16.95). She and colleagues surveyed 4,746 adolescents
in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and interviewed 900 parents.
“There is a lot parents can do — modeling healthy behaviors, offering
more fruits and vegetables, providing appropriate-sized portions,
limiting sweets, not keeping soft drinks in the house, helping (kids)
get more daily physical activity.
“Parents can do a lot for their kids, but they shouldn't feel blamed or
shamed if things don't go perfectly.”
What teens can do
Journalist Barbara Schroeder and nutritionist Carrie Wiatt are the
authors of The Diet for Teenagers Only (ReganBooks, $18.95).
“Tell your teenagers it's not about being a skinny Minnie. It's about
being at your healthy weight,” Schroeder says.
The authors' suggestions: learn what portion sizes are supposed to look
like; avoid fried foods; be aware of diet traps such as munching while
on the computer; stop eating candy bars; take calcium supplements if not
consuming enough milk.
Before eating, teens should also ask themselves: “Am I really hungry, or
am I eating because I'm bored, lonely, stressed?”
Nanci Hellmich
USA TODAY
6 June 2005
___
Children born with depression
Children with a low birth weight or those
who are exposed to drugs or toxins while in the womb are more likely to
suffer depression.
An Australian study has found biological factors contribute more to
childhood depression than traumatic events such as family breakdown.
And some babies are born with depression that will resurface throughout
their lives, according to Professor Jake Najman, who conducted the
research for the University of Queensland and Mater Hospital in
Brisbane.
The research is part of one of the world's largest health studies and
examined the rising rate of depression among children, some aged as
young as five. It found poor nutrition in pregnancy and toxic events
such as alcohol or tobacco consumption can have lifelong consequences
for the mental health of a child.
Social factors, such as marriage breakdown and poverty, seemed to have
little impact on a child's mental health.
“What we found is that while all these
things may predict who gets depression, the vast majority of children
who get depression have none of these risks and seem to have no real
reason,” Prof Najman said.
He said the findings had far-reaching implications for Australia where
about one million adults and 100,000 young people are affected by
depression.
Prof Najman said increasing numbers of children as young as five were
being treated with anti-depressants.
“Depression starts early in life and is probably episodic.”
Clare Masters
5 June 2005
___
A school calmed by flower power
Education reporter Cathy Spencer visits two Black Country schools whose
success is put down to very different techniques
When 100 children in Durham were put on
fish oils to make them more clever the results were astonishing.
But the Kingston Centre in Wolverhampton has been using supplements for
four years and concentration and behaviour have improved dramatically.
Enjoying a balanced diet helps pupils concentrate in class The Whitmore
Reans-based school cares for children aged four to 11 with behavioural
problems, who are not able to cope in mainstream education.
But after a regular programme of supplements, including Flaxseed oil,
protein drinks, Bach flower remedies and Phytobiophysics flower
formulas, more children are returning to mainstream education — and
staying there.
The school has even been officially recognised for their work. Its
findings will be used for similar studies in other schools throughout
the country.
Gill Phillips, who has been head teacher
there for 11 years, says they can prove the programme does work.
“Parents have been very surprised by the results,” she says. “After
taking the supplements their children are sleeping better, behaviour has
improved and they are more calm and sociable.”
Every day teachers complete tracking sheets for each child to monitor
their behaviour.
“When you look back through the records you can see a massive difference
in the child's behaviour,” Gill says as she looks through the charts for
each child and points out how the number of violent outbursts or
incidents in the school have plummeted.
“We had one child at the school who was committing serious assaults, but
after putting him on the programme we haven't had an incident for a
couple of months.
“This boy now has friends, whereas before children would tread carefully
around him. Staff can also relax more because they don't have to watch
him all the time.”
Gill says before the programme only two per cent of children were
retaining their place at secondary school — now that number has gone up
to 95 per cent.
She says: “Before we started using the supplements children would be
expelled from their secondary school before Christmas — but in the past
couple of years that has changed dramatically.
“Durham have received a lot of publicity
for this but we have been doing it quietly, calmly and successfully for
years.”
Youngsters take the omega three oils and protein drinks to boost
concentration and the flaxseed oil helps improve their behaviour.
The Bach flower remedies help them to deal with the outward effects of
stress such as sleepless nights, hyperactivity and loss of appetite.
But it is the Phytobiophysics flower formulas which help children to
deal with the deep-seated issues in their lives.
A youngster takes Bach flower remedies
Gill says: “A lot of these children have problems that go deeper and
leave scars. They have suffered multiple bereavement, absent parents,
and other serious issues.”
On the school team is complimentary health therapist Linda Porter who
tailors the therapy to each child.
She says: “We look at each child's needs and how they can be addressed
using the therapy. Parents come into school and answer a questionnaire
which asks how their child is eating and sleeping and what their
behaviour is like.
“We set objectives on how we want them to have improved by the end of a
course of treatment.
“More than 80 per cent of objectives have been met and we have parents
coming in to say that they feel, for the first time, they are a real
family.
“A lot of children at the Kingston Centre are on Ritalin, which can lead
to disturbed sleep and loss of appetite. We can alleviate the side
effects with this programme.”
The school, which is now training people to be holistic educational
therapists, also offers the therapy for parents who are often stressed
and tired.
Teachers also make sure other elements in the children's lives are
stable. Gill says: “Often these children don't have an appropriate
breakfast or any breakfast at all and can be hungry — which disrupts
their concentration.
“We look at a child's diet and we need
support from parents to ensure they reinforce what we are doing in
school.
“We have a breakfast club to ensure the children are not hungry, water
is available at all times, every child has fruit every day and we even
have a bed for children who need to sleep.
“These children have a range of complex needs and haven't been able to
cope in mainstream education. They find it hard to do the right thing at
the right time.
“We want them to feel confident enough to say 'I'm sorry I don't
understand', because quite often they can misbehave because they either
don't understand the instructions or can't do the work. We give the
children specific directions and check that they have understood.
“By tackling their behaviour from every direction we have seen results
which would knock the socks off the researchers in Durham.”
Log on to www.holisticeducationaltherapy.co.uk for more information on the supplements taken at the Kingston Centre.
4 June 2005
Source
___
Aircraft noise affects children's reading,
memory
Exposure to loud and persistent aircraft noise damages children's
learning ability, according to the largest health study to be conducted
into this question.
The research entailed tests in reading and writing and health
questionnaires answered by more than 2,800 children aged 9-10 in primary
schools located near Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, Barajas airport near
Madrid and London Heathrow.
Levels of aircraft noise and traffic noise were also measured.
Aircraft noise impaired the acquisition of essential skills and
increased stress among children, and the higher the noise level the
worse the effect. In children exposed to high levels of aircraft noise,
reading age was delayed by up to two months near Heathrow and by up to a
month near Schiphol for every five declbel change in exposure.
But road traffic noise did not have an
effect on reading, and unexpectedly was found to improve memory skills.
A 1995 study compared the impact on several hundred German children of
aircraft noise as an airport in Munich was replaced by a big
international facility.
As the old airport closed down, children attending schools near to it
improved their scores in reading and memory. But the reverse happened
among children at schools near the new airport.
The study, led by Stephen Stansfeld, of the Bart and the London, Queen
Mary's School of Medicine, appears on Saturday in the British medical
weekly The Lancet.
3 June 2005
Source
___
Child cancer 'link' to pylons
Children who live close to high-voltage
overhead power lines may be at an increased risk of leukaemia, a study
has suggested.
Researchers estimated that those youngsters living within 200 metres of
the lines were about 70 per cent more likely to develop leukaemia
compared with those who lived beyond 600 metres.
Those living between 200 and 600 metres of the high-voltage pylons also
had about a 20 per cent increased risk.
But the researchers said they had not been able to show that the power
lines were the cause of the increased risk and admitted there was a
possibility their findings could be due to chance. The findings would
amount to about five of the 400 cases of childhood leukaemia occurring
annually.
Some researchers have suggested that low frequency magnetic fields, such
as those caused by the production of electricity, could possibly be
linked to cancer.
However, other studies, such as the large UK Childhood Cancer Study,
which reported its results recently, have disputed this risk.
The latest study, published in the British Medical Journal, looked at
more than 29,000 children with cancer, including 9,700 with leukaemia,
born between 1962 and 1995.
Lyndsay Moss
3 June 2005
Source
___
New Zealand study: Teens ignoring safe sex message
New research into the sexual attitudes of
teenagers has found a worrying lack of awareness about the need to use
condoms to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Research by Otago University's Christchurch School of Medicine and
Health Sciences published in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of
Public Health looked at the attitudes of 1,136 students aged 16-18 in 17
state and private schools in Christchurch.
The results show that although half of teenagers studied are sexually
active only 44% of them say they use condoms every time they have sex.
They also don't feel it is important to use condoms to prevent STIs such
as chlamydia.
While the research was conducted before the Ministry of Health's Hubba
Hubba ad campaign promoting condom use went to air, it confirms that
while sex is definitely on teenagers minds, safety isn't a priority.
Researcher Gillian Abel says young people seem to be more worried about
preventing pregnancy than catching a sexually transmitted infection,
even though these infections can have significant health consequences.
The main reasons teenagers give for not using condoms are that they
don't think they or their partners have an infection, they think that
condoms are not effective in preventing infections, they don't think
they or their partner will get pregnant, or they use other methods of
contraception.
Boys are more likely than girls to think that they aren't at risk of
sexually transmitted infections.
Older girls are less likely to use condoms because they use other
methods of contraception, like the pill.
The results come at a time when STIs nationally are showing an alarming
increase.
Latest figures from national sexual health clinics show chlamydia rates
are up 28% and gonorrhoea rates are up 44%.
While the Christchurch survey found relatively low levels of chlamydia
amongst the students they tested, the risk of catching the STI increases
significantly once teenagers leave school.
Abel says denial of risk of infection needs to be addressed, especially
among young males.
“It's possible to understand why teenagers might not feel they are at
risk of STIs. Pregnancy is a consequence of unprotected sex that is very
visible to their peer group, whereas STIs are not,” says Abel.
The way to achieve more consistent condom use among young people may be
to address their perceptions of vulnerability to STIs and the long term
consequences of these infections she says.
1 June 2005
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