Pediatrics News

The prevalence of substance use among high school students was lower in 2021 compared with that in 2009 and 2019, although lifetime inhalant use was up from 2019, findings in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Supplement showed.

Rates of current ADHD medication use and ever accessing mental health care were low among children with parent-reported ADHD, according to findings published in JAMA Network Open.

Rates of suicidal behavior and ideation increased among high school girls, according to findings published in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Supplement.

Sleep problems in children were associated with psychopathological symptoms such as emotional and behavioral issues during childhood and into adolescence, according to a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

The Biden administration has declared xylazine-laced fentanyl an “emerging threat” to the United States — the first time an administration has made such a declaration.

The rate of nonmedical use of prescription stimulants is as high as more than 25% in some U.S. secondary schools, a study found.

According to Benjamin Maxwell, MD, the new division chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, responding to pediatric mental health issues often starts in the pediatrician’s office.

Improving the parental mental health and preschool attendance of disadvantaged children reduced socioeconomic differences in their mental health compared with nondisadvantaged peers, an Australian study found.

A recent study found that melatonin may reduce the risk for self-harm in youth, but experts recommend conducting comprehensive sleep assessments before initiation.

Children with ADHD may be more likely to experience hyperactivity behaviors if they have an elevated serum thyroid-stimulating hormone level, according to data published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.