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Psychiatric, Neurodevelopmental Diagnoses Soar in Low-Income US Kids
Diagnoses of mental illness and neurodevelopmental disorders among publicly insured children in the U.S. rose significantly between 2010 and 2019, with the sharpest increases in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, anxiety, trauma-related disorders, and autism spectrum disorders, new data showed.
The higher need — coupled with documented gaps in access to care, shortages of mental health professionals, and declining psychiatrist participation in Medicaid — may contribute to the adverse outcomes observed in recent studies, including more mental health–related emergency department visits and hospitalizations, investigators noted. The study was published online on April 24 in JAMA.
“These trends are of national import and add to growing and justified concern about the well-being of US children,” wrote Vikki Wachino, MPP, with Health and Reentry Project, and Richard G. Frank, Ph.D., with The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC.
“The increase in mental illness diagnosis rates is concerning, whether it reflects prevalence of illness, better screening, or both factors. The potential implications of these high rates of treatment for mental health conditions among children will likely ripple across this generation’s educational attainment, workforce, and social relationships as they grow into adulthood,” Wachino and Frank noted.
Senate Approves Bill Requiring Schools to Publicize Vaccine Exemption Information
Iowa Capital Dispatch reported:
Any communication from schools on immunization requirements would have to include information and requirements for families seeking an exemption under a bill sent to the governor Tuesday.
House File 299 was passed by the Senate 32-16. The bill requires all Iowa K-12 schools, as well as child care centers, community colleges, universities under the Iowa Board of Regents as well as private universities using the tuition grant program, to include information on exemptions when communicating with students and families about vaccine requirements. For child care facilities and K-12 schools, information on vaccine requirement exemptions must also be published on their website and be included in student registration documents.
Republicans who spoke in support of the measure said it was needed because there were some reports of school staff falsely claiming that vaccines were required — with no exceptions — for students to be able to attend school.
US Maternal Death Rate Rose Slightly Last Year, Health Officials Say
More U.S. women died around the time of childbirth last year, reversing two years of decline, according to provisional data posted Wednesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said 688 people died last year during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth. That’s up from 669 deaths in 2023, but down from 2022 and 2021, when it was the highest level in more than 50 years.
The maternal mortality rate rose to 19 deaths per 100,000 live births, up from 18.6 the year before. The CDC counts women who die while pregnant, during childbirth and up to 42 days after birth from conditions related to pregnancy. Excessive bleeding, blood vessel blockages and infections are leading causes.
Such deaths spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the coronavirus was particularly dangerous to pregnant women. And, in the worst days of the pandemic, burned out physicians may have added to the risk by ignoring pregnant women’s worries, experts say. The waning of COVID-19 is considered a major reason for the declines in maternal deaths in 2022 and 2023, experts say.
Milwaukee Announces Additional School Closures, New Plan to Address Lead Paint Hazards as Contamination Crisis Deepens
Milwaukee will temporarily close two more school buildings as the city works to address a lead crisis in its public schools. The district also announced Monday an updated plan to tackle the flaking and chalking paint in aging buildings that’s suspected to be the cause of elevated blood lead levels in four students this school year. Students are being relocated while the work is underway.
Superintendent Brenda Cassellius said the district expected to clean 54 schools built before 1950 ahead of the next school year. An additional 52 schools built between 1950 and 1978 are slated to be cleaned before the end of the calendar year, she said. “We are asking families to remain vigilant and to please have their children tested for lead exposure,” either through their family doctor or through the pop-up clinics organized by the city, Cassellius said.
There is no safe level of lead. At high levels, lead can cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and seizures. At lower levels, lead is a neurotoxin that can affect how a child’s brain grows and functions. Children exposed to high levels of lead may have learning challenges, as well as problems with attention and behavior.
Leading Baby Food Brands Making High-Sugar Meals, Study Finds
Top brands such as Ella’s Kitchen and Heinz are making sugar-heavy, nutritionally poor baby food that fails to meet the needs of infants, a study has found. The discovery has spurred groups to call for ministers to strengthen regulation in the market, saying that the current state of affairs will negatively affect child growth and development.
Researchers at the University of Leeds School of Food Science and Nutrition found that some brands also carried misleading marketing claims, leading them to urge the government to “act now” in imposing the same traffic light system found on chocolate bars and ice-cream.
Ella’s Kitchen pear and peach baby rice was found to have a rice content of only 3%, while sugar made up 60% of its calories. Heinz fruity banana custard gets 71% of its total calories from sugar, with its ingredients only containing 4% milk powder, while its baby oat porridge is 29% sugar.
The study, funded by the Which? Fund, looked at 632 food products marketed towards babies and toddlers under three. It found that 41% of main meals marketed for children had sugar levels that were too high and that 21% of ready-to-eat fruit products, cereals and meals were too watery and not providing adequate nutrition.
