Therapist Unlimited Blog

 

Proper design  is everything to make sure children are safe from harm.
Keeping children safe from injuries is a must since injury is the leading cause of death for children over the age of 1 in industrialized countries and improving the safety of the man made (built) environment will benefit children’s health.
Based on the recent study,injury accounts for about 40% of childhood deaths in industrialized countries and is even higher in developing countries.
It often involves failure to negotiate a manmade environment. Death rates from injury in affluent countries is 15.3 per 100,000 boys and 10 per 100,000 for girls among children 14 and younger. In developing countries, the rates are 50.5 per 100,000 boys and 43.5 per 100,000 girls.
In 2002, 371,000 boys and 289,000 girls worldwide died of injury, with more than 180,000 mostly pedestrians killed by traffic.
In addition to causing injury and death, unsafe environments are barriers to physical activity that is important to life long health. Changes such as speed control, traffic light phasing, fencing spaces and enhancing pedestrian visibility can reduce injuries by 50 to 75% in specific locations and 25% in wider areas. By making traffic safer for children, it increases the likelihood they will walk to school and can derive health benefits from physical activity.
In fact, 50% of Canadian children never walk to school compared with only 17% who do most of the time.
"By giving priority to automotive over pedestrian transportation we have allowed road traffic to become the leading cause of death among our children,"
 writes Dr. Andrew Howard of the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). "North American children are increasingly sedentary," and urban sprawl is linked to higher rates of traffic injury and obesity.

 

 

 

Keep your children safe from harm by making their environment free from danger through proper design.

 

 

Other ways to modify the built environment include appropriate playground equipment that minimizes injuries while encouraging activity. Falls from climbing
equipment are 5 times more likely to result in severe fractures than falls from a standing height. Evidence shows that playgrounds that did not comply with standards from the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) had twice the rate of injury of compliant playgrounds, although these standards are voluntary without regulatory authority for most Canadian playgrounds.
Fencing around pools to limit deaths from drowning and modification of homes and apartments to prevent falls from windows are other examples of changes to physical surroundings that can save children’s lives.
"Our built environment influences our children’s levels of activity, their physical health and their risk for injury," writes Dr. Howard. "Intelligent planning, particularly with consideration for urban design and traffic engineering to emphasize safe walking and cycling, has enormous potential to improve the health and safety of children now and across the lifespan."

 

 

Parents who have children suffering from celiac disease could now smile a little bit despite the medical condition of their beloved angels.
Based on medical facts, a Celiac disease (CD) is an inherited intestinal disorder characterized by life-long intolerance to the ingestion of gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Although CD can be diagnosed at any age, it commonly occurs during early childhood (between 9 and 24 months). Reduced bone mineral density is often found in individuals with CD.
Metabolic bone disease remains a significant and common complication of CD. Reduced bone mineral density can lead to the inability to develop optimal bone mass in children and the loss of bone in adults, both of which increase the risk of osteoporosis.   There also exists an additional risk of fracture in people with CD.

 

 

 

Those children suffering from celiac disease should engage in a gluten-free diet to be cured of their medical problem.

 

 

A recent medical study has shown that a gluten-free diet (GFD) promotes a rapid increase in bone mineral density that leads to complete recovery of bone
mineralization in children. A GFD improves, although rarely normalizes, bone mineral density in adults. Children may attain normal peak bone mass if the
diagnosis is made and treatment is given before puberty, thereby preventing osteoporosis in later life.
Also, nutritional supplements consisting of calcium and vitamin D seem to increase the bone mineral density of children and adolescents with CD.
"Our findings reinforce the importance of a strict gluten-free diet, which remains the only scientific proven treatment for celiac disease to date," the
researchers conclude. "Early diagnosis and therapy are critical in preventing celiac disease complications, like reduced bone mineral density", they added.

 

Those frequent users of acetaminophen, a known pail reliever should avoid getting hooked with the medicine.
A new study has shown that acetaminophen may be associated with an increased risk of asthma and wheezing in both children and adults exposed to the drug.
The data was taken from a recent study made by researchers from the  University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, who conducted a systematic review and metaanalysis of 19 clinical studies (total subjects=425,140) that compared the risk of asthma or wheezing with acetaminophen exposure.

Based on the study, the pooled odds ratio (odds ratio for all studies combined) for asthma among users of acetaminophen was 1.63.
The risk of asthma in children who used acetaminophen in the year prior to asthma diagnosis or in the first year of life was elevated to 1.60 and 1.47, respectively.
Moreover, the study revealed a slight increase in the risk of asthma and wheezing with prenatal use of acetaminophen by mothers.
With the relevant data they gathered, the researchers speculate that acetaminophen’s lack of inhibition of cyclooxygenase, the key enzyme involved in the inflammatory response of asthma, may be one explanation for the potential link between acetaminophen use and asthma.

 

 

A recent medical research has shown that those children who are popular and exert power among their school classmates enjoy better health as adults.
To get the data, researchers studied more than 14,000 children who were born in Sweden in 1953 and who were part of the Stockholm Birth Cohort Study.
The team then monitors the long term health of children born between 1953 and 2003.
When the children reached sixth grade in 1966 and were 12 to 13 years old, the degree of popularity, power, and status enjoyed by each child was evaluated.
It was assessed by asking them who they most preferred to work with at school.
Using national hospital discharge records, this information was then matched to data on subsequent hospital admissions for the period between 1973 and 2003.
Investigation revealed that children who were the least popular at school had the highest overall risk of serious health illness as an adult. The pattern
was obvious for both men and women. But there were differences in the types of health illness they developed.

 

 

Children who shows leadership skills have better chances of having a healthy life when they reach adulthood.

 

 

Children who were the least accepted and dominant at school were more than four times as likely to require hospital treatment for hormonal
(including diabetes), nutritional, and metabolic diseases as their most popular and powerful classmates.
In addition, they were more than twice as likely to develop mental illness and behavioural problems, including suicide attempts and self harm.
They were more than five times as likely to be admitted for unintentional poisoning, while those classified as "peripheral" were more than seven times as
likely to require hospital care for this same event.
They were also considerably more likely to develop drug and alcohol addiction problems and nine times more likely to develop ischaemic heart disease.
Childhood social class was not considered in the account of the findings.
Moreover, the researchers suggest that "peer status in childhood is linked to adult health through behavioural and psychological factors that influence the development of disorders and diseases in which these factors feature."

A recent medical study has shown that obesity is an important factor contributing to chemotherapy resistance and increasing relapse rates among children with leukemia.
According to the study, obesity is associated with increased incidence and mortality of many types of cancer.
Leukemia is the most common cancer in children, affecting more than 2,000 children each year in the United States alone.
Lead researcher Steven Mittelman, M.D., Ph.D.,fellowship research director of the Division of Endocrinology at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and assistant professor of pediatrics, physiology and biophysics at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California explained the increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, these findings could have important implications for cancer treatment and may help explain the increased leukemia relapse rate in obese patients.
Mittelman revealed obesity could increase cancer incidence and mortality through a variety of ways.
He said it may impair the immune system’s ability to stop cancer, or predispose cells to become cancerous.
He added once you have cancer, and if you are obese, the fat cells themselves may impair the ability of chemotherapy to fight cancerous cells.
This study was inspired by a previous study led by a colleague, Anna Butturini, M.D., associate professor of clinical pediatrics in the Division of Hematology-Oncology at Childrens Hospital, which showed that obese children diagnosed with leukemia have a 50 percent higher chance of relapsing compared with lean children.
Using preclinical models, Mittelman and colleagues investigated the reason why obese children were more at risk of relapse.

 

 

 

Better keep your children away from obesity to ensure easy treatment if ever they get sick with leukemia.

 

 

They developed a mouse model of obesity and leukemia, cultured fat and leukemia cells together, and treated the leukemia cells with traditional chemotherapy drugs used in children vincristine, nilotinib, daunorubicin and dexamethasone.
Obese mice with leukemia had higher relapse rates than lean mice after treatment with the first-line chemotherapeutic agent vincristine. The chemotherapy treatments all worked less effectively in culture when fat cells were nearby.
When the mice relapsed from the leukemia, the researchers found leukemia "hiding out" in the fat tissue during chemotherapy, according to Mittelman.
"These four drugs attack leukemia cells by different routes, so when we saw fat cells blocking them we realized there could be an important mechanism promoting their ability to live and divide," he said. "We were surprised to find leukemia cells in the fat tissue."
David Hockenbery, M.D., member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and professor of internal medicine at the University of Washington, said "this study provides striking experimental support for the clinical observations that obesity is associated with poor prognosis in multiple cancers."
The researchers demonstrated that co-culture of leukemia cells with adipocytes diminishes response to multiple chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, adipose tissue may function as a "safe haven" for leukemia cells during therapy, according to Hockenbery. Based on the finding that adipocytes accumulate chemotherapeutic drugs, he advised that careful attention be paid to dose adjustments based on pharmacokinetic measurements.
"In addition, by highlighting a potential communication between adipocyte and leukemia cells, this research will stimulate efforts to find a diffusible factor that protects leukemia cells from chemotherapy," said Hockenbery.
More research is needed to figure out how fat cells are a part of the tumor microenvironment and how they block potentially lifesaving treatments, according to Mittelman.
The researchers are currently conducting additional studies to evaluate other chemotherapeutics, how obesity may or may not affect treatment and the effect of fat cells found in bone marrow on leukemia.
 

 

 

A latest medical research has shown that children with emotional difficulties are at higher risk of becoming obese when they grow up.
The researchers revealed while their findings don’t show that emotional problems like low self esteem, being overly worried or feeling less in control of one’s life in childhood actually cause obesity in adulthood, they are a significant factor, alongside parental BMI, diet and exercise.
The relevant study was undertaken by Andrew Ternouth, David Collier and Barbara Maughan from the MRC Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.
It is said that past studies have shown that people who are overweight or obese also have emotional problems like low self-esteem, but which causes the other is not clear.
To get the data, Ternouth and colleagues examined data from about 6,500 people who were enrolled in the 1970 British Birth Cohort Study when they were 10 years old, at which time their emotional problems, self-perceptions and BMI were assessed.

 

 

 

To keep your children away from obesity better help them emotional problems while growing up.
 

 

 

BMI stands for Body Mass Index, the ratio of a person’s weight in kilos to the square of their height in metres.
The participants were assessed again 20 years later, when they reached the age of 30.
The results showed that participants who scored low on self-esteem, and those who had felt less in control of their lives,
and who worried more often as children, were the ones most likely to put on weight as adults 20 years later.
The researchers also found that the link between childhood emotional problems and being overweight or obese in adulthood was slightly stronger in girls than it was in boys.
Based on the result of their research, the researchers concluded the findings are particularly important on a larger scale, as it offer hope in the battle to control the current obesity epidemic.
The researchers suggest that helping children with emotional difficulties like anxiety and low self esteem could improve their chances of being in better physical health as adults.
Moreover, the researchers said the result of their research has showed that intervention should be early, and spotting these issues in childhood could be an important step in combating obesity in adulthood.
The researchers concluded it’s not just up to doctors and health practitioners, but the job of everyone involved in the welfare of children, including parents and teachers.
 

Parents should be more vigilant with regards to the television viewing and computer games playing of their children.
A recent study has shown that watching too much TV and playing computer games could result in high blood pressure for children.
Based on the study, the discovery is a major public health concern and its effect on blood pressure is of particular concern.
In their study, the researchers said the clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors in overweight youth suggests that risks may be immediate and not just indicative of potential future problems.
The researchers added although elevated blood pressure is associated with genetic factors, healthy physical, dietary and sleep habits seem to be relevant contributors to blood pressure levels in children.
However, the researchers revealed there have not been any clear links between sedentary behavior and elevated blood pressure in children younger than age 9.

 

 

Children should avoid watching too much television and playing computer games since it could lead to high blood pressure.

 

David Martinez-Gomez, B.Sc., of Iowa State University, Ames, and the Spanish National Research Council, Madrid, Spain, and colleagues examined associations between sedentary behavior and elevated blood pressure in 111 young children (57 boys and 54 girls ages 3 to 8).
According to their research they found out that sedentary behavior was determined by an accelerometer generally worn over the right hip and by parental reports stating the average time the children spent watching TV, playing video games, painting, sitting or taking part in other activities with low levels of physical activity each day for seven days.
Moreover, the researchers said the results of this study showed that TV viewing and screen time were associated with elevated blood pressure independent of body composition in children.
The researchers added given that total objective sedentary time was not associated with elevated blood pressure, it appears that other factors, which occur during excessive screen time, should also be considered in the context of sedentary behavior and elevated blood pressure development in children.

 

A recent medical research has shown that millions of children in the United States are suffering from low vitamin D.
According to the data gathered by Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University seven out of 10 American children have low levels of vitamin D, raising their risk of bone and heart disease.
The researchers said discovery is an indication that vitamin D deficiency could place millions of children at risk for high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.
Study leader Michal L. Melamed, M.D., assistant professor of medicine and of epidemiology & population health at Einstein revealed several small studies had found a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in specific populations, but no one had examined this issue nationwide.
To get the significant data, the researchers analyzed data on more than 6,000 children, ages one to 21, collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001-2004.
Based on that data, they found that nine percent of the study sample, equivalent to 7.6 million children across the U.S., was vitamin D deficient (defined as less than 15 ng/mL of blood), while another 61 percent, or 50.8 million, was vitamin D insufficient (15 to 29 ng/mL).

 

 

Millions of children in the US are suffering from low vitamin D.

 

They also found out that low vitamin D levels were especially common in children who were older, female, African-American, Mexican-American, obese, drank milk less than once a week, or spent more than four hours a day watching TV, playing videogames, or using computers.
The researchers also discovered that low levels of vitamin D deficiency were associated with poor bone health, higher systolic blood pressure, and lower calcium levels and HDL (good) cholesterol levels, which are key risk factors for heart disease.
To resolve this medical dilemma, the researchers recommended that pediatricians should routinely screen high-risk children for vitamin D deficiency, and that parents should ensure that their kids get adequate amounts of the vitamin through a combination of diet, supplements, and exposure to sunlight.
Moreover, Melamed advices parents to turn off the TV and send their kids outside.
Melamed said it would just take 15 to 20 minutes a day should be enough.
He said unless they burn easily, don’t put sunscreen on them until they’ve been out in the sun for 10 minutes, so they get the good stuff but not sun damage.

 

Parents around the world should strive hard to keep their children away from smoking cigarettes since tobacco can lead to life-threatening diseases and premature death.
In a recent data gathered by the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS) it was discovered that although it is illegal to sell cigarettes to children under the age of 18, 42% of 13 year old regular smokers and 57% of 15 year old regular smokers are reportedly buying cigarettes from a shop, while 13% of 13 year old regular smokers and 10% of 15 year old regular smokers buy their tobacco from a vending machine.
With the alarming result of their research a group of doctors in Scotland wants to see a robust approach to tobacco control in order to reduce the number of teens who smoke.
Dr. Peter Terry, Chairman of physicians group in Scotland explained it is essential that cigarettes are made less accessible to children.

 

 

Medical experts revealed children hooked on smoking cigarettes can suffer death if their addiction could not be stopped.

 

 

Terry said banning point of sale displays and getting rid of tobacco vending machines will go some way to doing this.
He said smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory problems.
He added smoking also ages skin, makes your breath smell and stains fingers yellow.
Moreover, Terry said every day doctors witness the death and despair caused by smoking.
Terry said there is a need to break the tobacco trap.
Terry added young smokers will become tomorrow’s parents who smoke and they will continue the cycle of smoking-related ill health.

 

 

 

 

A recent research has shown that the economic crisis happening in different parts of the world caused stress to the children.
Based on the research made by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health taken in May 2009, 44 percent of families’ financial situations have worsened in the last six months.
The researchers discovered that to make ends meet, many have cut back on extras (65 percent),applied for government health coverage (24 percent), applied for free or reduced lunch programs (27 percent), and delayed taking their children to the doctor (11 percent) or dentist (16 percent).
Matthew Davis, M.D., director of the poll revealed in their research they found out that a family’s financial situation had worsened over the last 6 months and their children were
uninsured, 40 percent of those parents had delayed taking their children to the doctor.
Davis said this situation is a great concern since some of these kids whose care is being delayed may be particularly vulnerable or at risk for serious health problems.

 

 

Children are suffering huge amount of stress due to the bad economy in different parts of the world.

 

He said the poll also showed that 40 percent of parents indicate their children ages 5 - 17 have some or a lot of stress as a result of worries about their family’s finances.
He added 53 percent of parents report their teens, ages 13 - 17, have stress due to the family’s financial situation.
Furthermore, Davis revealed the common symptoms of stress in children include acting out, abdominal pain and headaches.
Davis explained stress from financial worries affected families of lower incomes more than families of higher incomes.
He added families of the lowest income level namely making $30,000 per year or less  were more than twice as likely to report their kids had stress as families of the
highest income group making $100,000 or more per year.
Davis concluded that overall, the findings indicate that this recession is not an equal opportunity recession, explaining that it has affected
families across all income levels and range of vulnerability, but it is affecting those who are most vulnerable even more than the population as a whole.
He said those who do not have insurance, or if your family income is at a lower level, your children are likely to be even at higher risk as this recession drags on.