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Childhood Sleep Disturbance Linked to Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors Two Years Later
Kids who have a lot of difficulty sleeping are at heightened risk for developing suicidal thoughts and behaviors as they enter adolescence, a new Stanford Medicine-led study found.
The research, published recently in JAMA Network Open, tracked more than 8,800 youth ages nine and 10, none of whom had suicidal thoughts or behaviors at the start of the study.
Children with high or severe levels of sleep disturbance were more than twice as likely as solid sleepers to develop suicidal thoughts and behaviors over the following two years, the data showed.
Frequent nightmares conferred especially high risk.
What’s Driving the Rise in ADHD Diagnoses Among Children and Adults?
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children, and the numbers are only expected to rise.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in 2022, more than seven million (11.4%) U.S. children aged 3 — 17 years were diagnosed with ADHD, an increase of one million compared to 2016.
The elevated numbers aren’t limited to children.
According to a 2021 report in the Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 8.7 million adults in the U.S. have ADHD.
ADHD is a chronic condition characterized by difficulty focusing, restlessness and impulsive behavior.
If untreated, ADHD can have severe negative consequences on physical and mental health throughout a person’s life, including low self-esteem, chronic stress, fatigue and higher risk of substance abuse.
Ultra-Processed Foods Make up 60% of America’s Diet, Who’s at Biggest Risk
Super-processed packaged foods have become prevalent in U.S. diets — and experts are warning of the potential effects.
Recent research has shown that 60% of Americans’ daily caloric intake comes from ultra-processed foods (UPFs).
A study published by the BMJ revealed that exposure to UPFs was associated with 32 poor health outcomes, including mental, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and metabolic complications.
Some of the linked conditions include cancer, heart disease, metabolic syndrome, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes.
While America’s diet is 60% ultra-processed overall, registered dietitian nutritionist Ilana Muhlstein warned that consumption among American kids is even higher than that.
Water Fluoridation May Be Less Beneficial Than in Past, Review Finds
The health benefits of fluoridated drinking water may be waning as Americans increasingly turn to using toothpastes and mouthwashes that already contain fluoride, a new review suggests.
The research, published Thursday in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, came to that conclusion after analyzing more than 157 studies that compared tooth decay in kids living in communities that added fluoride to their water supply with communities that didn’t.
Exactly what did the scientists discover?
The studies of more than 5,700 children conducted before fluoride-fortified toothpaste became widely available in the mid-1970s found that adding fluoride to water systems reduced the number of decayed teeth by an average of 2.1 teeth per child.
However, studies conducted after 1975, including nearly 3,000 children in the U.K. and Australia, estimated the benefit was lower, at 0.24 fewer decayed baby teeth per child, just one-quarter of one tooth.
Fear of Childbirth Is Associated With Shorter Duration of Breastfeeding
The duration of breastfeeding is shorter than average among mothers with a fear of childbirth — regardless of the mode of delivery, a new study from Finland shows.
According to the researchers, the fear of childbirth can also be an indication of a greater need for breastfeeding support.
Using data from the Kuopio Birth Cohort study, KuBiCo, the study published in Breastfeeding Medicine examined factors related to childbirth that may affect the success and duration of breastfeeding in the child’s first year of life.
The researchers analyzed data collected in 2013–2020, which included 2,521 women who had given birth in Kuopio University Hospital.
During pregnancy, expectant mothers filled out various questionnaires, and they also responded to a questionnaire about the duration of breastfeeding at the time when their child was one year old.
