Survey Finds Big Drop in Sexual Activity Among Black Teens

HealthDay – 14 hrs ago TUESDAY, July 24 (HealthDay News) -- Black teenagers in the United States have become much less sexually active over the past two decades, and those who do have sex appear to be more likely to use condoms, a new survey has found.

The declines are "dramatic," said report author Laura Kann, who studies adolescent health for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The numbers don't disclose anything about why black teens might have changed their behavior. "This tells us what kids do, but not why," Kann said.

Overall, teens of all racial and ethnic groups are about as sexually active as they were a decade ago. And the rate of condom use by teens -- just six in 10 used them the last time they had sex -- hasn't changed much since the 1990s.

By contrast, the numbers for black teens are strikingly different. The percentage who reported ever having sex fell from 82 percent in 1991 to 60 percent in 2011. Kann said the numbers coincide with drops in teen pregnancy and births.

Increased education about HIV/AIDS among blacks, leadership in the black community and a public health focus on black Americans could explain the change, Kann said.

The new CDC teen-sex survey also reveals that:

The percentages of students who've had sex have remained fairly stable over the last 20 years for Hispanic students (49 percent in 2011) and whites (44 percent in 2011).Overall, 47 percent of all teens surveyed said they'd ever had sex, down from 54 percent in 1991. The rate has barely changed since 2001.About one-third of students said they'd had sex within the past three months, and 15 percent said they'd had sex with four or more partners.The percentage of sexually active teens who use condoms grew from 46 percent in 1991 to 60 percent in 2011, although the number hasn't changed much in recent years. Black teens are more likely to use condoms: their rate is 65 percent.

The recent stabilization of condom use could have something to do with less focus on HIV, which has largely become a treatable disease, Kann said. Also, "the percentage of high school students overall who have had HIV education has dropped since 1997. That hasn't helped any either."

The new survey results come from the CDC's National Youth Risk Behavior Survey of students in grades 9 through 12 from both public and private schools. About 15,000 students take the surveys each year.

Jennifer Manlove, area director of Fertility and Family Structure with the Child Trends advocacy group in Washington, D.C., said the survey shows that much of the evolution toward less sexual activity occurred in the 1990s, even among black teens.

"There's been a little bit more since 2000, but not really that much. The big news in the 1990s was the real focus on the AIDS epidemic and a lot of attention given to that," she said.

Dr. David Katz, director of Yale University's Prevention Research Center, said the study "is a mix of good news and persistent causes for concern."

Nearly half of teens in this country are still sexually active, "and a third or more (of those) did not use condoms most recently," he said. "This means that a very large population of our young people remains vulnerable to all of the perils of unprotected sex, HIV included. So this report is not a cause for celebration. It tells of a job that can be done when we address it well, and of a mission far from accomplished that deserves our more devoted attention."

He added: "No child should get HIV because our society is squeamish about the readily available means of preventing that."

The survey findings were scheduled to be released Tuesday at the International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., and published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

More information

For more about teen sexual health, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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U.S. Doctors Embracing Electronic Health Records: Survey

HealthDay – 2 hrs 1 min ago TUESDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) -- A majority of U.S. physicians have now adopted an electronic health record system as part of their routine practice, a new national survey reveals.

The finding is based on responses provided by nearly 3,200 doctors across the country who completed a mail-in survey in 2011. The survey was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics as part of an ongoing three-year effort (continuing through 2013) designed to assess perceptions and practices regarding electronic health record systems.

Specifically, the poll found that 55 percent of U.S. doctors have embraced some type of electronic health record system. And roughly 75 percent of those who have done so reported that the type of system they took on meets the criteria of playing a "meaningful" role in their practice, according to the terms of 2009 federal legislation (entitled the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act) designed to promote the use of electronic health records.

What's more, 85 percent of those doctors who now have an electronic health record system in place said they are either "somewhat" or "very" satisfied with its day-to-day operations (47 percent and 38 percent, respectively). And three in four said patient care has improved as a result of electronic health record adoption.

The poll also indicated that among those who have yet to embrace an electronic health record system, almost half said they plan to do so in the coming year.

Physician age seems to have played a role in how likely a doctor was to have already brought an electronic health record system into their practice, the findings showed. While 64 percent of those under the age of 50 have done so, the poll revealed that the same was true of only 49 percent among those aged 50 and older.

Office size also seems to matter, with larger physician practices being more likely to have incorporated an electronic health record system into their administrative infrastructure. Specifically, 86 percent of offices with 11 or more physicians on site had taken on such a system, compared with roughly 60 percent to 62 percent of those with two to 10 physicians and just under 30 percent of single-doctor practices.

But although some kinds of specialists (such as surgeons) were somewhat less likely to have implemented an electronic health record system, race, gender and physician location did not seem to play a role in the likelihood that a doctor's office would or would not bring the technology into their workplace.

Eric Jamoom, of the health care statistics division of the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics, and colleagues published their findings July 17 in the NCHS Data Brief.

More information

For more on electronic health records, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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Many Still Tanning, Despite Dangers, Survey Finds

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Fees Lead Some Kids to Skip After-School Sports: Survey

HealthDay – Fri, May 18, 2012 FRIDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- Schools that charge kids to participate in sports may be benching some children, a new survey finds.

One in five parents with an annual household income under $60,000 said sports-related fees have forced their middle- and high school-aged children to reduce their involvement in school sports, according to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health.

Budget cuts have led school districts across the United States to scale back athletic funding and implement fees to cover the cost of school sports, according to the investigators.

The survey found that 61 percent of children playing middle or high school sports were charged a pay-to-play fee. The average cost was $93, but the fee was $150 or more for 21 percent of the children.

The poll also found that when equipment, uniforms and additional team fees were added, the average cost for a child's participation in a school sport was $381.

Twelve percent of parents said the cost of school sports led to a drop in participation by at least one of their children, but that varied substantially based on household income. About 19 percent of families earning less than $60,000 a year said costs led to a decrease in their children's participation in school sports, compared with 5 percent of parents in families earning more than $60,000 per year.

Only 6 percent of students received a waiver of pay-to-play fees, the poll found.

The findings suggest that schools should re-examine their waiver policies and consider options such as partial waivers, installment payments, or other means to provide flexibility for families, said Sarah Clark, associate director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit at the University of Michigan and associate director of the National Poll on Children's Health.

"We know that participating in school sports offers many benefits to children and teens: higher school achievement, lower dropout rates, improved health, reduced obesity and the development of skills like teamwork and problem-solving," Clark said in a University of Michigan Health System news release.

"There's not an athletic director, school administrator or coach out there who doesn't want every kid to have a chance to participate. But there are no easy answers, especially because budgets are expected to get tighter and tighter," she added.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about children and sports.

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Fewer Young Americans Smoking, Survey Finds

HealthDay – 45 mins ago THURSDAY, May 17 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking rates among American teens and young adults fell between 2004 and 2010, but too many of them still light up, a new federal government report reveals.

The rate of current cigarette use among U.S. teens decreased from nearly 12 percent in 2004 to about 8 percent in 2010, and dropped from nearly 40 percent to about 34 percent among young adults, according to the analysis from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Survey on Drug Use and Health released Thursday.

The percentage of daily smokers among teens fell from just over 3 percent to under 2 percent, and decreased from about 20 percent to nearly 16 percent among young adults during the study period, the survey found.

Among young adults who were daily smokers, the percentage who smoked 26 or more cigarettes a day (about 1

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Many Primary Care Docs Don't Know Long-Term Effects of Chemo: Survey

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Half of Young Cigarette Smokers Also Smoke Pot: Survey

HealthDay – 29 mins ago WEDNESDAY, April 18 (HealthDay News) -- More young cigarette smokers may also be lighting up joints than was previously thought, a new study finds.

In a survey of young adults aged 18 to 25, more than half said they also use marijuana. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), say that's a big increase from the 35 percent of young adults that, in prior research, had admitted to using both marijuana and tobacco within the past month.

One expert said the new findings ring true.

"The data presented are far more consistent with what I hear simply by speaking with thousands of students of middle and high school age," noted Stephen Dewey, an addiction researcher and director of the Laboratory for Behavioral and Molecular Neuroimaging at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y. "The importance of getting accurate data like these cannot be stressed enough, as treatment programs and the financial support required for them are often guided by studies that demonstrate both prevalence and risk."

According to the researchers, the fact that their study was conducted online, primarily through Facebook, and participants could remain anonymous, may have resulted in a more accurate picture of tobacco and marijuana use.

"We were curious whether rates would be different in our study where we reached out through social media and the Web," study author Danielle Ramo, a postdoctoral scholar in the UCSF Department of Psychiatry, said in a university news release. "And rates were much higher, which shows the problem might be larger than we realize."

The study, published April 18 in Addiction Science and Clinical Practice, was conducted in two phases. First, researchers questioned participants on their smoking habit. In the second stage, 3,500 participants were asked to anonymously reveal if they had used marijuana in the past 30 days.

The study found that of the 68 percent of respondents who smoked cigarettes every day, 53 percent said they had also used marijuana within the past month. Both tobacco and marijuana use was highest among whites, those from the Northeast, those living in rural areas and young adults who were not students, the researchers noted.

"Residence in a medical marijuana state was unrelated to the prevalence of marijuana use as well as the co-use of marijuana and tobacco in this young adult sample," study senior author Judith Prochaska, an associate professor of psychiatry at UCSF, said in the news release. "The prevalence of marijuana use also did not differ by respondents' age, income or gender."

Another expert said he wasn't surprised by the findings.

"Those who suffer from mental health and substance abuse problems have an extremely high rate of nicotine dependence," said Bruce Goldman, director of Substance Abuse Services at The Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, NY. "It stands to reason that those seeking help to quit smoking also would have high rates of substance abuse including cannabis."

He added that, "given the high rates of concurrence, it is a good idea to briefly screen all those seeking smoking cessation services for alcohol and drug abuse problems as well."

The study's authors argued that programs to help young adults quit smoking should also take into account the effects of marijuana use. They said the next step in their research is to bring counseling and other therapies to help people quit to Facebook.

"Adapting the social media aspect into intervention and incorporating the social environment are new ways to approach finding the most effective means for treatment," Prochaska concluded.

"This format allows them to remain anonymous as much as they want, but have ease to access interventions when they are at the age when they are less likely to enter a treatment center, research lab or clinic," added Ramo.

Goldman agreed. "Individuals might be more comfortable seeking assistance via the web than presenting in person to a local treatment center," he reasoned.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse provides more information on marijuana.

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Dating Violence Common by 7th Grade: Survey

HealthDay – 1 hr 17 mins ago THURSDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- Psychological and physical abuse is a common facet of dating for America's adolescents, a new survey reveals.

Researchers who polled more than 1,400 seventh graders found that more than 37 percent of 11- to 14-year olds had been the victim of some form of psychological violence, and almost one in six said they had fallen prey to physical violence while in an ongoing relationship.

"Issues of dating abuse among young teens are much more pervasive than I imagine many families believe," said Peter Long, president and CEO of Blue Shield of California Foundation, which co-sponsored the survey with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the organization Futures Without Violence.

Long said he was startled to see that three-quarters of the students reported they had a boyfriend or girlfriend by their middle-school years.

"That's a big number, and it means that this is the age when many kids are forming their views of what it is to have a relationship," Long said. This indicates that this is the appropriate age to intervene, he added, saying, "High school may even be too late."

The finding that 31 percent of these middle school kids is "experiencing some kind of electronic aggression or pressure such as provocative or insistent texting should be a warning sign for us," Long said, "as is the fact that 15 percent have experienced some kind of physical abuse while dating."

According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention questionnaires, 10 percent of American high school students say they have been physically abused by their boyfriend or girlfriend. But clear insight regarding younger teens has been less well investigated, the researchers said.

To address that issue, between 2010 and 2012 surveys were conducted in eight middle schools in five U.S. cities: Los Angeles; Bridgeport, Conn.; Indianapolis; San Diego, and Saginaw, Mich.

The average age of the 1,430 students polled was 12, and boys and girls were equally represented. About one-quarter were white; 30 percent, black; 34 percent, Hispanic and 12 percent were a combination of other races.

The survey defined teen dating violence as any form of physical, sexual or emotional violence occurring within the context of dating. Psychological violence includes controlling behaviors, such as not allowing a girlfriend or boyfriend to do things with other people. Electronic violence covers bullying and name-calling online or via texts, and physical violence includes pushing, grabbing or kicking one's partner.

Asked about these and other behaviors in the previous six months:

Thirty-seven percent said that they had seen boys or girls being physically abusive towards their dating partner. About one-quarter had a male or female friend who was physically violent to a partner, and more than 20 percent had a friend whose partner was physically violent to him or her.Forty-nine percent said they had been sexually harassed, either physically or verbally, by being touched inappropriately or joked about.Seven percent strongly agreed that it was okay for a boy to hit his girlfriend under certain circumstances, such as "a girl who makes her boyfriend jealous on purpose." Interestingly, 50 percent strongly agreed that it was OK for a girl to hit her boyfriend in the same siutation.Sixty-three percent agreed with what the pollsters considered a "harmful stereotype" about gender, such as "girls are always trying to get boys to do what they want" or "With boyfriends and girlfriends, boys should be smarter than girls."

"But the good news," Long said, "is that nearly three-quarters of the students reported that in the last six months they have talked to their parents about dating. Not necessarily about dating abuse, but about dating. Which means the door is open for parents to talk to their children about relationships. So, on the one hand we have real serious issues here. But, on the other hand, we also have a real opportunity for parents to engage."

A California mother of two, Alexandra Preston, 35, encourages parents of teens to take the survey findings to heart.

"There's a tendency to read about a study like this and think, 'That can't be true.' Because we want our kids to be safe and happy, and we don't want it to be true, right?"

"But I think it's important that parents acknowledge that understanding and establishing and respecting boundaries is something all of us have to struggle with throughout life, at every age," said Preston, who added that she herself was a victim of domestic violence in a prior marriage.

Preston, whose children are 13 and 10, is finance and operations manager for a non-profit agency that works with Robert Wood Johnson's Start Strong program, which aims to combat dating abuse in middle school. She said her own experiences have led her to be proactive with her children regarding healthy relationships.

Her son "remembers what happened in our home," she said, explaining she tries "to make sense of it, without demonizing the people who do it, and making sure they know it's not their fault."

Preston said this study could be helpful in raising awareness about dating issues, and encouraging parents to listen to their children.

More information

For more on young teen relationships, visit the StartStrongTeens.

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