More U.S. Kids Have Chronic Health Problems: Study

[Free Vulcan]

SATURDAY, April 30, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The number of American kids suffering from asthma and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is on the increase, with poor children being hit the hardest, researchers report.

Children living in extreme poverty who had asthma and ADHD were nearly twice as likely to have at least one other chronic medical condition. These conditions included developmental delays, autism, depression, anxiety, behavioral or conduct issues, speech and language problems, epilepsy and other seizure disorders, and learning disabilities.

"These findings emphasize the importance of studying poverty and its impact on child health, as well as confirm the need for increased awareness to inform child health policy," said lead researcher Dr. Christian Pulcini, a resident at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

The reasons for the increase in chronic conditions aren't clear, but access to health care and health literacy may be playing a part, he said. Increases in these conditions also were seen among children who rely on public assistance for their health care, Pulcini added.

More at:

http://www.webmd.com/children/news/20160430/more-us-kids-have-chronic-health-problems-study

[mountaineer]

Increases in these conditions also were seen among children who rely on public assistance for their health care, Pulcini added.

When I worked with a welfare-receiving clientele, I noticed that they went to the ER for everything. After all, Medicaid paid for it. FWIW, my opinion is that ADHD is diagnosed for no apparent reason. Of course your kid has ADHD, don't they all? More Ritalin here!

I also noted a lot of the welfare moms said their children has asthma, and I wondered if a factor might be the number of cigarette smokers with whom the kids lived.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

When you import the third world, you import the third world's problems as well.