Add another danger that e-cigarettes pose to teenagers: A new study finds secondhand exposure to vaping may raise the chances of asthma attacks in adolescents with the respiratory condition. Middle school and high school students with asthma were 27 percent more likely to have suffered an asthma attack if they’d been exposed to vapor from someone else’s e-cigarette use, the researchers found. “While we cannot definitively say these products worsen asthma, I think if I was a parent, I wouldn’t want to risk my kids being around people using these products,” said lead researcher Jennifer Bayly. She is a student at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J. These findings and others belie the general perception that e-cigarette emissions carry no risk, said Dr. Karen Wilson, chief of general pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. “Contrary to the idea that it’s a harmless water vapor, it actually contains some of the same chemicals that we find in tobacco smoke, along with particulate matter that can be very irritating to people with asthma,” Wilson said. There is moderate scientific evidence that e-cigarette use causes increased cough and wheeze in teenagers, and an increase in asthma symptoms, according to a recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report cited by the study authors. For their…  read on >

For many city-dwelling teens with asthma, their chronic lung disease may go undiagnosed and untreated, a new study finds. According to a survey of more than 33,000 New York City high school students, 20 percent reported having asthma-like symptoms, but were not diagnosed with the illness. The researchers also found that teenage girls and Asian-Americans were more likely to have undiagnosed asthma. “Potentially, there are a lot of these kids out there who are undiagnosed,” said lead researcher Sharon Kingston. She is an associate professor of psychology at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. “There is a need for more public health education and outreach, not only for adolescents and their families, but also for health care providers who could screen adolescents for asthma,” she said in a college news release. In people with asthma, their airways become inflamed. This causes the airway to narrow and swell and make extra mucus, making it difficult to breathe. Asthma is the most common chronic illness among children, and it can lead to school absences, reduced physical activity and quality of life, and the need for health care services. Earlier studies have shown that 8 percent to 49 percent of kids aged 7 to 18 with asthma symptoms were not diagnosed. In teens, undiagnosed asthma is especially problematic, Kingston said. That’s because they are less likely to see a…  read on >

Moving from one community to another can be difficult for everyone in the family, especially if leaving friends and relatives behind. But the problems can be magnified for kids who have to switch middle or high schools. Studies show that, for high school students, moving just once in a 12-month period can cut in half the likelihood of their getting a high school diploma by age 25. And these findings hold true whether students move to a poorer or richer neighborhood. When moving is inevitable, you can better help your child if you understand his or her temperament. If he or she has had difficulties with transitions in the past — such as moving from elementary to middle school or going through physical changes like puberty — know that he or she will need more help adjusting to a new school. And that it will be even harder if going through another one of those transitions at the same time. The key is to start early, well before the first day of class, and to get school administrators to partner with you. For instance, find out if you and your child can visit the school and meet teachers a few days in advance. Also, let your child know he or she can stay connected to friends left behind with age-appropriate social media and technology like…  read on >