Teen Methamphetamine Use, Cigarette Smoking at Lowest Levels; Downward Marijuana Trend Stalls and Prescription Drug Abuse Worrisome

WASHINGTON – Methamphetamine use among teens appears to have dropped significantly in recent years, according to NIDA's annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey, released today at a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. However, declines in marijuana use have stalled, and prescription drug abuse remains high, the survey reported.

The Monitoring the Future survey is a series of classroom surveys of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Being physically fit at age 18 is linked to a higher IQ, a new study finds. The researchers also showed that fitness predicts greater educational and professional achievements later in life.

Earlier studies have found links between physical fitness and mental functioning in animals, children and older adults. But the relationship in young adults hasn't been clear.

In the new study, researchers drew on large datasets to examine over 1.2 million young men born in Sweden between 1950 and 1976. All the men had their physical fitness and intelligence assessed at age 18 when they enlisted for military service. The researchers—based primarily at the University of Gothenburg and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden—compared this information to details of later academic achievement and socioeconomic status from other national databases.

Antipsychotics May Boost Weight in Youths


Children and teens taking second-generation antipsychotic medications had rapid and significant weight gain, as well as troublesome changes to cholesterol levels and other metabolic measures, a new study reports. The researchers urge that the potential risks and benefits of these medications be carefully assessed and monitored in youths.

A growing number of children and teens nationwide take antipsychotic drugs to treat a host of mental disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism. A new generation of "atypical" antipsychotics, introduced in the 1990s, reduced the risk of movement-related side effects—like muscle spasms and rigidity—seen with older antipsychotics. But mounting evidence has pointed to a risk of weight gain and harmful metabolic changes in adults.

Gene Mutations Linked to Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease

An international team has discovered that mutations in either of two related genes cause a severe and rare form of inflammatory bowel disease in young children. The discovery allowed the researchers to successfully treat one of the study patients with a bone marrow transplant.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a group of disorders that includes Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The inflammation, or swelling, of the intestines can cause pain, damage the tissue and make the intestines empty frequently, resulting in diarrhea. Previous studies have identified dozens of genes and variants that affect the risk for adult-onset inflammatory bowel disease, but none that singly cause the disease.

Some Facts about Childhood Obesity

We all know that adult obesity is a national health issue that has been on the rise for decades.  But did you know that childhood obesity has also been rising, and that it is markedly different from adult obesity?  A little knowledge goes a long way.  Here are some facts about childhood/adolescent obesity. 

• Childhood obesity occurs when the child or adolescent consumes more energy (meaning calories) than he/she uses for growth and physical activity.
• A child’s BMI (Body Mass Index) is calculated differently than an adult’s.

compiled by Debra Marcusse

Dr. Thomas Sowell, of the Hoover Institution at Stanford, had a problem. His young son was falling behind the speech milestones expected for his age. As a gifted economist, Sowell knew that the ability to speak well would be crucial to his son's future.

Yet Sowell did not believe his son was unintelligent. Nor that he had an autistic spectrum disorder (this describes those who have difficulty in the non-verbal parts of communication – including their desire and ability to use language in a social context). Sowell believed that there are different types of late talking children, and a small group of these children are actually very gifted. It is believed that these children talk late because parts of their brain are developing at a faster pace than other children, therefore, their language suffers. This is what they believe happened to Albert Einstein.² 

You might not realize that your father’s diabetes or your cousin’s sickle cell disease could affect your child, but this family history information could help save your child’s life.

According to a Pediatrics supplement, “Use of Family History Information in Pediatric Primary Care and Public Health,” that’s not the only family history information that can affect your child’s health or be important to their health care. Along with genes, your family often has similar behaviors, such as exercise habits, and a common culture, such as the foods you eat. You may live in the same area and come into contact with similar environmental factors. Family history includes these factors, which can all affect health.

 

Each year the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA) launches a public awareness campaign to bring attention to the issue of alcoholism and its affects on children.

According to NACoA, seventy six million Americans (43% of the U.S. adult population) have been exposed to alcoholism in the family.

Obesity endangers health. Childhood obesity is on the rise: one of five kids fall into this horrible category—an alarming trend.  Genetics can have an effect on obesity, but more often the cause is simply a poor diet and the lack of exercise.  Obesity puts a child at risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart diseases and diabetics, and obesity can create emotional problems and low-self-esteem.   

A simple observation of your neighborhood reveals that kids do not go outside as much as you did.  Your elders tell stories making it obvious that kids today are not as active as they were.