Researchers at McMaster University are making news this week after publishing a study that states routine autism screening is not necessary for all children. Their study was published in the medical journal Pediatrics.
The observation stands in stark contrast to their American counterparts, who have argued routine screening for autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) should be performed on all children, regardless of whether or not the parents have commented on any specific behaviours or symptoms.
The authors of the study have drawn their conclusions from the overall success of modern testing and predictive values. Specifically, the authors wrote, “None of the autism screening tests currently available has been shown to be able to fulfil the properties of accuracy, namely high sensitivity, high specificity, and high predictive value (proportion of patients with positive test results who are diagnosed correctly) in a population-wide screening program.”
The authors’ argument goes against the rising belief that early testing and subsequent early intervention can greatly improve the overall outcome of children diagnosed with autism or ASD. While the incidence of autism 30 years ago was pegged at 0.8 cases per 1,000 persons, that rate has now risen to 11 per 1,000 persons today. While many experts credit better detection methods and improved diagnostic testing in having contributed to that increase, most specialists agree autism is more common now, especially given the fact boys are much more likely to be diagnosed than girls.
The research team instead proposes “careful surveillance and assessment of all very young children who have signs of social, language and cognitive difficulties.”
Infants who breastfeed have as much as a 73 per cent decreased risk of dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), which claims thousands of young lives in North America every year. The study is published in Pediatrics.
While the many benefits of breastfeeding have been documented, Dr. Fern R. Hauck at the University of Virginia decided to investigate the occurrence of SIDS in women who breast-feed some of the time or all of the time. The results showed that for infants who received any amount of breast milk for any time period, there was a 60 per cent reduction in the risk of SIDS. After controlling for confounding variables such as socioeconomic status, smoking and infant sleep position, the reduction in SIDS risk dropped to 45 per cent.
However, in women who exclusively breastfed their children, the risk of SIDS death was reduced to 73 per cent.
There have been many theories as to why breastfeeding can reduce the risk of SIDS. Other research has found breastfed infants are less likely to develop diarrhea or respiratory tract infections (upper or lower), which are associated with vulnerability to SIDS. Other studies have demonstrated that, despite the belief “formula is as good as breast milk,” bottle-fed babies have been shown to be sicker, sick more often and more likely to die in infancy or childhood compared to breastfed babies. Breastfeeding also contributes to the healthy development of a baby’s immune system and is theorized to create a closer psychological attachment between infant and mother.
Excess coffee intake can induce auditory hallucinations or an individual hearing sounds that haven’t actually been made, according to research published in Personality and Individual Differences.
The report out of Australia looked at 92 individuals who were subject to either a low or high-stress condition and a low or high-stress caffeine condition. All had to listen to white noise and report whenever they heard the song White Christmas by Bing Crosby. Unknown to all individuals, White Christmas was never actually played.
Despite that fact, individuals placed in high stress or highly caffeinated conditions reported hearing the song. Researchers stated that, while research has proven a link between ongoing high levels of stress and psychosis, focusing on the consumption of caffeine has been relatively new.
“Caffeine was found to correlate with hallucination proneness. The combination of caffeine and stress affect the likelihood of an individual experiencing a psychosis-like symptom,” the authors wrote.
They added auditory hallucinations can be triggered by consuming as many as five cups of coffee per day.
“It is apparent that the health risks of excessive caffeine use must be addressed and caution should be raised with regards to the exacerbating use of this stimulant,” the authors concluded.
