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.

HealthDay (3/24, Preidt) reported that adolescents in the US with autism may be “four times more likely to visit an emergency” department (ED) than teens without autism, researchers found. After analyzing “nine years of private insurance health-care claims of 12- to 21-year-olds,” investigators also found that “the proportion of” ED “visits by teens with autism for a mental health crisis rose from 12 percent in 2005 to 22 percent in 2013.” The findings were published in the February issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Related Links:

— “Teens With Autism More Likely to Land in ER, Study Finds,”Robert Preidt, HealthDay, March 24, 2017.

CNN (3/21, Scutti) reports that research published online in the American Journal of Public Health indicates “preventable injuries often lead to death among people with autism.” The study found that people with autism “are three times more likely than the general population to die because of injuries.” Meanwhile, the study indicates that “for children and young teens with this developmental disability, the numbers are more striking: They are 40 times more likely to die from injury than the general child population.”

HealthDay (3/21, Thompson) reports that the study, which included data on “nearly 1,370 people diagnosed with autism who died between 1999 and 2014,” found that children “with an autism spectrum disorder are 160 times more likely to die from drowning compared with the general pediatric population.”

Related Links:

— “Children with autism 40 times more likely to die from injury, study says,”Susan Scutti, CNN, March 21, 2017.

Healio (3/21, Oldt) reports that Romanian “adoptees exposed to institutions shortly after birth had increased risk for mental and neurodevelopmental impairment later in life, despite living in supportive families for more than 20 years,” researchers found after analyzing “data from the English and Romanian Adoptees study, a longitudinal, natural experiment investigation of long-term outcomes of individuals severely deprived from soon after birth to up to 43 months in Romanian institutions before being adopted in the United Kingdom.” The findings were published online Feb. 22 in The Lancet. The author of an accompanying comment observed the “study elegantly support the rule of the earlier the better for improving the caregiving environment for young children whose basic needs are profoundly violated.”

Related Links:

— “Deprivation prior to adoption negatively affects later mental health, Healio, March 21, 2017.

Medical Daily (3/23, Delzo) reports that an addiction to tanning may be related to “other addictive behaviors,” researchers found after surveying “499 white, non-Hispanic males and females who had previously tanned indoors or outdoors.” The study revealed that “participants who were tanning dependent were six times as likely to be dependent on alcohol, five times more likely to exhibit ‘exercise addiction,’ and three times as likely to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).” The findings were published online Feb. 21 in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

Related Links:

— “Tanning Addiction Linked To Alcohol Dependence, Other Addictive Behaviors, Study Finds,” Janissa Delzo, Medical Daily, March 23, 2017.

The Washington Post (3/20, Naqvi) reports that research published in Pediatrics indicates that “from January 2000 until December 2015, about 188,000 calls were placed to poison control centers regarding pediatric and teenage exposure to opioids.” The data indicated “sixty percent of the children exposed to opioids were younger than 5, while teenagers accounted for 30 percent.”

Reuters (3/20, Seaman) reports, “A companion paper in Pediatrics…reports a strong link between prescribed opioids and their recreational use.” The study indicated that “teens who abused opioids were often prescribed the drugs at some point by a” physician.

Related Links:

— “Poison control centers receive 32 calls a day about children exposed to opioids,”Jia Naqvi, The Washington Post, March 20, 2017.

HealthDay (3/20, Mozes) reports, “A daily dose of vitamin E or selenium supplements won’t keep dementia at bay in older men,” researchers found after studying some “7,500 males across the United States (including Puerto Rico) and Canada,” all of whom were aged 60 or older. The findings were published online in JAMA Neurology.

MedPage Today (3/20, Jenkins) and LiveScience (3/20, Rettner) also cover the story.

Related Links:

— “Vitamin E, Selenium Supplements Won’t Curb Men’s Dementia Risk,” Alan Mozes, HealthDay, March 20, 2017.

USA Today (3/20, Slack) reports the Department of Veterans Affairs’ “suicide hotline is still sending nearly a third of calls to outside back-up centers despite pledges by Veterans Affairs officials to stop the practice last year after a scathing report found the centers had routed veterans to voicemail, an inspector general investigation found.” According to the IG’s new report, 30% of calls received by the hotline “rolled over to backup centers” as of November.

The Hill (3/20, Kheel) reports the IG also found that “none of the recommendations made in the original February 2016 report have been fully implemented.”

Related Links:

— “VA suicide hotline still riddled with problems, investigation finds,”Donovan Slack, USA Today, March 20, 2017.