USA Today (3/29, O’Donnell) reports “premature deaths among those aged 25-44 were way up in 2015,” driven primarily by “a surge of drug overdoses in suburban areas,” a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation revealed Wednesday. The report also found “a rural and urban divide, along with racial differences.”
Related Links:
— “Ranking of healthiest counties revealed as suburban overdoses soar,” Jayne O’Donnell, Frank Gluck and Darla Carter, USA Today, March 29, 2017.
The Washington Post (3/28, Dennis) reports that research (3/28) published in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicated kids “with elevated blood-lead levels at age 11 ended up as adults with lower cognitive function and lower-status occupations than their parents.”
TIME (3/28, Sifferlin) reports that for the study, investigators “followed 565 people in New Zealand who were part of a study of people born between 1972 and 1973.” Study participants “had their blood lead levels measured when they were 11 years old, and the researchers followed up with blood tests about decades later, when they were 38.”
Reuters (3/28, Rapaport) reports that study “participants with childhood blood lead levels above 10 micrograms/dl had average adult IQ test scores 4.25 points lower than their peers with lower blood lead levels.” The investigators, “after accounting for factors that can influence adult IQ and earnings such as childhood IQ and socioeconomic status as well as mothers’ IQ…still found that higher lead levels in childhood were” linked to “downward social mobility.”
Related Links:
— “Lead exposure alters the trajectory of children’s lives decades later, study finds,” Brady Dennis, Washington Post, March 28, 2017.
The AP (3/28) reports researchers in California, Maryland, and New Mexico “are working with public school nurses” to curb suicide rates among LGBT teenagers “by making school grounds safer.” The article reports that suicide rates “are three to four times higher for lesbian, gay and transgender students than their peers.”
Related Links:
— “Project aims to help school nurses tackle suicide rates,” Associated Press, Washington Times, March 28, 2017.
In “Science Now,” the Los Angeles Times (3/27, Kaplan) reports, “The longer a mother nurses – and the longer she does so exclusively – the bigger the benefits,” research indicates. One “perceived benefit of breastfeeding is the possibility that it boosts a baby’s brain.”
CNN (3/27, Kounang) reports a study published in Pediatrics, however, indicates “breastfeeding has little impact on long-term cognitive development and behavior.” Researchers arrived at this conclusion after following “7,478 Irish children born full term, from the time they were nine months old,” then evaluating them “at three years and again at five years of age.”
Related Links:
— “For babies, breastfeeding is still best, even if it doesn’t make them smarter (though it might),” Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times, March 27, 2017.
MD Magazine (3/27, Black) reports that stimulant medications for the “treatment of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder” (AD/HD) may “inhibit long-term growth.” The findings of the large study were published online March 10 in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Related Links:
— “Studies Continue to Conflict on Whether ADHD Meds Stunt Growth – See more at: http://www.mdmag.com/medical-news/studies-continue-to-conflict-on-whether-adhd-meds-stunt-growth#sthash.P25LIUhU.dpuf,” Ryan Black, MD Magazine, March , 2017.
Medscape (3/27, Melville) reports that even though “guidelines for initiating treatment of symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with cholinesterase inhibitors are well established, guidance and consensus as to when, how, and even whether to discontinue the treatment are lacking,” researchers concluded in a presentation given at the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry’s annual meeting.
Related Links:
— Medscape (requires login and subscription)
Medical Daily (3/27, Dovey) reports “current trends suggest that the number of women aged 60 and older who drink and/or abuse alcohol is set to increase,” researchers concluded after analyzing “data from the 1997 to 2014 National Health Interview Surveys, which included information from 65,303 individuals over the age of 60.” The findings were published online March 24 in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
Related Links:
— “More Elderly Women Expected To Drink And Abuse Alcohol; What This Means For Their Health,” Dana Dovey, Medical Daily, March 27, 2017.
On the front of its Science Times section, the New York Times (3/27, D1, Richtel, Subscription Publication) reports that studies performed in rats indicate “the idea that the use of cannabinoids can induce withdrawal from heavier substances.” In humans, however, “a report published in January from the National Academy of Sciences on the health effects of cannabis ‘found no evidence to support or refute the conclusion that cannabinoids are an effective treatment for achieving abstinence in the use of addictive substances,’ said Dr. Marie McCormick, a Harvard professor who was the chairwoman of the report committee.”
Related Links:
— “Addiction Specialists Ponder a Potential Aid: Pot,” MATT RICHTEL, New York Times, March 27, 2017.
HealthDay (3/23, Preidt) reports, “Older mothers are less likely to scold or punish their young children, and those children tend to have fewer behavioral, social and emotional problems,” researchers found after examining data “from a random sample of just over 4,700 Danish mothers.” The study authors theorized that “older moms tend to have more stable relationships, are more educated, and have more wealth and resources.” The findings were published in the European Journal of Developmental Psychology.
Related Links:
— “Older Mothers May Raise Better-Behaved Kids, Study Suggests,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 23, 2017.
Healio (3/24, Tedesco) reported, “Lower rates of psychological distress were associated with moderate daily intake of fruits and vegetables in middle-aged and older adults,” researchers found after conducting a “cross-sectional, prospective study of 60,404 adults (aged 45 years or older) from Australia using logistic regression models.” The findingswere published online in the BMJ Open.
Related Links:
— “Daily fruit, vegetable consumption linked with reduced psychological distress, Healio, March 24, 2017.