Alcohol use and smoking are associated with headaches in high schoolers

A novel study by German researchers reported that alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking were associated with increased migraines and tension-type headaches in high school students. Coffee drinking and physical inactivity were associated specifically with migraines. Results of this study, the first to investigate modifiable risk factors for different types of headaches in a youth population, appear online early in Headache, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the American Headache Society. Read more...

Intimate partner violence against mothers associated with children's obesity

Children whose mothers report being abused by their partners appear more likely to be obese at age 5, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives  Read more...

Experts Explore Black-White Divide in Youth Employment

by Joyce JonesFor decades, studies have consistently shown that Blacks lag behind Whites in education and employment, particularly among teens and young adults between age 18 and 24.

 Using recent employment data in the context of the high school dropout crisis, the Urban Institute, a national public policy research organization, hosted a lively policy discussion Tuesday that examined the discrepancies in the time that it takes high school graduates and dropouts in that age range to connect to work or postsecondary learning opportunities. A panel of experts also discussed possible policy solutions.

 The statistics came from a national survey of Black and White teens and young adults from 1997 to 2005. The young people were 15 to 17 years old when they were initially interviewed and 23 to 25 at the end of the study in 2005. In addition, they were virtually identical in measures such as neighborhood, family income, the number of parents in the household and their level of education, and youth engagement in risky behaviors.  Read more...

‘Helicopter’ parents have neurotic kids

By Rachael Rettner

Over-parenting may lead to undesirable traits, study shows

The study, which surveyed college freshman, is one of the first to try to define exactly what helicopter parenting is, and measure it. The term was originally coined by college admissions personnel when they started to notice a change in parents of prospective students — parents would call the admissions office and try to intervene in a process that had previously just been between the student and the college, said study researcher Neil Montgomery, a psychologist at Keene State College in New Hampshire.  Read more...

Anamika Veeramani of Ohio wins 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Anamika Veeramani was crowned champion of the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee here Friday night.

A 14-year-old from North Royalton, Ohio, Veeramani successfully spelled "juvia'' and "stromuhr'' to become the bee's 83rd champion and defeat Shantanu Srivatsa of West Fargo, N.D. in the final round.  Read more...

Survey: Teens Aren't Getting Any Smarter About Sex

Katie Drummond

Attitudes among American teens about birth control, sexual activity and pregnancy have remained largely unchanged since 2002, according to a new federal report.

Stalled progress is bad enough, but some subtle changes also have experts concerned.

Most notably, more teens than ever are using the "rhythm method" to prevent pregnancy, and a growing number of teen girls approve of underage childbirth.   read more...

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1 in 5 students abuses legal drugs

White, 12th graders more likely to misuse prescriptions

A new report shows one in five high school students have taken a prescription drug that they didn't get from a doctor.

The abused drugs include pain pills and attention deficit drugs used as study aids.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study found that the drug use was most common among 12th graders. White students took the drugs more than blacks or Hispanics.  Read more...

Teens Should Take a Lesson From Drunken Monkeys, Study Shows

by Tom Henderson

Researchers gave Rhesus monkeys large amounts of booze over a short period of time, the Daily Telegraph in London reports. A control group was kept clean and sober. Two months later, researchers analyzed the monkeys' brains.

The newspaper reports researchers found that the drunken monkeys were producing fewer brain cells and sustained damage to the hippcampus, a part of the brain that plays a crucial role in long-term memory and spatial navigation.

Researchers warn binge drinking could condemn teenagers to lives as forgetful and absent-minded adults.

"Binge alcohol consumption in adolescents is increasing, and studies in animal models show that adolescence is a period of high vulnerability to brain insults," Dr. Chitra Mandyam, the leader of the study, tells the Daily Telegraph.  Read more...

Foster Youth Hit the Streets to Raise Awareness

Hamilton County foster youth will take to the streets of downtown Cincinnati Friday in an effort to raise awareness around foster care and child abuse during National Foster Care Month.

The May 28 event will feature a walk from the Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services, 222 E. Central Parkway, to Fountain Square. The walk starts at 11:30 a.m. and the foster youth invite anyone who supports the cause to walk along. The event is supported by the Hamilton County Foster Care Youth Advisory Board and the Higher Education Mentoring Initiative.

“We want to raise awareness so people will understand there are real people behind the words ‘foster care,’ ” said Laquita Howell, 18, a member of the Youth Advisory Board who has been a foster child for the past five years. “Every time a decision is made regarding foster care legislation or how tax dollars are spent in child welfare, we want people to think about the faces of our youth.”  Read more...

Olympic Gold Medalist Works To Close Racial Gap In Swimming

With Memorial Day just around the corner, this year’s beach and pool season is about to begin in earnest. But a new study released by USA Swimming shows that many Black Americans can’t safely join the fun: 70 percent of African-American children have little to no swimming ability, nearly twice as many as white kids, the report found. In addition, Black children 14 years old and younger are 2.6 times more like to fatally drown than white children in the same age group.

These disparities are what led USA Swimming to develop the Make a Splash initiative, which aims to reduce drowning statistics among minority youth by providing access to swim lessons at low to no cost for kids across the country. Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones is their primary spokesman, and will spend this summer touring several U.S. cities to raise awareness about water safety among minorities.  Read more...

Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Health Questions

Dr. Gina Solomon provides answers to the health questions raised by the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig explosion and the efforts being made to contain it.

How do you think the health of local communities around the gulf will be impacted from the oil?

The petroleum vapors and mists can cause a variety of immediate health effects. There are also long-term health concerns because some of the contaminants from the oil will remain for a long time in the sediments and will accumulate in the food chain. Contamination in fish and shellfish—for many years into the future—may pose a significant risk of cancer and other health effects.

What’s actually in oil that could be hazardous to health?

Oil contains a mixture of chemicals. The main ingredients are various hydrocarbons, some of which can cause cancer (such as the PAHs or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons); other hydrocarbons can cause skin and airway irritation. There are also certain volatile hydrocarbons called VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which can cause cancer, and neurologic and reproductive harm. Oil also contains traces of heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic and lead.

How can these chemicals get into our bodies?

VOCs and some of the other hydrocarbons can be inhaled, causing lung problems and other health effects. Skin contact causes irritation and rashes. The oil will contaminate fish and shellfish, causing health risks from eating these foods that could persist for years.  Read more...

Controversial autism doc: ‘I’m not going away’

By Michael Inbar

The doctor who suggested a possible link between childhood vaccines and autism stands by his theory and said on Monday that he will continue his research despite having his medical license revoked Monday.

In a TODAY exclusive, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the most famous face behind the movement of those who believe autism is linked to the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), remains convinced that he is on the right side of the facts, and says he will not be silenced — even after England’s General Medical Council yanked his license to practice medicine. Read more...

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Guns as likely to kill kids in rural areas

By CARLA K. JOHNSON

Children in the most rural areas of the United States are as likely to die by gunshot as kids in the biggest cities, a new analysis of nearly 24,000 deaths finds.

Not surprisingly, murders involving firearms are more common among city youth. But gun suicides and accidental fatal shootings level the score: They are more common among rural children.  Read more...

Two-year-old toddlers being dosed up with antipsychotic drugs

David Gutierrez

Children between the ages of two and five are being treated with antipsychotics at twice the rate they were ten years ago, according to a study conducted by researchers from Columbia University and published in the journal Health Affairs.  Read more...

If ultrasound destroys sperm, why is it safe for a fetus?

by Mike Adams

Ultrasound is extremely damaging to the health of any unborn child (fetus). The natural health community has been warning about ultrasound for years, but mainstream medicine, which consistently fails to recognize the harm it causes, insists ultrasound is perfectly safe and can't possibly harm the health of a fetus.  Read more...