HealthDay (2/23, Norton) reports, “Rates of” attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) “have risen globally, and adults’ unreasonable expectations of young children could be one reason why,” a research letter published online Feb. 22 in JAMA Pediatrics suggests. The study authors “point to evidence that the rise in” AD/HD “diagnoses coincided with ever-growing demands on young children’s attention and focus.”

Related Links:

— “Could Adults’ Expectations Drive Up ADHD Diagnoses in Kids?,” Amy Norton, HealthDay, February 23, 2016.

Reuters (2/22, Seaman) reports that parental anxiety while expecting or during the earliest parts of children’s lives may be associated with fussy eating in preschoolers. The findings of the large study were published Feb. 22 in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Related Links:

— “Parents’ anxiety, depression may lead to kids being fussy eaters,” Andrew M. Seaman, Reuters, February 22, 2016.

The New York Magazine (2/23, Carpenter) reports on the growing number of apps designed to help people with mental health disorders. For individuals “dealing with mental-health issues involving addiction or abuse or self-harm,” however, “an app can’t make up for in-person check-ins.” Still, such apps may help provide access to some form of mental health treatment. Currently, “more than half” of US counties “are entirely without mental-health professionals, according to the director of the National Institute of Mental Health.”

Related Links:

— “Uber, But for the Mirror Stage: How Mental-Health Apps Are Changing Therapy,” Julia Carpenter, New York Magazine, February 22, 2016.

HealthDay (2/19, Preidt) reported, “Children with autism and other development disorders are more likely than other youngsters to wander and put themselves in potential danger,” a study published in PLoS One suggests. After having “analyzed data from a 2011 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of parents and guardians of more than 4,000 children with special needs who were between the ages of six and 17,” investigators found that “more than 26 percent of the children had wandered away from a safe environment within the previous 12 months.”

Related Links:

— “Kids With Autism More Likely to Wander, Less Likely to Recognize Danger,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, February 19, 2016.

Medical Daily (2/20, Castillo) reported that a study published online Feb. 10 in the journal Appetite “suggests habitual chocolate consumption is positively associated with cognitive performance”.

Related Links:

— “Health Benefits Of Chocolate: Habitual Consumption ‘Positively Associated’ With Brain Function,” Stephanie Castillo, Medical Daily, February 20, 2016.