Suicide rates are on the rise among American children, but the increase is greatest among girls, a new study finds. “Overall, we found a disproportionate increase in female youth suicide rates compared to males, resulting in a narrowing of the gap between male and female suicide rates,” said study author Donna Ruch. She is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among Americans aged 10 to 19, with rates historically higher in boys than girls. However, recent reports from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a greater increase in suicide rates among girls than boys. In this study, the researchers examined data on youth suicides from 1975 through 2016. The findings showed that youth suicide rates for both sexes fell in the early 1990s. But they have increased for both sexes since 2007, with larger increases among girls than boys, particularly among girls aged 10 to 14. Rates of female suicides by hanging or suffocation are approaching those of males, which is troubling considering the “gender paradox” in suicidal behavior, according to study co-author Jeff Bridge, director of the Center for Suicide Prevention and Research. Females have higher rates of nonfatal suicidal behavior, such as thinking about and attempting suicide, but more males die by…  read on >

Here’s another health danger climate change will deliver in the coming years: New research warns that back-to-back heat waves that go on for days will become more common as the planet warms. The elderly and the poor will be the least prepared to weather this threat, the investigators noted. But hospital ERs and emergency service providers will also be vulnerable to the public health havoc that such “compound heat waves” will likely inflict. “By compound heat wave, we mean multiple heat waves — or possibly individual extremely hot days — occurring one after the other separated by short cooler breaks,” explained study author Jane Wilson Baldwin. She’s a postdoctoral research associate with the Princeton Environmental Institute in New Jersey. An example, Baldwin said, would be five extremely hot days, followed by a respite of a couple of cooler days, and then three more extremely hot days. Such repetitive scorchers are not confined to some distant future, the study found. They are already here, with heat waves and droughts currently pegged as the direct cause of roughly 20% of natural disaster deaths in the continental United States, more than any other single natural cause. “However, these events will become significantly more common with global warming,” noted Baldwin. “In the present climate, only about 10% of heat waves exhibit these compound structures. Without drastic changes to carbon…  read on >

Transgender women on gender-confirming hormone therapy have increased odds of breast cancer, but the overall risk is low and not as high as it is for the general female population, a new study finds. Trans women are those who were declared male at birth but identify as female. Previous research has shown that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increases breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women, but it was unclear whether the same was true for trans women receiving hormone treatment. The new study looked at 2,260 trans women and 1,229 trans men who received gender-affirming hormone therapy at a clinic in the Netherlands between 1972 and 2016. The researchers found that trans women on hormone therapy had a higher breast cancer risk than the general male population. And transgender men (female sex assigned at birth, male gender identity) were found to have a lower breast cancer risk than the general female population. Average age at the start of hormone treatment was 31 for trans women and 23 for trans men, and average treatment time was 13 years for trans women and eight years for trans men, according to the report. Among the trans women, 15 cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed at an average age of 50. On average, those patients had received hormone treatment for 18 years. That rate was higher than that in…  read on >

If you’re part of a multi-generational home, you’re in good company. The number of Americans living with two or more adult generations of one family rose during the last recession and has grown to an all-time high during the recovery. More than 64 million Americans live in a multi-generational home, according to a census analysis by the Pew Research Center. About half of such households include two generations, while almost 27 million more have three — such as grandparents, parents and grandchildren. That’s a lot of opinions to have under one roof. Here are suggestions to help make such living arrangements emotionally healthy and even rewarding for everyone. First, establish ground rules for all aspects of communal life, from how to handle disagreements to who puts out the trash. Write up and post a list of responsibilities that takes into account each family member’s strengths and abilities. Next, create a spreadsheet for family expenses such as monthly bills and weekly food shopping, and what every person’s contributions are. This should include everything from gas for the car to internet and wireless services if everyone is on a shared family plan (great for saving money). Depending on each person’s financial circumstances, the amounts might not always be divided equally, but there will be fewer money arguments if there’s a family-wide consensus about what’s fair. For harmony,…  read on >

(HealthDay News) — Glucosamine has long been used as a supplement to help ease the joint pain of arthritis, but new research suggests its anti-inflammatory properties might also lower heart disease risk. The finding stems from a lifestyle survey involving more than 466,000 British men and women. None had been diagnosed with heart disease when they were first polled between 2006 and 2010. Nearly one in five said they had been taking glucosamine. After an average tracking period of seven years, taking the supplement was associated with a 15% lower risk for heart disease overall. Though a cause-and-effect link was not proven, glucosamine was also tied to a drop of between 9% and 22% for experiencing coronary heart disease, stroke, and/or a heart disease-related death. “Glucosamine is an amino sugar, and a natural compound found in cartilage, which is the tough tissue that cushions joints,” explained study author Dr. Lu Qi. He is director of the Tulane University Obesity Research Center, in New Orleans. “To my knowledge, people take glucosamine mainly through supplements, and therefore, not in significant quantities through diet.” As to his team’s findings, Qi described the association as “moderate, but significant.” “I am a bit surprised but not very much, because previous studies from humans or animals have shown that glucosamine may have protective effects on inflammation, which is a risk factor…  read on >

They might be too young to abuse opioids themselves, but America’s kids are suffering nonetheless because of their drug-dependent parents. New research shows more than 600,000 American parents with kids under 18 are addicted to opioids. That amounts to almost 1% of parents of minors, most of whom aren’t getting treated, the study found. In addition, about 4 million parents have substance abuse problems, such as alcoholism. Many in both camps have mental ills as well. “For parents, the opioid crisis is also a mental health crisis,” warned study author Lisa Clemans-Cope. “The co-occurrence of opioid use disorder and behaviors that signal suicide risk is a national emergency for families.” Clemans-Cope is a principal research associate with the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center, in Washington, D.C. Linda Richter, of the Center on Addiction in New York City, said addiction increasingly threatens the American family. “Addiction is an intergenerational disease,” said Richter, who wasn’t involved in the study. “Few children living in homes with parents who have an opioid use disorder grow up unscathed.” Researchers reviewed results of the U.S. National Survey of Drug Use and Health conducted between 2015 and 2017. They identified roughly 44,500 parents living with children under 18. Their responses were then used to generate national estimates. The study found that only a third of addicted parents are getting the care they…  read on >

A major medical group has issued new guidance on detecting and treating the leading cause of death in pregnant women and new mothers in the United States. Heart disease accounts for 26.5% of pregnancy-related deaths, and rates are highest among black women and those with low incomes. On Friday, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) responded with new guidelines on screening, diagnosis and management of heart disease. “Most of these deaths are preventable, but we are missing opportunities to identify risk factors prior to pregnancy and there are often delays in recognizing symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, particularly for black women,” ACOG President Dr. Lisa Hollier said in an organization news release. While pre-existing conditions play a part in the death toll, acquired heart conditions can develop silently during or after pregnancy. A heart muscle disease called peripartum cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of death in expectant mothers, accounting for 23% of deaths late in pregnancy, according to ACOG. The new practice guidelines are the work of a Hollier-led task force aimed at lowering heart disease-related deaths during and after pregnancy. “The new guidance clearly delineates between common signs and symptoms of normal pregnancy versus those that are abnormal and indicative of underlying cardiovascular disease,” Hollier said. “As clinicians, we need to be adept at distinguishing between the two if we’re going to…  read on >