Suicide in Children, Growth Hormone, Pain Relief in Childbirth, Self-Help Groups, Vitamin Pills, Asthma & Poor Diet, Fungal Nail Infections, Babies’ Sun Hats, Healthy Eating, Honey Warning

SUICIDE IN CHILDREN

Depression can occur in children as young as eight and is particularly marked during adolescence when physical, hormonal, emotional and social changes are exacerbated by the stress of exams and choosing a career. Successful suicide is three times more common in boys but girls are three times more likely to attempt suicide (sometimes called a ‘cry for help’). Sadly 40% of children who kill themselves have attempted suicide before.

In this weeks’ British Medical Journal a team of psychiatrists in Denmark have tried to find out which children with depression or mental illness are most likely to commit suicide. They looked at nearly 500 children who had taken their own lives compared to 24,800 control children.

They found that the risk factors for suicide could be divided into those of the parents or family and those of the child. Parental factors that increased the risk included parental suicide or early death, parental mental illness requiring hospital admission, mental illness in siblings and poor school attendance. In the children themselves the biggest risk factors were a history of mental illness. Interestingly, they found that poor socio-economic factors did not have an effect once parental factors were taken into account.

If you are concerned about depression in children or adolescents read our article on depression which outlines all the early symptoms and tells you how to get help. You can read the original research at Risk factors for suicide in young people. The Samaritans offers help for people feeling suicidal or depressed.

For more information read the Royal College of Psychiatrists excellent factsheet Mental Health and Growing Up.

GROWTH HORMONE

Not As Effective As Hoped

Parents and endocrinologists have been pinning their hopes on growth hormone treatment to increase the adult height of children with specific growth hormone deficiency and other syndromes such as Turner’s syndrome, a genetic syndrome with features including normal intelligence and short stature. A report published in the British Medical Journal this week by doctors in France looked at children treated between 1987 and 1992 and followed up until 1996.They found that the average gain in height was poor: children treated for three years only gained an estimated 4.2cm.The authors discuss the difficulty in defining growth hormone deficiency particularly in pre-pubertal, slightly overweight children. Read a critical appraisal of the research at Growth hormone in growth hormone deficiency; the full research is at Adult height after growth hormone treatment.

This will calm the fears of people who were worried about a brave new world of hormone treatment for children who were normal but just slightly shorter than their peers.

PAIN RELIEF IN CHILDBIRTH

Several letters in this week’s British Medical Journal discuss the medicalisation of childbirth and the availability of epidurals. William Camann says that increased epidural anaesthesia is due to informed choice by the mother and not due to doctors foisting unnecessary procedures on them. He likens natural childbirth to running a marathon, a perfectly viable choice that most mothers choose not to make.

Dr. Lim says that early active medical control of childbirth in Ireland is the key to their low rate of Caesareans and complications, as opposed to letting labour run its own natural course, which can result in prolonged labour and foetal distress.

Dr.Yeh from Taiwan says that the threat of legal action has resulted in massive unnecessary medical intervention in labour – so much so that all women are now given routine episiotomies.

Read the letters and the article that prompted them, Has the medicalisation of childbirth gone too far?

SELF-HELP GROUPS ONLINE

Self-help groups are a great aid for people with problems in their family. A comprehensive online list can be found at www.ukselfhelp.info; another port of call for worried parents is Contact a Family - for families with disabled children.

VITAMIN PILLS ARE USELESS?!

The NHS website NeLH has provided an interesting critique of the way newspapers covered this news and of the research behind it. We know that folic acid supplements help prevent foetal malformations but do other vitamins have a role? The research was aimed at preventing cancer and heart disease with antioxidant vitamin supplements. Read NeLH Medicine in the News Project; Vitamin pills 'are useless'.

ASTHMA AND POOR DIET

The Daily Express reports today on a study in California linking asthma with an unhealthy diet. In particular a dietary lack of magnesium and potassium was found to be directly related to airway narrowing measured using peak expiratory flow rate. The research was carried out at the University of Southern California. The same paper also reports on research from New York showing that children with ear infections had low levels of selenium, vitamin A and certain fatty acids.

FUNGAL NAIL INFECTIONS AND ESSENTIAL OILS

In the Daily Telegraph alternative health section this week, Dr Sarah Brewer discusses the use of essential oils to treat fungal nail infections. She recommends lemongrass, palmarosa, niaouli and red mandarin. Lemon grass was found to be more effective than the more commonly recommended tea tree oil. Always remember that some essential oils are not recommended for children or pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Read Lemongrass and tea tree oil are powerful solutions.

BABIES’ SUN HATS OFFER POOR PROTECTION

The New Scientist has published research showing that many babies’ sunhats fail to cut out harmful ultraviolet rays. Read Babies' sun hats fail ultraviolet safety test.

HEALTHY EATING – PARENTS FIGHT BACK

All the papers today reported on ‘awards ‘ by parents highlighting poor quality food being produced for children. Culprits included Sunny Delight and Smarties as well as Mc Donald’s Happy Meals. Healthy snacks such as Sun Maid raisins packaged for children were given the thumbs up.

Read Parents’ survey pours scorn on Sunny Delight.

Also this week the Independent reports on a plan to tax high fat food. Read Fat is a consumerist issue.

HONEY WARNING FOR BABIES

The Independent reported that parents are advised not to give their children honey because of the risk that it might contain spores of the bacteria that causes botulism. Read Parents warned against giving honey to babies. However the risk is extremely low with only one or two cases of botulism a year in all age groups and these are not definitely linked to honey.