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Weekly News Roundup
February 21, 2017
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Dennis J. Barbour, JD, Editor
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| Adolescent suicide attempts decrease after passage of same-sex marriage laws
Recent findings suggest that implementation of same-sex marriage policies reduced suicide attempts among adolescent sexual minorities. "Prior research suggests an association between same-sex marriage policies and mental health. Use of and expenditures on mental health care significantly decreased among men who have sex with men in the year following legalization of same-sex marriage relative to the year prior in Massachusetts. The effect was not dependent on partnership status, suggesting that same-sex marriage policies may have broad effects on the mental health of sexual minorities beyond the direct benefits of partnership or marriage,"
Julia
Raifman, ScD,
postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues wrote. "Hatzenbuehler and colleagues also found that psychiatric disorders increased among adults who were sexual minorities after same-sex marriage was banned in 16 states."
Helio, February 20, 2017
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| Offering HPV Vaccinations in Pharmacies Improves the Numbers, Reduces Future Cancers
Pharmacists' accessibility and interactions with the public may help increase HPV vaccine coverage. Pharmacies are open longer hours than most primary care provider offices and patients may receive a vaccination without an appointment. The journal
Preventive Medicine
features data in its February 2017 issue that suggest that a pharmacist-led HPV vaccine provision could increase vaccine coverage.
The study authors surveyed 1255 parents of American adolescents on their willingness to have a pharmacist vaccinate their children for HPV. Twenty-nine percent of respondents reported interest in vaccinating their children at a pharmacy. Parents who were willing to have their children vaccinated at pharmacies were more likely to believe that (1) pharmacists are skilled at vaccine administration, (2) the HPV vaccine is as important as other adolescent vaccinations, and (3) pharmacies can improve vaccine access.
Pharmacy Times, February 20, 2017
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| Imaging Study Confirms Brain Differences in People With ADHD
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity should be considered a brain disorder, researchers say
Researchers who pinpointed brain differences in people with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which is far more prevalent in young males than young females. say their findings show the condition should be considered a brain disorder. The international study -- the largest of its kind -- included more than 1,700 people with ADHD and more than 1,500 without the disorder. Participants were between the ages of 4 and 63. "We hope that this will help to reduce stigma that ADHD is 'just a label' for difficult children or caused by poor parenting. This is definitely not the case, and we hope that this work will contribute to a better understanding of the disorder," said study author Martine Hoogman.
HealthDay, February 16, 2017
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The Forward Promise National Program Office, supported by a $12 million investment from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, officially launches today at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE). The office, which will promote a culture of health for middle- and high school-aged boys and young men of color, will focus on efforts to limit the effects of trauma and foster healing.
Benzinga, February 15, 2017
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| Teens May Go Hungry as Poorest Families Struggle to Feed Kids
In extremely poor American families, teens go hungry more often than younger children, a new study finds. Parents will first forgo food themselves to feed their kids. But if there still isn't enough food for everyone, younger children take priority over teens, the research showed. "If you're really poor, you try to sacrifice yourself first, but when you're forced to make some choices, these parents are deciding to let the teens not have enough," said lead author Robert Moffitt. The Johns Hopkins researchers analyzed data from about 1,500 families in Boston, Chicago and San Antonio, who were surveyed several times between 1999 and 2005.
The researchers said about 6 percent of kids who were 11 years old or younger weren't getting enough to eat, and 12 percent of those aged 12 to 18 regularly went hungry. Of those older children, 14 percent of boys didn't get enough food, compared to 10 percent of girls.
HealthDay, February 15, 2017
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| ART, male circumcision drives down HIV incidence in Uganda
A Ugandan community with an historically significant place in the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa experienced a substantial long-term decline in HIV incidence following the scale-up of ART and male circumcision last decade, researchers reported here.The 42% decline in HIV incidence in Rakai district, Uganda, over a 17-year period also coincided with a decrease in sexual activity among adolescents, according to a prospective study by
Mary K. Grabowski, PhD,
assistant scientist in the department of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and colleagues.
Helio, February 15, 2017
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| Low-Income Kids More Likely to Have ADHD, Asthma
Autism more often diagnosed among children in higher-income families, study finds
Children in families struggling to make ends meet are developing asthma and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at faster rates than kids from families with greater means, a new study finds. ADHD is far more prevalent among young males than it is among young females. On the other hand, kids from wealthier families are being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder more often than children in poorer homes. But that likely indicates that those parents have better access to the health care services that can uncover an autism diagnosis, the study authors said. The findings suggest that family income and access to health insurance play a large role in a child's physical and mental health, said lead researcher Dr. Christian Pulcini. He's a pediatrics resident with the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
HealthDay, February 14, 2017
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| Gay Men Less Likely to Have Safe Sex Now: Survey
Better treatments may translate into complacency, HIV experts say
In a sign that powerful new ways to treat and prevent HIV are relaxing attitudes about safer sex, a new survey finds that gay and bisexual men are much less likely to use condoms than they were two decades ago. Men questioned at a Atlanta gay pride event in 2015 -- including HIV-positive men -- were more likely to say they'd recently had anal sex without a condom compared to men who were questioned at the same event in 2006 and 1997. Although there are signs that the rates of other sexually transmitted infections have increased and the possibility of a drug-resistant strain of the once-deadly virus looms, HIV experts said the condom-less trend may not be as troubling as it appears. "There has been an increase in the understanding that condom-less anal sex is not risky" if men take a drug to prevent HIV infection or take medication if they are already infected, explained Jeffrey Parsons, who was not involved with the study. He's a professor of psychology at Hunter College in New York City who studies HIV and health behaviors. "Eventually, this is likely to result in decreased rates of HIV but also potentially higher rates of other sexually transmitted infections, which are much more easily treated than HIV," he said.
Medline Plus, February 13, 2017
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The Weekly News Roundup is produced by The Partnership for Male Youth and is released every Monday.
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