This Medical News article discusses a new American Heart Association science advisory on ultraprocessed foods, cardiometabolic health, and policy recommendations for improving dietary patterns.
Importance: Increasing child and adolescent use of social media, video games, and mobile phones has raised concerns about potential links to youth mental health problems. Prior research has largely focused on total screen time rather than longitudinal addictive use trajectories.
Objectives: To identify trajectories of addictive use of social media, mobile phones, and video games and to examine their associations with suicidal behaviors and ideation and mental health outcomes among youths.
Design, setting, and participants: Cohort study analyzing data from baseline through year 4 follow-up in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (2016-2022), with population-based samples from 21 US sites.
Exposures: Addictive use of social media, mobile phones, and video games using validated child-reported measures from year 2, year 3, and year 4 follow-up surveys.
Main outcomes and measures: Suicidal behaviors and ideation assessed using child- and parent-reported information via the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia. Internalizing and externalizing symptoms were assessed using the parent-reported Child Behavior Checklist.
Results: The analytic sample (n = 4285) had a mean age of 10.0 (SD, 0.6) years; 47.9% were female; and 9.9% were Black, 19.4% Hispanic, and 58.7% White. Latent class linear mixed models identified 3 addictive use trajectories for social media and mobile phones and 2 for video games. Nearly one-third of participants had an increasing addictive use trajectory for social media or mobile phones beginning at age 11 years. In adjusted models, increasing addictive use trajectories were associated with higher risks of suicide-related outcomes than low addictive use trajectories (eg, increasing addictive use of social media had a risk ratio of 2.14 [95% CI, 1.61-2.85] for suicidal behaviors). High addictive use trajectories for all screen types were associated with suicide-related outcomes (eg, high-peaking addictive use of social media had a risk ratio of 2.39 [95% CI, 1.66-3.43] for suicidal behaviors). The high video game addictive use trajectory showed the largest relative difference in internalizing symptoms (T score difference, 2.03 [95% CI, 1.45-2.61]), and the increasing social media addictive use trajectory for externalizing symptoms (T score difference, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.54-1.56]), compared with low addictive use trajectories. Total screen time at baseline was not associated with outcomes.
Conclusions and relevance: High or increasing trajectories of addictive use of social media, mobile phones, or video games were common in early adolescents. Both high and increasing addictive screen use trajectories were associated with suicidal behaviors and ideation and worse mental health.
Objective. The systematic review assessed evidence on the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents to inform a planned update of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines.
Data sources. We searched PubMed®, Embase®, PsycINFO®, ERIC, clinicaltrials.gov, and prior reviews for primary studies published since 1980. The report includes studies published to June 15, 2023.
Review methods. The review followed a detailed protocol and was supported by a Technical Expert Panel. Citation screening was facilitated by machine learning; two independent reviewers screened full text citations for eligibility. We abstracted data using software designed for systematic reviews. Risk of bias assessments focused on key sources of bias for diagnostic and intervention studies. We conducted strength of evidence (SoE) and applicability assessments for key outcomes. The protocol for the review has been registered in PROSPERO (CRD42022312656).
Results. Searches identified 23,139 citations, and 7,534 were obtained as full text. We included 550 studies reported in 1,097 publications (231 studies addressed diagnosis, 312 studies addressed treatment, and 10 studies addressed monitoring). Diagnostic studies reported on the diagnostic performance of numerous parental ratings, teacher rating scales, teen/child self-reports, clinician tools, neuropsychological tests, EEG approaches, imaging, and biomarkers. Multiple approaches showed promising diagnostic performance (e.g., using parental rating scales), although estimates of performance varied considerably across studies and the SoE was generally low. Few studies reported estimates for children under the age of 7. Treatment studies evaluated combined pharmacological and behavior approaches, medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration, other pharmacologic treatment, psychological/behavioral approaches, cognitive training, neurofeedback, neurostimulation, physical exercise, nutrition and supplements, integrative medicine, parent support, school interventions, and provider or model-of-care interventions. Medication treatment was associated with improved broadband scale scores and ADHD symptoms (high SoE) as well as function (moderate SoE), but also appetite suppression and adverse events (high SoE). Psychosocial interventions also showed improvement in ADHD symptoms based on moderate SoE. Few studies have evaluated combinations of pharmacological and youth-directed psychosocial interventions, and we did not find combinations that were systematically superior to monotherapy (low SoE). Published monitoring approaches for ADHD were limited and the SoE is insufficient.
Conclusion. Many diagnostic tools are available to aid the diagnosis of ADHD, but few monitoring strategies have been studied. Medication therapies remain important treatment options, although with a risk of side effects, as the evidence base for psychosocial therapies strengthens and other nondrug treatment approaches emerge.
Purpose: Hyperuricemia is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Because patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia (AH) experience no immediate discomfort and there are possible side effects of urate-lowering drugs, treatment for AH is controversial. We aimed to perform a network meta-analysis (NMA) to investigate the effects of different urate-lowering therapies (ULTs) on serum uric acid level, renal function, blood pressure (BP), and safety in AH patients.
Methods: This NMA focused on AH patients. The intervention group (patients receiving urate-lowering drugs) was compared with others using other types of drugs, placebo, or usual care. We undertook a NMA under the frequentist framework by R.
Results: Thirteen eligible trials were identified. The interventions included allopurinol, febuxostat, and benzbromarone, which are not approved in the United States. Benzbromarone and allopurinol had the best efficacy on lowering serum uric acid level in short-term and long-term follow-up (mean difference [MD] = -3.05; 95% CI, -5.19 to -0.91 vs MD = -3.17; 95% CI, -5.19 to -1.15). Patients using allopurinol had significantly higher eGFR than using placebo in both short-term and long-term follow-up (MD = 3.07; 95% CI, 0.18 to 5.95 vs MD = 4.10; 95% CI, 2.66 to 5.54). No difference in BP was found between groups, except for febuxostat to diastolic BP after long-term treatment (MD = -1.47; 95% CI, -2.91 to -0.04). No statistically increased odds of safety events were found with the use of ULT.
Conclusions: Our result showed that in AH patients, allopurinol has a renoprotective effect. Febuxostat has a significant impact in lowering diastolic BP. ULT does not result in a higher risk of safety events.
Recommendations for Ages 18 Years or Younger, United States, 2022
In November 2021, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to approve the Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule for Ages 19 Years or Older, United States, 2022. The 2022 adult immunization schedule, available at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/adult.html, summarizes ACIP recommendations in the cover page, tables, notes, and appendix (Figure). The appendix lists the contraindications and precautions for all routinely recommended vaccines on the adult immunization schedule (Figure). The full ACIP recommendations for each vaccine are available at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/index.html. The 2022 schedule has also been approved by the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and by the American College of Physicians (www.acponline.org), the American Academy of Family Physicians (www.aafp.org), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (www.acog.org), the American College of Nurse-Midwives (www.midwife.org), the American Academy of Physician Associates (www.aapa.org), and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (www.shea-online.org).
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) convened a writing group to develop a consensus statement on the management of type 1 diabetes in adults. The writing group has considered the rapid development of new treatments and technologies and addressed the following topics: diagnosis, aims of management, schedule of care, diabetes self-management education and support, glucose monitoring, insulin therapy, hypoglycemia, behavioral considerations, psychosocial care, diabetic ketoacidosis, pancreas and islet transplantation, adjunctive therapies, special populations, inpatient management, and future perspectives. Although we discuss the schedule for follow-up examinations and testing, we have not included the evaluation and treatment of the chronic microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes as these are well-reviewed and discussed elsewhere. The writing group was aware of both national and international guidance on type 1 diabetes and did not seek to replicate this but rather aimed to highlight the major areas that health care professionals should consider when managing adults with type 1 diabetes. Though evidence-based where possible, the recommendations in the report represent the consensus opinion of the authors.
1. Injuries in children from ingesting button batteries are
increasing
2. The type and size of the ingested battery influence the
likelihood of complications
3. Urgency of management depends on the location of the battery
4. Honey or sucralfate should be administered after battery
ingestion
5. Children should be monitored for long-term complications
Background
Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine) was licensed to prevent herpes zoster, dispensed as 2 doses given 2–6 months apart among adults aged ≥50 years. Clinical trials yielded efficacy of >90% for confirmed herpes zoster, but post-market performance has not been evaluated. Efficacy of a single dose and a delayed second dose and efficacy among persons with autoimmune or immunosuppressive conditions have not been studied. We aimed to assess post-market vaccine effectiveness of Shingrix.
Methods
We conducted a cohort study among Medicare Part D community-dwelling beneficiaries aged >65 years. Herpes zoster was identified using a medical office visit diagnosis with treatment, and postherpetic neuralgia was identified using a validated algorithm. We used inverse probability of treatment weighting to improve cohort balance and marginal structural models to estimate hazard ratios.
Results
We found a vaccine effectiveness of 70.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 68.6–71.5) and 56.9% (95% CI, 55.0–58.8) for 2 and 1 doses, respectively. The 2-dose vaccine effectiveness was not significantly lower for beneficiaries aged >80 years, for second doses received at ≥180 days, or for individuals with autoimmune conditions. The vaccine was also effective among individuals with immunosuppressive conditions. Two-dose vaccine effectiveness against postherpetic neuralgia was 76.0% (95% CI, 68.4–81.8).
Conclusions
This large real-world observational study of the effectiveness of Shingrix demonstrates the benefit of completing the 2-dose regimen. Second doses administered beyond the recommended 6 months did not impair effectiveness. Our effectiveness estimates were lower than the clinical trials estimates, likely due to differences in outcome specificity.
Objective. To evaluate the benefits and harms of selected interventional procedures for acute and chronic pain that are not currently covered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) but are relevant for and have potential utility for use in the Medicare population, or that are covered by CMS but for which there is important uncertainty or controversy regarding use.
Data sources. Electronic databases (Ovid® MEDLINE®, PsycINFO®, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) to April 12, 2021, reference lists, and submissions in response to a Federal Register notice.
Review methods. Using predefined criteria and dual review, we selected randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for 10 interventional procedures and conditions that evaluated pain, function, health status, quality of life, medication use, and harms. Random effects meta-analysis was conducted for vertebral compression fracture; otherwise, outcomes were synthesized qualitatively. Effects were classified as small, moderate, or large using previously defined criteria.
Results. Thirty-seven randomized trials (in 48 publications) were included. Vertebroplasty (13 trials) is probably more effective at reducing pain and improving function in older (>65 years of age) patients, but benefits are small (less than 1 point on a 10-point pain scale). Benefits appear smaller (but still present) in sham-controlled (5 trials) compared with usual care controlled trials (8 trials) and larger in trials of patients with more acute symptoms; however, testing for subgroup effects was limited by imprecision. Vertebroplasty is probably not associated with increased risk of incident vertebral fracture (10 trials). Kyphoplasty (2 trials) is probably more effective than usual care for pain and function in older patients with vertebral compression fracture at up to 1 month (moderate to large benefits) and may be more effective at >1 month to ≥1 year (small to moderate benefits) but has not been compared against sham therapy. Evidence on kyphoplasty and risk of incident fracture was conflicting. In younger (below age for Medicare eligibility) populations, cooled radiofrequency denervation for sacroiliac pain (2 trials) is probably more effective for pain and function versus sham at 1 and 3 months (moderate to large benefits). Cooled radiofrequency for presumed facet joint pain may be similarly effective versus conventional radiofrequency, and piriformis injection with corticosteroid for piriformis syndrome may be more effective than sham injection for pain. For the other interventional procedures and conditions addressed, evidence was too limited to determine benefits and harms.
Conclusions. Vertebroplasty is probably effective at reducing pain and improving function in older patients with vertebral compression fractures; benefits are small but similar to other therapies recommended for pain. Evidence was too limited to separate effects of control type and symptom acuity on effectiveness of vertebroplasty. Kyphoplasty has not been compared against sham but is probably more effective than usual care for vertebral compression fractures in older patients. In younger populations, cooled radiofrequency denervation is probably more effective than sham for sacroiliac pain. Research is needed to determine the benefits and harms of the other interventional procedures and conditions addressed in this review.
