Psychiatry

Many parents struggle with the decision to let their kids play tackle football or other contact sports due to the risk of concussions and long-term brain diseases that may occur with repeated head blows. Now, new research suggests that head trauma and concussions aren’t linked to problems with memory, attention, processing speed, or behavior in 9- to 12-year-olds who...

Cannabidiol (CBD) products are wildly popular among older adults for treating chronic pain and anxiety, and a new poll suggests that nearly three-quarters of U.S. parents think CBD might also be a good option for their kids when other meds don’t work. On the other hand, more than that — 83% — think CBD products should be...

Most children born before 24 weeks have neurodevelopmental disorders and/or somatic diagnoses in childhood, according to a study published in Acta Paediatrica. Eva Morsing, Ph.D., from Lund University in Sweden, and colleagues examined childhood diagnoses in children born extremely preterm before 24 weeks of gestation using data retrieved from national Swedish registries from 2007 to 2018....

Can a highly restrictive eating regimen of just a few foods ease the classic symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in kids? New research suggests that short-term nutritional intervention, which tests whether certain foods are a trigger for ADHD symptoms through the process of elimination, might make a difference. ADHD can result in inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and...

Children aged 9 to 10 years with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differ modestly from their unaffected peers in structural brain MRI measures, according to a study published in The Lancet Psychiatry. Joel Bernanke, M.D., from New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study using baseline demographic, clinical, and neuroimaging...

The more time kids spend in daycare, the greater their risk for problem behaviors in primary school, according to a Swiss study. But, parents can take heart. The study also found that such problems generally disappear by the end of primary school. “It’s possible that external childcare may lessen the strength of child-parent attachment and...

Prenatal opioid exposure is associated with a significantly higher risk for subsequent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and carries a higher risk than exposure to other substances, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Henri M. Garrison-Desany, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and colleagues estimated the aggregate burden of...

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is well-known for its effect on organizational skills, but less is known about how its comorbid conditions affect these skills. This study, published in PeerJ, sought to determine how ADHD and its comorbid conditions affect organizational skills in adults.  A total of 407 adult participants were recruited online for the study. Of...

Adults with ADHD are at high risk of receiving criticism from others related to their ADHD. This study, published in PLOS ONE, sought to determine how adults with ADHD deal with this criticism. A total of 162 adults with ADHD and high ADHD traits participated in this qualitative study. They shared their experiences of criticism with...