Autism exacts a heavy toll on the families of teens who struggle with the disorder, but the fight to get treatment and services is even harder among minorities who live in poverty, new research suggests. “We must understand that many families parenting teens on the autism spectrum are also struggling to make ends meet while trying to navigate complex systems of care and get the help their children need,” said report author Paul Shattuck. He is program director of the Autism Institute’s Life Outcomes Program at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “We cannot assume that programs developed to help relatively affluent families will work for financially disadvantaged families,” Shattuck said in a university news release. The transition from school to young adulthood can be especially challenging. “Inadequate preparation during the last few years of high school can hinder success on many fronts: physical health and mental health, employment, continued education, friendships and integration into community life,” Shattuck said. The report found that black teens with autism are more likely than other teens with autism to have difficulties in several areas, including communication, self-care, adaptive behaviors and independently getting places outside of the home. “Students do not always receive transition planning, or sometimes it begins too late in high school to allow for adequate preparation,” Shattuck explained. “Community-based help is not always available after high school and…  read on >

(American Heart Association News) — Overweight children may be more likely than normal-weight children to develop life-threatening blood clots as adults, a new Danish study suggests. The good news is, getting to a healthy weight by age 13 eliminated the extra risk. For the study, published Friday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the research team used medical exam records to calculate the annual body mass index of more than 300,000 Danish children ages 7 to 13 born between 1930 and 1989. They then used Denmark’s Civil Registration System to study the same children’s health records as adults. Researchers focused specifically on adult risk for venous thromboembolism, a condition in which a blood clot forms in a deep vein, usually in the leg. If one of these clots travels through the body into the lungs, it can block blood flow and cause a pulmonary embolism, a life-threatening condition. The study is the first to investigate what role childhood obesity might play in the risk for venous thromboembolism as an adult, said the study’s lead author Dr. Jens Sundboll, an epidemiologist at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark. “Because more children are becoming heavier at progressively younger ages,” he said, “our results merit focus on helping children to attain and maintain appropriate weight to prevent cardiovascular disease in adulthood.” The study showed that children with…  read on >

Autism exacts a heavy toll on the families of teens who struggle with the disorder, but the fight to get treatment and services is even harder among minorities who live in poverty, new research suggests. “We must understand that many families parenting teens on the autism spectrum are also struggling to make ends meet while trying to navigate complex systems of care and get the help their children need,” said report author Paul Shattuck. He is program director of the Autism Institute’s Life Outcomes Program at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “We cannot assume that programs developed to help relatively affluent families will work for financially disadvantaged families,” Shattuck said in a university news release. The transition from school to young adulthood can be especially challenging. “Inadequate preparation during the last few years of high school can hinder success on many fronts: physical health and mental health, employment, continued education, friendships and integration into community life,” Shattuck said. The report found that black teens with autism are more likely than other teens with autism to have difficulties in several areas, including communication, self-care, adaptive behaviors and independently getting places outside of the home. “Students do not always receive transition planning, or sometimes it begins too late in high school to allow for adequate preparation,” Shattuck explained. “Community-based help is not always available after high school and…  read on >

Many parents who smoke try to shield their kids from their unhealthy habit — but those who vape may not take the same precautions, a new study suggests. The study surveyed over 700 parents who smoked cigarettes, used e-cigarettes or both. The researchers found that most — regardless of their product of choice — had a “strict” smoke-free policy at home. Yet few e-cigarette users had banned vaping from their homes: Only around one-quarter had done so — versus 73 percent of parents who only smoked cigarettes. Altogether, the findings suggest that parents who vape are unaware of the risks to their kids, said senior researcher Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, of Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston. “We really think parents are being misled by ‘Big Tobacco,’” Winickoff said. E-cigarettes are electronic devices that work by heating a liquid that contains nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals. There’s no tobacco, but the devices produce an aerosol that sends fine particles and chemicals into the air. According to Linda Richter, director of policy research and analysis for the New York-based nonprofit Center on Addiction, “The aerosol produced by vaping is by no means ‘harmless’ water vapor.” Being around the aerosol can irritate the eyes, throat and lungs — and may worsen asthma or any other respiratory problems a child has, said Richter, who was not involved in the study.…  read on >

Kids with poorly controlled asthma struggle in school, especially those who are ethnic minorities, a new study reports. Researchers evaluated asthma and allergy status, lung function and school performance of 216 black, Hispanic (Latino) and white children in a U.S. city. Those with a greater number of daily asthma symptoms had more absences, less school work completed and poorer quality work, according to the study published March 11 in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). “We found associations between poor asthma status, poorer asthma control, lower lung function, more asthma symptoms and decline in academic performance,” lead author Daphne Koinis-Mitchell said in an ACAAI news release. “These associations were stronger in ethnic minority children, particularly Latino children,” she added. Koinis-Mitchell is a research professor of pediatrics, psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University in Providence, R.I. Poor asthma control could help identify children who might be at risk for problems at school, according to the researchers. The same team previously found that urban Hispanic children with asthma have special sources of stress. “Factors such as higher levels of fear of asthma, language barriers, stress related to fitting in to the culture, poorer symptom perception, greater concerns regarding medications and lower medication adherence may put Latinos at greater risk for poor academic performance,” Koinis-Mitchell…  read on >

There’s no doubt that a first baby changes the dynamic between spouses. Here are steps you can take to stay close. First, you need a creative plan to get some sleep. Beyond feeling tired, being sleep-deprived affects your mood and your ability to think clearly. It can lead you to over-react to little things and argue more. Next, prioritize your relationship. Rather than using that last ounce of energy on laundry, enjoy a few minutes of conversation when baby’s napping. Share your thoughts and feelings about your changing world. Don’t stew over them silently and let them come between you. Be honest and admit that parenting is harder than you thought, if that’s what you’re feeling. Being stressed over baby can make you both abandon the little niceties you used to do for each other. But rather than get angry at what you view as slights, acknowledge that you’re in this together and that you each may be struggling, even if in different ways. When your partner does something positive, be appreciative — everyone responds to being acknowledged. When people come to see the baby, don’t feel that you have to entertain them. Ask a close family member or friend to babysit, even if you both stay at home, to give you together time without having to jump up at the first cry from the…  read on >

High testosterone levels can drastically increase a man’s risk of heart failure and stroke-causing blood clots, a new study reports. Men with a genetic predisposition to high testosterone levels have a nearly eightfold increased risk of heart failure and twice the risk of thromboembolism (blood clots that can block veins or arteries leading to the brain or lungs), researchers found. Although the study focuses on men with naturally high testosterone, it has implications for aging men who are taking testosterone supplements to boost their energy levels and improve their sex drive, experts said. Testosterone sales increased 12-fold globally between 2000 and 2011, particularly in the United States, the researchers said in background notes. “This study serves as a big, red stop sign, a warning that higher circulating levels of testosterone can lead to an increase in cardiovascular events, which are all associated with an increased risk of death,” said Dr. Guy Mintz. He is director of cardiovascular health and lipidology at Northwell Health’s Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital in Manhasset, N.Y. For the study, an international research team, led by C. Mary Schooling from the School of Public Health and Health Policy at City University of New York, analyzed genetic variants that predict testosterone levels, and then assessed whether those variants appeared to influence a person’s risk of blood clots, heart failure or heart attack.…  read on >