Harvard researchers have reported that alcohol abuse among teen girls and young women may increase the likelihood of developing benign breast lumps later in life.

Denise Mann of WebMD Health News reported on the study in an April 12 article:

Girls were aged 9 to 15 when the Growing Up Today Study began. They answered questionnaires from 1996 to 2001, and then again in 2003, 2005, and 2007. ...

Those participants who drank alcohol six to seven days per week were more than five times as likely to develop benign breast disease as their counterparts who abstained.

The teens and adolescent women who drank three to five days per week had three times the risk of developing benign breast disease as their counterparts who did not drink alcohol, the study showed.

Exactly how alcohol use during the teen years raises risk for benign breast disease is not fully understood, but the researchers speculate that alcohol use may increase levels of the female sex hormone estrogen, which may foster the development of benign lumps, bumps, and cysts in the breasts.

Labels: women, girls, alcohol_abuse, health_problems

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As if there werent enough reasons to keep kids from trying or regularly using cocaine, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has issued a public health alert concerning tainted cocaine:

Substantial levels of cocaine may be adulterated with levamisole  a veterinary anti-parasitic drug. There have been approximately 20 confirmed or probable cases of agranulocytosis (a serious, sometimes fatal blood disorder), including two deaths, associated with cocaine adulterated with levamisole.

Use of cocaine tainted with levamisole can severely reduce a persons white blood cells, which suppresses immune functions. Anyone who snorts, smokes, or injects the contaminated cocaine could experience rapidly-developing, life threatening infections.

Symptoms include high fever, chills, weakness, painful sores, and any infection that either doesnt get better or get worse quickly. If these symptoms appear, contact your local poison control immediately.

Labels: health_problems, cocaine

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The United States government is now focusing on getting teenagers to stop abusing prescription and over-the-counter drugs. It is no longer emphasizing marijuana abuse, and some people are criticizing that decision.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has directed that its entire annual budget of some $14 million be used to combat prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America has not produced a single anti-marijuana ad in the last four years.

Prescription drug abuse accounts for more than 10,000 accidental deaths a year and is a secondary cause of another 1680. Marijuana use, on the other hand, does not cause any deaths.

"The bottom line is that opiates and stimulants are much more addictive than marijuana," said Professor Mitch Earleywine of the State University of New York. "Maybe nine percent of marijuana users develop problems, compared to 14 to 20 percent of prescription drug abusers, who end up saying they cannot quit or report withdrawal symptoms when they want to stop."

However, the numbers of people who try either marijuana or over-the-counter prescription drugs is about the same -- around two million per year.

• One of the problems cited by anti-marijuana advocates is that the marijuana in use today is a much stronger variety than what was used in the past.
• Teen marijuana use is considered especially dangerous because the brains of people under the age of 25 are still developing, and marijuana is linked to brain damage.
• According to a 2004 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, todays marijuana is so strong that it is causing more people to get addicted.
• Now that people have access to very high potency marijuana, the game is different," warned Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Dr. Richard Rosenthal, chair of the psychiatry department at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital and a professor at Columbia University, said that people are underplaying the dangers of marijuana, especially those who want to legalize it.

"We need to be very mindful of what we are unleashing out of a Pandora's Box," he said. "The people who become chronic users do not have the same lives and the same achievements as people who do not use chronically."

People seeking treatment for marijuana abuse increased from 12 percent of all those in treatment in 1997 to 16 percent in 2007.

Some psychiatrists and psychologists want "Cannabis Withdrawal Syndrome" to be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Labels: health_problems, marijuana, dangers-of-drug-use

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Attempting to describe the many health and developmental dangers of drinking alcohol to a young person may be an exercise in futility, but a new Canadian study may help to put the risk in terms that are stark enough to capture a teen's attention: Every 15 seconds, someone dies because of alcohol.

This finding was described in a June 27 Examiner.com post by Carl Lowe:

A few sips of wine may be good for your heart, but alcohol-related disease and accidents take a life every 15 seconds according to research from the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Researchers found that disorders linked to drinking wine, beer, whiskey, mixed drinks, etc are among the most disabling diseases in the world. The problems are especially problematic for men although women have been drinking more during the past decade.

Unlike other diseases, the risks linked to drinking frequently kill young people.

No one statistic will be enough to end the scourge of teen alcohol abuse, but information such as the data collected during the Canadian study may help bolster parents' efforts to keep their kids away from alcohol and other drugs.

Labels: health_problems, alcohol, death

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The dangers of smoking have been known for years. But a recent report filed by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has found that smoking is especially dangerous for adolescents.

"CASA's original analysis of data from the NDSUH [National Survey on Drug Use and Health] finds that teens who smoke are nine times likelier to meet the medical criteria for past year alcohol abuse or dependence and 13 times likelier to meet the medical criteria for abuse and dependence on an illegal drug than teens who don't smoke."

The study also found that teens ages 12 to 17 are twice as likely to suffer from symptoms of depression if they smoke. Feelings of anxiety and worthlessness were also more likely.

Labels: smoking, health_problems, risky_behaviors

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A new law enacted in Kentucky could cause people who manufacture methamphetamine to lose their homes or vehicles. The law requires a "full cleanup" and applies to any structure in which more than 2 ounces of meth have been manufactured.

"A full cleanup means everything inside the house has to be thrown away& The price is $10,000 for an average house. However, depending on the size, the price could reach $20,000."

The process of manufacturing meth leaves behind residue that poses health and environmental threats to any future occupants of the home, and only certified contractors can conduct the cleanup.

Labels: health_problems, laws, meth

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Young teens that smoke, drink and use drugs by themselves develop more health and behavior problems than those who use socially, according to a new study by the Rand Corporation.

Solitary users are at more risk for poor physical health by age 23 and less likely to graduate from college.

Among children ages 13 and 14 years old, about 16% smoked cigarettes, 17% drank alcohol and 4% used marijuana when they were alone. The study, published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors journal, indicates that such children are at risk for problems in later life.

Labels: health_problems, behaviors, solitude

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There is yet another reason for parents to be on the lookout for teen alcohol use and other dangerous behaviors. Migraine headaches are more common among teenagers who drink coffee or alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or do not get much exercise, according to a new study from Ludwig-Maximilians University in Germany.

• Astrid Milde-Busch surveyed 1260 students ages 14 to 20 years old about headaches.
• Over 80 percent had experienced a headache within the past six months, but they were more common among those who drink coffee or alcohol, smoke cigarettes and/or do not exercise.
• About 5 15 percent of high school students have migraines, and 15 to 25 percent have tension headaches.
• Skipping meals was not associated with headaches.

"Our study confirms that adolescents with any type of headache might benefit from regular physical activity and low consumption of alcoholic drinks," Dr. Milde-Busch says. "In teens suffering from migraine, low coffee consumption should also be suggested."

The study appeared in the journal Headache.
 

Labels: tobacco use, health_problems, alcohol, caffeine

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More bad news for teens who abuse alcohol: If they continue their bad habits into adulthood, they will put their brains at continued risk. Drinking heavily throughout adulthood leads to a decrease in brain volume, according to a study from Wellesley College.

• Dr. Carol Ann Paul used data from 1,839 people ages 34 to 88 years old enrolled in the Framingham Offspring Study.
• The study subjects were classified as non-drinkers, former drinkers, and low drinkers.
• Those who had more than 14 drinks a week showed a 1.6 percent decrease in brain volume on MRI scans compared to those who didn't drink.
• Women lost more brain volume than men, particularly women in their 70s.
• Those who had a 12-year history of heavy drinking had less brain volume than those who moved into the high drinking category within the past 12 years.

The Framingham study has been ongoing since 1948 among residents of the town of Framingham, Massachusetts. Researchers in this study usually focus on heart disease.

Labels: health_problems, alcohol, brain_chemistry

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A study of laboratory animals found that consuming too much alcohol in adolescence could lead to osteoporosis and bone loss in adulthood.

• Researchers at Loyola University in Chicago exposed rats to large amounts of alcohol during their "teenage" years.
• Some receive the equivalent of one acute episode of binge drinking; others received amounts that would qualify as chronic binge drinking.
• The control group received only solutions instead of alcohol.

The "chronic binge group" showed changes in 300 genes, 180 were related to bones. They had damaged skeletons in adulthood.

The study appears in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism.
 

Labels: health_problems, binge drinking

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments

A person is twice as likely to have a stroke within the first hour of drinking alcohol, according to a new study from Harvard University.

The research team studied 390 stroke patients and found that the risk of stroke increased 2.3 times after alcohol consumption. This is probably related to the way that blood pressure rises and blood platelets become stickier after drinking alcohol.

This study was published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
 

Labels: health_problems, alcohol

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Recent surveys have found that the majority of Canadians believe that marijuana should be decriminalized. Most believe mild marijuana use is harmless, which worries Amy Porath-Waller, senior research and policy analyst for the Canadian Center on Substance Abuse.

“Porath-Waller said chronic marijuana use can cause neuro-cognitive impairment such as memory and retention loss as well as mental health problems like psychosis, depression and anxiety. And because cannabis is often smoked unfiltered in larger puffs with longer breath-holding, it can also lead to respiratory problems and possibly lung cancer, she said.” [Source: Toronto Sun]

Because chronic marijuana use can affect cognitive development, it can also indirectly affect academic and vocational achievement.

Labels: health_problems, marijuana, brain_chemistry

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