HealthDay (7/22, Dotinga) reports that according to a study published online July 21 in the journal Pediatrics, children born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy are more likely to develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD). “The new study also hints – but doesn’t prove – that nicotine-replacement products used during pregnancy, such as patches and gum, could pose the same risk to children.” After examining almost 85,000 children’s medical records, researchers found AD/HD signs in over 2,000 youngsters. While 1.8% of children with nonsmoking parents were diagnosed with AD/HD, the disorder was also found in 2% of children in households where the mother quit and the father did not smoke and in 4.2% of households where both parents smoked.

Related Links:

— “Smoking While Pregnant Linked to ADHD in Children,” Randy Dotinga, HealthDay, July 21, 2014.

The Deseret (UT) News (7/22, Hales) reports a recent survey released by the World Health Organization indicates that depression is the leading cause of adolescent illness and disability worldwide and is increasing in teenagers. While the article is primarily about teen depression, it also notes that “a study from the National Institutes of Health found that media portrayals of body image and the ‘ideal’ life create unrealistic expectations for teenagers, disrupting their ‘normal identity development’ and leading to depression.” Specifically, “the NIH study found that violent or graphic media augments depressive tendencies by creating an idea that the world is worse than it is.”

Related Links:

— “Understanding and responding to the increase in teen depression,” Emily Hales, Deseret News, July 21, 2014.

Medscape (7/19, Melville) reported that “among the wide-ranging comorbidities associated with diabetes, mental-health issues are probably among the most overlooked, despite their potential to compromise self-management and increase the risk for serious complications, according to a new viewpoint published online…in the Journal of the American Medical Association.” The authors wrote, “Despite the potential adverse effects of mental-health problems on diabetes outcomes and healthcare expenditures, only about one-third of patients with these coexisting conditions receive a diagnosis and treatment.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (7/21, Preidt) reports that according to a study published July 20 in Nature Genetics, “most of the genetic risk for autism appears to come from common gene variants rather than spontaneous gene mutations.” After studying some 3,000 Swedes without and with autism, researchers “found that about 52 percent of autism was linked to common gene variants and rare inherited variations.” In a news release pertaining to the study, National Institute of Mental Health director Thomas Insel, MD, said, “Common variation may be more important than we thought.”

Related Links:

— “Common Genes Implicated in Autism Study,” Robert Preidt, HealthDay, July 21, 2014.

Reuters (7/18, Lehman) reports that research published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology suggests that depression in older men prior to a diagnosis of prostate cancer may be linked to more aggressive cancer, a lower likelihood of receiving recommended treatments, and a higher risk of death. Investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing data on more than 40,000 patients with localized prostate cancer.

Related Links:

— “Depression may keep some men from fighting prostate cancer,” Shereen Lehman, Reuters, July 17, 2014.