Conversations… | with Dr. Greene

Kids who skip breakfast have a more than 250 percent increased risk for developing tooth decay, according to a study of more than 4,000 children aged 2 through 5 years published in the January 2004 Journal of the American Dental Association. This dramatic effect was demonstrated in affluent families across America. Even those who ate sugary, junk food cereal for breakfast (not what I would suggest!) were far less likely to develop cavities than those who skipped breakfast entirely. In our rushed modern lifestyle, many children miss out on breakfast, leaving their bodies hungry even when they are not aware of it.

A six-year-old boy in Thailand has died from bird flu, along with seven others in southeast Asia whose deaths have been confirmed to have been caused by this avian flu. Although a deadly epidemic is percolating in flocks of chickens and ducks, vigorous public health efforts may still be able to prevent a contagious form of this flu from jumping into the human population.

Amniocentesis to detect Down Syndrome is cost effective for pregnant women at any age according to a study in the January 24, 2004 Lancet. For years Amnio has been offered to women over age 35. This cut off age was set because researchers assumed that the fear of miscarriage was about equal to the fear of having a child with Down Syndrome.

SIDS rates have fallen dramatically since the 1990’s when we learned that putting babies to sleep on their backs could save lives. To understand the SIDS situation today, researchers conducted studies in 20 regions of Europe, analyzing over 60 possible influences on SIDS in over 3,000 babies. The results were published in the January 17, 2004 Lancet. Sleep position continues to be the biggest SIDS risk factor we can change. About 48 percent of current SIDS deaths were attributable to being put on the tummy or side to sleep.

I love watching young children at play. Kids are designed with energy to burn. Unfortunately, though, they’re not burning it! Preschoolers are so naturally full of curiosity and energy that it’s almost a cliché but today’s screen-time activities have taken that curiosity and funneled it into a sedentary lifestyle. A disturbing study in the July 17, 2004 Lancet followed the daily routines of three-year-old children, and found that they spent most of the day sitting around.

The same week that the U.S. President proposed a bold and ambitious agenda for exploring the moon, Mars, and the universe beyond, the National Academy of Sciences called for a bold and ambitious plan to provide universal health insurance coverage for all Americans. The Academy is a non-partisan scientific body chartered by Congress. The Academy’s Institute of Medicine issued its “clear and compelling recommendation” on January 14, 2004 - that by 2010 everyone in the United States should have health insurance.

The flu epidemic appears to be winding down in the United States, having killed 93 children between October 2003 and January 6, 2004. About a third of these kids had another underlying medical condition. The median age of the 93 children was 4 years, according to the January 9, 2004 MMWR. This year.s flu gives immediacy to recent recommendations to give children with chronic medical conditions and all children age 6 to 23 months the flu vaccine each year.

Someone snuck into my home and stole my one-and-a-half year old.s mind, leaving his bewildered body behind.. This is how it feels to have your son diagnosed with autism, according to Jon Shestack, vice president of Cure Autism Now. .If 1 in 250 children were actually being abducted rather than diagnosed with autism it would be a national emergency.

A recent study has changed my thinking about ADHD, and I hope it changes the way that all children with ADHD are evaluated and treated. And that parents are treated. Parents deserve better understanding and support than they traditionally get. Dr. Andrea Chronis and her team at the University of Maryland make a compelling argument that whenever children have ADHD, getting help for their parents should be thoughtfully undertaken.

Kids at a diabetes camp got to sample the future as they tried out a diabetes camps is that after a day of fun activities, kids’ blood sugars might dip dangerously low while the children sleep. Most camps do finger sticks to test sugars at least once during the night. The glucose watch measures glucose levels painlessly, without a finger prick. In this study, the watches were worn for a total of 154 nights by 45 campers, who also got the regular finger pricks for comparison.

Exposing babies’ or toddlers’ brains to radiation might result in small but measurable decreases in intellectual function, according to a study in the January 3, 2004 British Medical Journal. At least in boys. The study looked at over 3000 eighteen and nineteen year old young men who had received different doses of radiation before they [...]

On any given day, more than 30 percent of children in the U.S. will eat fast food, according to a Harvard study in the January 2004 Pediatrics. Is there a difference in health between kids who eat fast food and those who do not? This study looked at over 6000 kids.

The American Academy of Pediatrics started 2004 with a policy statement urging that soft drinks be eliminated from schools as an important step in turning the rising tide of childhood obesity. Pediatricians and parents can contact their local schools to weigh in on this issue. Soft drink vending machines are common in schools.