In its “Well” blog and in print, the New York Times (12/11, D6, Bakalar) reports that “an economist has published an unusual study in the December issue of PLoS One,” which found that “about half of the population has a variation in a specific gene connected to nicotine addiction that makes them more likely to respond to cigarette tax increases.” After looking at data on 6,178 adults in a national health survey, Jason M. Fletcher, an associate professor of health policy at Yale, found that “about half of the subjects had a variation in a gene for a nicotine receptor in the brain that is thought to control the pleasure reward of nicotine consumption.” The article details that Fletcher “found that a 100 percent increase in taxes had a significant effect only on people with this particular genetic variation in DNA sequence,” and the “other half of the population was immune to the effect of taxation.”

Related Links:

— “Efficacy of Tobacco Taxes Tied to Gene Type, “Nicholas Bakalar, The New York Times, December 10, 2012.

Reuters (12/11, Pittman) reports that, according to research published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, youths who engage in binge eating may be more likely to begin using drugs, and may also be more likely to become depressed.

Bloomberg News (12/11, Ostrow) reports, “The study focused on 16,882 boys and girls ages 9 to 15 in 1996.” Participants “were given questionnaires every 12 to 24 months from 1996 to 2005 to assess their eating.” Investigators found that “teens and young adults who reported being binge-eaters or overeaters were almost twice as likely to start using marijuana than those without the eating disorder.
”
MedPage Today (12/11, Petrochko) reports, “Perhaps not surprisingly, children and teens who binged on food — but not those who merely overate — were also more likely to become overweight or obese (aOR 1.73, 95% CI 1.11 to 2.69) and were at twice the risk of becoming depressed (aOR 2.19, 95% CI 1.40 to 3.45).”

Related Links:

— “Youth who overeat more likely to take up drugs, “Genevra Pittman, Reuters, December 10, 2012.

USA Today (12/10, Healy) reports, “Victims of teen dating violence are at increased risk of mood and behavior problems as young adults, and at increased risk for future violent relationships,” according to a study published online Dec. 10 in Pediatrics. “Researchers who analyzed data from a nationally representative survey of 5,681 teens ages 12 to 18 found roughly 30% of both boys and girls said they had been the victim in an aggressive heterosexual dating relationship. This adds to a body of research suggesting that teen dating violence ‘is a substantial public health problem.'”

Related Links:

— “Teen dating violence affects well-being in adulthood,”Michelle Healy, HealthDay, December 10, 2012.

HealthDay (12/8, Preidt) reported, “Children with autism are nine times more likely than other children to be taken to the emergency department for mental health problems, according to a” study recently published in the journal Pediatric Emergency Care. After analyzing “data on nearly four million emergency department visits made by US children aged three to 17 in 2008,” researchers found that “thirteen percent of the visits by kids with autism were psychiatric in nature, compared to two percent of all visits made by their peers.”

Related Links:

— “Kids With Autism Common Users of ERs, Study Says, “Robert Preidt, HealthDay,December 7, 2012.

USA Today (12/8, Lopez) reported, “As more kids are diagnosed with bipolar disorder [BD] at earlier ages, parents wonder whether psychiatric drugs such as Depakote [valproic acid, divalproex] and lithium are really the answer — and how they might affect their child’s growth and development.” Just “last week after 10 years of debate, psychiatrists approved updates to their diagnostic manual of mental illnesses, including the addition of Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder, describing children who have outbursts three or more times a week. The new term aims to address concerns about overdiagnosis and overmedication of bipolar disorder in children, and gives psychiatrists a way to differentiate between bipolar and other explosive outbursts.”

Related Links:

— “Parents struggle with decision to medicate bipolar kids, “Korina Lopez, USA Today, December 8, 2012.