CNN (2/27, Rogers) reports, “Around one in six US youth ages six to 17 has a mental, behavioral or developmental disorder such as anxiety, depression or attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder,” researchers concluded in a research letter published last February in JAMA Pediatrics. However, “less than 20% of these youth receive the care they need, meaning many of them likely go into adulthood with undiagnosed mental illness.” Child psychologist Rebecca Berry, PhD, a “clinical associate professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University Langone Health,” stated, “It is important for parents to notice whether the behaviors are excessive, cause distress, are consistent and unrelenting and lead to problems in key life areas.”

Related Links:

— “Moodiness or more? How to tell if your kid’s suffering from a mental disorder, “Kristen Rogers, CNN, February 27, 2020

Reuters (2/26, Crist) reports that “parents of children with food allergies should acknowledge their kids’ anxiety, as well as their own, a group of allergy experts advises” in an article published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Dr. Ruchi Gupta, director of Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine’s Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research and one of the authors of the article, said, “Coping with food allergies impacts relationship skills with peers and classmates, emerging independence and sense of self-efficacy, social skills and confidence, willingness to participate in sports teams, dating and more. Coping is an individual internal experience, too: Feelings of worry and anxiety can color all thinking and generate anxiety about many life experiences.”

Related Links:

— “Allergists offer advice to parents of kids with food allergies, “Carolyn Crist,  Reuters, February 26, 2020

Healio (2/26, Gramigna) reports, “A cognitive test identified individuals aged 100 years or older who had high levels of cognitive performance,” researchers concluded after analyzing data on “340 centenarians” whose cognition was evaluated by using the Mini-Mental State Examination. Investigators then “posited that investigation of these individuals may reveal the mechanisms underlying resilience against cognitive decline risk factors.” The findings were published online Feb. 26 in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Centenarians with high cognitive test scores may ward off dementia, decline, “Joe Gramigna, Healio, February 26, 2020

CNN (2/26, LaMotte) reports researchers found that over a period of three years that “cognitive abilities declined three times faster in widowed adults with high levels of beta-amyloid – a key marker for Alzheimer’s – than in married people with equally high levels,” suggesting that losing a spouse may accelerate cognitive decline. The researchers also found that “even for those without beta-amyloid accumulation and no signs of cognitive decline, the risk for dementia was greater for men and women who were widowed.” The findingswere published in JAMA Network Open.Related Links:

— “Widowhood increases risk of Alzheimer’s, study says, “Sandee LaMotte, CNN, February 26, 2020

MD Magazine (2/25, Walter) reports research indicates that nearly two out of every three “young mothers reported at least one mental health problem, with almost 40% of the study population having more than one mental health disorder.” Included in the study were “450 mothers younger than 21 and 100 comparison mothers older than 30 years old at their first delivery living in urban and rural central-west Ontario.” Researchers then “compared I the age-matched young mothers with 15-17 year old women without children (n = 630) from the 2014 Ontario Child Health Study.” The study revealed that “young mothers were” two to four “times as likely to have an anxiety disorder, such as generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, and specific phobia, as well as” AD/HD, “oppositional defiant disorder, or conduct disorder.” In addition, they were two to four “times more likely to have more than one psychiatric problem when compared to the older control group of mothers or the women between 15-17 years old.” The findings were published online Feb. 10 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Related Links:

— “Young Mothers Face More Mental Health Hurdles, “Kenny Walter, MD Magazine, February 25, 2020