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Teens, Sleep, Depression And Suicide

January 10th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Research

Tags: Depression, Parenting, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Psychology, Sleep, Sleep Medicine, teens

According to a study by researchers at Columbia University, teens whose parents let them go to bed past midnight were 24 percent more likely to be depressed and 20 percent more likely to have contemplated suicide than peers whose parents set bedtimes at or before 10 p.m.

The results were reported in the journal Sleep, and suggest earlier bedtimes may be protective because they increase the likelihood of getting enough sleep. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), about 4,400 Americans between the ages of 10 and 24 commit suicide each year, making it the third-most common cause of death in the age group. This is also to be the group getting the least amount of sleep, which suggests a pretty logical correlation between suicide and lack of sleep.

Data from this study comes from 15,659 U.S. students, who were in grades seven to 12 between 1994 and 1996, and their parents. Seven percent of the teens were found to have depression and 13 percent said they seriously contemplated suicide during the preceding 12 months. The association was stronger for girls and older children. Read more »

This post, Teens, Sleep, Depression And Suicide, was originally published on Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..

Colorado’s Solution To Childhood Obesity: The Renegade Lunch Lady

January 10th, 2010 by Stanley Feld, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion

Tags: Ann Cooper, Bear Creek Elementary School, Big Agriculture, Childhood Obesity, Colorado, Diabetes, Endocrinology, food, Healthy, Inc., organic, Pediatrics, Renegade Lunch Lady, School Lunch Program, Weight Loss

Cecelia and I just finished watching the movie Food Inc. It is a movie worth watching.

I was upset seeing the abuse of our food chain by big food corporations. There is little respect for America’s food safety.

America’s obesity epidemic is caused, in part, by the food industry’s ability to produce cheap food. Fifty years ago, when I was at Columbia College, the solution to America’s impending food shortage was debated. The predication was the nation was going to face a food shortage in the next 50 years. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*

When Clinical Suspicion Trumps Radiology

January 10th, 2010 by GruntDoc in Better Health Network, True Stories

Tags: Caught In Throat, Emergency Medicine, Fish Bone, How To Remove A Fish Bone, Laryngoscopy, Magill Forceps, Radiology, X-ray

A patient comes in with the entirely understandable complaint of “I have a fishbone lodged in my throat”. Came straight from dinner to the ED. When I ask a stupid question I’m given a stupid answer: “It feels like…a fishbone…”. Duh on me.

Now, I went to a pretty good EM residency, and while there I learned two things: the books say fishbones don’t show up on x-rays of the neck, and, fishbones sometimes show up on x-rays. I’m about 70% positive in my career…

So, I got an xray. See if you can spot the fishbone (hint: there’s an arrow pointing at it…)

So, it’s there… Now what… There are very few wrong answers. Call ENT, etc. My answer: go get it. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at GruntDoc*

A Fracture Risk Calculator (FRAX) May Reduce Need For Osteoporosis Prescriptions

January 9th, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion

Tags: Bisphosphonates, Bone Density, Calcium, Fracture Risk Assessment, FRAX, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics And Gynecology, Orthopedics, Osteopenia, Osteoporosis, Pharmaceuticals, Preventing Fractures, Primary Care, Vitamin D, WHO

This post is in response to Jane Brody’s recent NY Times article on the FRAX fracture risk calculator. FRAX is a clinical decision tool devised by the World Health Organization that allows physicians to account for the myriad of risk factors, including bone density, to determine a patient’s risk for osteoporotic fracture.

Now about 20 years into the practice of medicine, I have evolved from what they call an “early adopter” of new drugs, through a time of cautious use of new drugs, to what I am now – highly skeptical of most new medications and suspicious of Big Pharma, medical thought leaders and anyone else trying to “educate” me about a disease. I am also disappointed in my medical societies for failing to cut the ties between themselves and industry, but hopeful that we are slowly but finally starting to emerge from of an era of industry-dominated health care and into a time of patient-centered medicine. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at The Blog that Ate Manhattan*

Anti-Vaccinationist Group Sues Dr. Paul Offit, Amy Wallace, And Conde Nast

January 9th, 2010 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, News

Tags: Amy Wallace, Anti-Vaccinationist, Conde Nast, Free Speech, Frivolous Law Suit, Libel, National Vaccine Information Center, NVIC, Ratbags.com, Science, Wired

Thanks to the always vigilant eyes of Liz Ditz, Ratbags.com is reporting that pediatric immunologist and vaccine developer Dr. Paul Offit, writer Amy Wallace, and Condé Nast (publisher of Wired magazine) are being sued for libel in US District Court by Barbara Loe Fisher, founder and acting president of the so-called National Vaccine Information Center.

Readers will recall that Wallace’s article on Dr. Offit and the fear and misinformation propagated by anti-vaccinationists was the centerpiece of a feature in Wired magazine aptly titled, “Epidemic of Fear.”

My short take: The lawsuit is an attempt to silence or intimidate those who speak out against individuals and organizations that threaten public health. When scientific facts accumulate that refute their views, the response is to file frivolous legal action. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata*