Pediatrics News

Involvement in sports was associated with less depression in boys and higher hippocampal volume in both boys and girls aged 9 to 11 years, according to study findings presented in a NIMH webinar.

The concentration of the stress hormone cortisol in the hair during adolescence was associated with depressive symptoms, researchers reported in Psychoneuroendocrinology.

Approximately half of youth who received antipsychotics during the year after an ADHD diagnosis had a diagnosis for which antipsychotics are indicated, and less than half of these youth received a stimulant — the evidence-supported first-line ADHD treatment, study data revealed.

Questions that assessed frequency of use of alcohol, cannabis and other illicit drugs correctly determined which adolescents had substance use disorders, according to findings recently published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine.

Massachusetts General Hospital has been named the number one hospital for psychiatric care in America for 2019 to 2020, according to the U.S. News & World Report.

Treatment with stimulant medications in children with ADHD was linked to a lower risk for functional complications mood, conduct and substance use disorders, and school problems, study findings published in Journal of Adolescent Health revealed.

Prenatal opioid exposure may negatively impact neurocognitive and physical development, and those effects can last until adolescence, according to findings from a systematic review and meta-analysis published in JAMA Network Open.

Teenagers who reported nonmedical prescription opioid use during high school were significantly more likely to later use heroin, according to findings from a prospective cohort study published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Study findings published in JAMA Pediatrics indicated an association between computer, social media and television use and increases in depressive symptoms among adolescents. Video gaming had no effect, researchers said.

The potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches to identify mental illness continues to be exciting area of research.