[Use of Electronic Cigarettes (e-cigs) and e-Shishas by Children and Adolescents: Evidence Paper of the Joint Addiction Commission of the German Societies and Professional Associations of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy]

Use of Electronic Cigarettes (e-cigs) and e-Shishas by Children and Adolescents: Evidence Paper of the Joint Addiction Commission of the German Societies and Professional Associations of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Abstract. The particular risks associated with the consumption of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) in children and adolescents are not sufficiently considered in the health policy discourse. The present article evaluates the current dissemination and consumption patterns of e-cigarettes as well as the health risks attached to children and adolescents. Based on data from current national and international studies, there has been a clear increase in the consumption of e-cigarettes over the past years. This stands in sharp contrast to the overall decline in tobacco consumption among both children and adolescents in Germany. Young people without tobacco experience are now consuming more frequently e-cigarettes than those who occasionally or regularly use tobacco. They also are experimenting more frequently with conventional cigarettes if they have previously consumed e-cigarettes. The largely unregulated availability of e-cigarette products to the newest generation, such as JUUL, led to a dramatic increase in their prevalence among high-school students in the USA. Products with high nicotine content and multiple flavors are being marketed intensively as trendy lifestyle products to young user groups via advertising and social media campaigns. These products are also becoming increasingly relevant in Germany. The success of tobacco prevention in recent years is presently jeopardized by the ongoing effective advertising for e-cigarettes. The Addiction Commission of the German Child and Youth Psychiatric Federations and Scientific Societies therefore call for an immediate, strict, and comprehensive ban of e-cigarette advertising.

[Media-associated disorders in childhood and adolescence: Evidence paper of the joint addiction commision of the German societies and professional associations of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy]

Media-associated disorders in childhood and adolescence: Evidence paper of the joint addiction commision of the German societies and professional associations of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy Abstract. Media-associated disorders (MAD) describe the problematic use of the internet, certain electronic devices in general as well as digital applications. During childhood and adolescence, digital games and social media are the most commonly used applications. In May 2019, as first MAD "gaming disorder" was included as a clinical diagnosis in the ICD-11. The prevalence of MAD in German children and adolescents is estimated to lie between 3 % and 5 %. In most cases, MAD are accompanied by psychiatric comorbidities. MAD ensue because of dysfunctional learning processes in combination with general and specific risk factors. They are associated with neural changes like those of substance-associated addictions. Diagnostics can be based on validated questionnaires and clinical exploration, though a standardized diagnostic path is not yet common. Treatment depends on the level of severity and generally comprises outpatient, day-clinic, and inpatient therapy approaches with elements from cognitive-behavioral therapy and under parental involvement. Suitable treatments are not yet available in all German regions and have also not been sufficiently evaluated. Moreover, only a few studies exist on the efficacy of prevention measures addressing MAD in children and adolescents. Thus, further research is strongly required.

Strain differences in inbred rats: influence of strain and diet on haematological traits

5 inbred strains of rats maintained on 3 commercial pelleted diets were investigated for differences in haematological traits on the 154th day of age. Number, size and haemoglobin content of the erythrocytes were shown to be strongly influenced by strain and diet. While the strain AS/Ztm was always found in a high position within the ranking order of strains, the strain DA/Ztm was always found in a low position. For nearly all haematological traits, diet II (Altromin C1000) resulted in the highest values. This was not due to a difference in the content of iron (Fe), because even though diet III (Altromin 1534) contained only 50% of the Fe in diet I (Altromin 1324), differences between these two diets were small. Significant interactions between strain and diet were shown to exist for the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and the mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH). Strong genetic correlations were found between haematocrit (HCT) and haemoglobin (Hb) and between MCV and MCH, while the number of red blood cells (RBC), Hb, HCT, MCV and MCH correlated significantly within each strain. However, these environmental correlations have to be interpreted with caution, because these variables are not determined independently.