4 Troubled Teens Blog

Two new major studies found that being physically abused as a child significantly increases the risk for migraine headaches as a teenager or adult.

• Dr. Esme Fuller-Thomson of the University of Toronto analyzed data from a 2005 health survey of 13,000 Canadians.
  
• Seven percent of the studied youth reported having been physically abused as children.
• Among that group, 18 percent had migraines as adults, compared to 9 percent in the survey who had not been physically abused.
  
• Dr. Fuller-Thomson's team looked at other reasons for migraines, such as parental unemployment, drinking or drug use and found that even with such histories, there still was a 36 percent greater risk of migraine among adults who had been physically abused as children.

The second study was from Dr. Jong Ling Fuh and his colleagues at Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, who looked at headache symptoms and histories of physical abuse among 4000 children ages 13 to 15-years-old.

• In this study, 30 percent of the teenagers who had been physically abused had migraines compared to 21% of teens who had not been abused.
  
• The more frequent the abuse, the greater the risk of migraine.

Both studies appeared in the journal Headache.

Labels: child_abuse, health, trauma

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Though other issues are more widespread, a dangerous game called “choking” has killed dozens of young people in the last few years. The purpose of the game is to cut off oxygen to the brain just long enough to pass out or begin feeling “high.”

An article by Jean Paul of thefacts.com provided the following information about this potentially deadly activity:

This game is exactly what it sounds like. Participants attempt to gain a “high” or euphoric feeling by depriving the brain of oxygen by applying pressure with another person’s hands or with belts, neckties or other devices wound around the neck.

Another variation involves one person taking a deep breath and holding it while a second person hugs them from behind until the first person feels dizzy and passes out.

A recent CDC report estimated that about 85 deaths and several incidences of brain injuries were reported between 1995 and 2007. The kids who died were 13 years old, on average, and 87 percent were boys.

The choking game is also known by several other names, including the pass-out game, space monkey, fainting game, black out, five minutes of heaven, rush, knock-out game, natural high and suffocation roulette.

Labels: health, danger, choking

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Children who have headaches everyday will probably outgrow them by the time they are in their early 20s, according to new research from Taiwan. Eighty-eight percent of children who were studied outgrew their headaches.

• Dr. Shuu Jian Wang of the Taipel Veterans Hospital followed 122 children, starting at ages 12 to 14 years old, for eight years.
• All the children had daily tension-type headaches.
• By the time they were 21 years old, just 12 percent were still having daily headaches.
• Dr. Wang said no one knows why their headaches stopped.

Dr. Amy Goldstein, a neurologist at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, said the study is cause for hope among parents. "Even without a major intervention, the majority will get better," Goldstein said. "For a lot of my patients, they feel like the headache pain is never going to go away, but the message here is it can get better over time."

The study was published in the journal Neurology.

Labels: health, headaches

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A new study from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine found that teenagers are not receiving good health care services.

Researchers looked at young people ages 10 to 19, and found that doctors screen only a small percentage for risky behaviors that lead to car crashes, drug addiction, and sexually transmitted diseases.

Teens go to their doctors most often for sports check-ups or vaccinations, and these appointments usually last fifteen minutes. The NRC researchers noted that it takes 40 minutes to perform a thorough examination, including counseling about behaviors such as overeating, getting enough exercise, wearing seatbelts, using condoms, and other important issues.

Five million Americans under age 20 do not have health insurance.

Labels: health, risky_behaviors

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Teenagers who take risks in one area of their lives tend to take risks in others, according to a new study from the Mailmen School of Health.

Professor John Santelli analyzed data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of high school students taken between 1991 and 2007. He found that those who engage in high-risk behaviors such as texting while driving or using alcohol were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors such as having multiple partners and not using condoms.

However, he noted that high-risk behaviors are declining among teenagers, particularly in three areas: More teens are delaying sex, using condoms, and reducing their number of partners.

This study appears in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Labels: health, risky_behaviors

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Teens who watch medical documentaries and medical dramas like "ER" on television are more likely to worry about their health, according to a Belgian study of 1,300 teens.

Teens who watch these programs increase their level of health fears by as much as 10 percent, the study found, and girls are more affected than boys.

Labels: health, influences, TV

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The New York City Health Department now has a profile on MySpace. NYC Teen MySpace aims to give teens a place on the popular social networking site where they can find information about depression, drug abuse or dating violence.

"The Internet medium was chosen because of its popularity among young people, who will find blogs, music, quizzes, polls, games, fact sheets and more at www.myspace.com/nycteen_mindspace. The MySpace page aims to raise awareness of mental health issues and eliminate the stigma that keeps teens silent."

An estimated 30 percent of teenagers in New York City say they've experienced sadness that interferes with daily activities, and eight percent report attempting suicide in the past year. Dating violence and substance abuse were also prevalent enough to be of concern. Source: Queens Courier

Labels: health, experts, myspace

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More than 25 percent of British youth with body piercings developed infections, according to a new study from the British Health Protection Agency. Ear lobe piercings were not included in this study, in which BHPA scientists evaluated the association between body piercings and hepatitis infections.

The study found that 46 percent of girls between the ages of 16 to 24 had body piercings, but only 80 of that group had their piercings performed by specialists.

Labels: health, infections, piercings

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Teenagers with asthma are twice as likely to commit suicide as are non-asthmatic teens, according to a new study from Taiwan.

• Dr. Chian Jue Kuo of the National Taiwan University studied 162,766 people ages 11 to 16 years old over a 10-year period.
• The researchers found a correlation between having asthma and committing suicide.
• Teens with asthma had a 2.3 higher risk for suicide; the more severe the asthma, the more likelihood of suicide.

The study appeared in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
 

Labels: suicide, health

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More evidence of the importance of healthy relationships: Social isolation is as harmful to your health as being alcoholic, obese, or smoking 15 cigarettes a day, according to new study from Brigham Young University.

Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad and her colleagues followed 308,849 people, average age 64 years old, for over seven years. Those who had strong personal ties to family and friends lived about four years longer than those weaker social alliances.

"This effect is not isolated for older adults," said researcher Timothy Smith. "Relationships provide a level of protection across all ages. ... Constant interaction is not only beneficial psychologically but also directly to our physical health."

The study appears in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal.

Labels: relationships, health

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Teens who have frequent unexplained pain such as severe stomach aches may be suffering from a range of problems, from physical maladies to stress, anxiety and/or depression.

And according to a Dec. 26 article by Dr. Peter Gott, the problem could be due to a little-known condition called Pain Associated Disability Syndrome (or PADS):

 

Pain-associated disability syndrome is a fairly new term. It is defined as chronic pain that causes more severe restrictions than what the underlying condition would cause.

Imagine not being able to use your arm because of a sliver in your finger. This is essentially what PADS does. A usually minor condition, such as acid reflux, suddenly causes severe pain, nausea, vomiting and an inability to eat and do other normal daily activities. Normal treatment fails, and there is no other explanation for the severity of symptoms.

I found one small analysis of 40 patients ages 7 to 21. Thirty had abdominal pain, five had regurgitation, three had nausea, and two had chest pain. All met symptom-based criteria for functional gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome or acid reflux.

Thirty-nine of the people also had trouble sleeping. Most underwent mental-health evaluations to rule out eating disorders and psychosis.

Labels: health, mental_health

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