AAP Department of Communications Contact: Debbie Linchesky, 847-434-7084, or Mindy Weinstein, 847-434-7131.

(Please do not reply directly to this e-mail, as you will not receive a response. Contact Debbie Linchesky at dlinchesky@aap.org
or Mindy Weinstein at mweinstein@aap.org if you have questions about the contents of this mailing.)

Information in this mailing is embargoed for release: Monday, August 6, 12:01 am ET, unless otherwise specified.
PLEASE RESPECT THE EMBARGO DATE.

In this mailing:

The Table of Contents (TOC) from the August issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and Pediatrics electronic pages, the Internet extension of Pediatrics. These are available electronically and can be viewed at:

Current issue TOC:
http://www.pediatrics.org/current.shtml
Future issue TOC:
http://www.pediatrics.org/future.shtml

Also in this mailing:

1. Having a Pet Pig May Offer Some Benefits
2. When is the Right Time to Leave the Hospital After Childbirth?
3. Stress Fractures in Active Adolescent Girls May Be Hereditary
4. Language Barriers Put Patients at Risk for Wrong Prescriptions
5. Home Safety Products Commonly Misused in Inner City Housing
6. Can Iron Deficiency Cause Attention and Recognition Deficits?
7. Pediatric Screening Questionnaire Helps Identify Developmental
Delays
8. AAP Endorses New AHA Recommendations for Prevention of Noninherited
Congenital Cardiovascular Defects

CAMPAIGNS
9. AAP Supports Covering Kids Campaign
10. CDC Urges Parents to Protect Pre-Teens with Three Recommended
Vaccines

AAP SAFETY TIPS
11. Back-To-School

Note: Please attribute the source as the journal, Pediatrics when
covering information from this mailing.
=====================================================================

Below are news releases and briefs on articles appearing in the August
issue of Pediatrics, the peer-reviewed, scientific journal of the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). To receive the full text of these
articles, contact the AAP Department of Communications. Information is
embargoed until Monday, August 6, at 12:01 am ET, unless otherwise
specified.

1. HAVING A PET PIG MAY OFFER SOME BENEFITS

Contact with farm environments in infancy might decrease the risk of
juvenile Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. That's according to
a study conducted in Germany entitled, "Contact With Farm Animals in
Early Life and Juvenile Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Case-Control
Study." Parents of children (ages 6 to 18) from 13 hospitals received
a questionnaire regarding consumption of raw milk, contact with farm
animals or pets, age of contact, and presence of respiratory allergies.
Of those surveyed, 444 had Crohn's disease (CD), 304 had ulcerative
colitis (UC), and 1,481 were control subjects. The control group
consisted of children who did not have either of those conditions and
were in the hospital undergoing a common eye procedure. Results showed
that children with CD and UC were more likely to live in urban areas
than were the control children, and the odds of regular contact with any
farm animal during the first year of life were reduced significantly for
children with CD or UC. The study also found that children with CD had
an increased risk of respiratory allergies. The authors ascertain the
hypothesis that contact with farm animals during infancy helps protect
individuals against childhood allergies, might also hold true for
protection against irritable bowel syndrome.

2. WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO LEAVE THE HOSPITAL AFTER GIVING BIRTH?

Since there is no "one size fits all" answer to readiness for discharge
after delivering a baby, the "Life Around Newborn Discharge" (LAND)
study is the first ever to examine the decision-making of over 4,000
mothers and their pediatricians, and obstetricians about postpartum
discharge and to identify which factors most related with mother-infant
pairs readiness to leave the hospital. The significant factors
associated with unreadiness included mother's race, history of chronic
disease, inadequate prenatal care, delivering during nonroutine hours,
newborn having problems in the hospital, being a first-time mom, intent
to breastfeed, and if she received only limited in-hospital education.
The study results suggest that the mother and the clinicians caring for
her and her infant must make the postpartum discharge decision together,
as perceptions of readiness at the time of discharge often differ. In
addition, clinicians should pay close attention to specific
characteristics about the mother (for example, whether or not she is a
first-time mother and whether or not she is breastfeeding) and should
emphasize in-hospital education in order to personalize discharge plans
and maximize chances for a positive experience at home.

3. STRESS FRACTURE RISK IN ACTIVE ADOLESCENT GIRLS MAY BE HEREDITARY

*Please note: This following study was early released on Pediatrics
online, so it is not embargoed.

For active teen girls and young women, heredity may be more important
than the type of sports or exercise they engage in as a risk factor for
stress fractures, according to the study, "Family History Predicts
Stress Fracture in Active Female Adolescents." Stress fractures are
bone defects resulting from repeated application of normal forces. They
are especially of concern in active teen girls and young women, as they
can indicate bone insufficiency. In active adult women, activity type
and menstrual irregularities have been shown to be risk factors for such
fractures. But in the 13- to 22-year-olds studied, all of whom regularly
participated in impact-loading sports or exercise in the six months
preceding their stress fracture, family history alone stood out as a
risk factor. The authors suggest that further evaluation of bone
density is warranted in active female adolescents with stress fractures.
However, they also emphasize that impact-loading exercise is beneficial
for adolescent girls and should be promoted.

4. LANGUAGE BARRIERS PUT PATIENTS AT RISK FOR WRONG PRESCRIPTIONS

Nearly 52 million Americans speak a non-English language at home, and
23 million Americans have limited English proficiency (LEP). Language
barriers can result in adverse consequences in health care, but little
is known about whether pharmacies provide sufficient care to patients
with LEP. In the study, "Language Barriers to Prescriptions for
Patients With Limited English Proficiency: A Survey of Pharmacies,"
175 Milwaukee pharmacies were evaluated on their ability to provide
non-English prescription labels, information packets, and verbal
communication skills. Results found that almost half of the pharmacists
were dissatisfied with their pharmacy's communication with patients
who have LEP, and 11 percent rely on patients' family or friends for
interpretation. About half of the pharmacies never/sometimes can provide
non-English language (NEL) prescription labels or information packets,
and about two-thirds never/ sometimes can orally communicate in NELs.
Suggestions for improving patient communication included hiring
bilingual staff or using telephone interpreter services when in-person
interpreters are unavailable.

5. HOME SAFETY PRODUCTS COMMONLY MISUSED IN INNER CITY HOUSING

*Please note: This following study was early released on Pediatrics
online, so it is not embargoed.

More than 90 percent of injury deaths in infants and toddlers occurred
in the home, according to data from the National Vital Statistics System
(1985-1997). Many residential injuries can be prevented using home
safety products such as smoke alarms, stair gates, and cabinet locks.
According to a study conducted among low-income families in Baltimore
entitled "Home Safety in Inner Cities: Prevalence and Feasibility of
Home Safety-Product Use in Inner-City Housing," mothers reported a
higher use of home safety practices than observed by investigators.
Although 98 percent of families reported having a working smoke alarm,
home observations found over 55 percent of those alarms to be
non-working. In addition, 71 percent of families reported storing
medication in a locked cabinet, when home observation found that just 17
percent had locked medicine cabinets. The authors assert that the
structural design of urban homes may be a significant barrier to home
safety product use, and that researchers, manufacturers and legislators
need to address injury-prevention issues unique to urban, low-income
families. It is important for primary care physicians to ask if their
safety recommendations are feasible in their patients' homes, and for
parents to notify physicians and manufacturers if safety supplies are
unable to be used because of the design or condition of their homes.

6. CAN IRON DEFICIENCY CAUSE ATTENTION AND RECOGNITION DEFICITS?

Iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) affects approximately 1 to 2 billion
people worldwide, primarily women and children. Although the prevalence
of IDA has noticeably declined in U.S. infants, low-income, minority,
and immigrant infants and toddlers remain at increased risk. In the
study, "An Event-Related Potential Study of Attention and Recognition
Memory in Infants With Iron-Deficiency Anemia," researchers studied 15
infants with IDA and 19 infants who were iron sufficient. Both groups
were tested on their ability to differentiate their mother's face from
a stranger's face. The iron-sufficient infants showed greater
attention and recognition responses to the mother at 9 months of age,
but the infants with IDA did not show this pattern until 12 months,
suggesting a delay in cognitive development. The authors say additional
studies are needed to assess the degree to which the delay in cognitive
development seen in infants with IDA may affect their long-term
development.

7. PEDIATRIC SCREENING QUESTIONNAIRE HELPS IDENTIFY DEVELOPMENTAL
DELAYS

Developmental and behavioral problems are estimated to affect 12 to 16
percent of children in the United States. Since well-child visits are
typically scheduled for 15 to 30 minutes - an insufficient time for
assessment of all areas of development in addition to administration of
vaccines and discussion of other age-related topics - it's not
surprising that pediatricians fail to identify up to 80 percent of
children with developmental delays in a timely manner. In the study,
"Impact of Implementing Developmental Screening at 12 and 24 Months
in a Pediatric Practice," a group of 1,428 caregivers and children
attending their 12 or 24-month well-child visits between April 2005 and
March 2006 completed the ASQ, a child development screening
questionnaire. Parents answered questions relating to five areas of
development: communication, problem-solving, gross and fine motor
skills, and personal-social skills. As a result, referral rates for
continued evaluation increased by 224 percent. The questionnaire was
found to be beneficial, as 36 percent of the referred patients qualified
for special education services, while 41 percent continued with closer
observation.

8. AAP ENDORSES NEW AHA RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PREVENTION OF NONINHERETED
CONGENITAL CARDIOVASCULAR DEFECTS

While there have been major breakthroughs in understanding inherited
causes of congenital cardiovascular defects (CCVD), little information
has been available on noninherited factors that may have an adverse
effect on fetal heart development. Results of a comprehensive
literature review by the American Heart Association Council on
Cardiovascular Disease in the Young identified a number of important
lifestyle changes for mothers that may increase the likelihood that
their child is born with a healthy heart
1. Take a folic acid supplement prior to and after becoming
pregnant.
2. Discuss your medical history with your doctor and any
medications you're taking, even over-the-counter medications.
3. Avoid ill contacts while in early stages of pregnancy,
especially people with fevers.

This statement is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

9. AAP SUPPORTS COVERING KIDS CAMPAIGN
More than 9 million children and adolescents in America do not have
health care coverage. More than 6 million of them are eligible for
low-cost or free coverage either through Medicaid or the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), but are not yet
enrolled. The AAP is working as a national supporter of the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation's annual Back-to-School Campaign with events in
August and September to enroll eligible children and to show support for
SCHIP. The US Congress must renew SCHIP no later than Sept. 30. For a
list of state events or more information, go to
http://www.CovertheUninsure.org

10. The following is a news release is for a Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) campaign in which the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) is a partner. It is embargoed until August, 1, at
12:01 am ET.

CDC Urges Parents to Protect Preteens with Three Recommended Vaccines

New CDC campaign launched during National Immunization Awareness Month
encourages a routine health checkup for 11-and 12-year-olds

As children approach their teen years, parents often worry about how to
protect them from new risks and potential dangers. Experts at the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today launched a
campaign to educate parents about one of the things they can do to
protect their children at 11 and 12 years of age and for years to come:
make sure they are vaccinated against serious, sometimes
life-threatening diseases such as meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria,
whooping cough, and cervical cancer.

The CDC's Preteen Vaccine campaign is designed to inform parents,
caregivers, family physicians and pediatricians about CDC's new
vaccination recommendations for 11- and 12-year-olds. The three preteen
vaccines include MCV4, which protects against meningitis and its
complications; Tdap, which is a booster against tetanus, diphtheria, and
pertussis or "whooping cough," and for girls, the human papilloma
virus (HPV) vaccine, which protects against the most common types of
cervical cancer.

The campaign's launch coincides with National Immunization Awareness
Month in August.

A new Web site, http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/preteen/ provides
easy-to-understand, downloadable educational materials in English and
Spanish for parents and health care providers about the vaccines and the
diseases they prevent.

"Many parents do not realize that some childhood vaccines, such as
those for tetanus and whooping cough, wear off over time and, as they
get older, young people are at risk of exposure to different diseases at
school, camp or in other new situations," said Dr. Anne Schuchat,
Director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory
Diseases.

Research shows that preteens generally do not get preventive
healthcare, visiting the doctor only when they are sick. One goal of
this campaign is to encourage parents to take their preteens in for the
recommended 11 or 12 year old check-up, which is endorsed by the
American Academy for Pediatrics, and the American Academy of Family
Physicians in addition to CDC. "The preteen check-up is a great time
to talk with your child's healthcare provider about your child's
development, nutrition, safety, and vaccination status," said Dr.
Schuchat.

Dr. Renee Jenkins, President-Elect of the American Academy of
Pediatrics, which is a partner with CDC in the campaign, stressed how
important it is that parents take time to schedule a routine checkup for
their 11 and 12 year olds.

"The preteen checkup is an important time to make sure children are
also caught up on important childhood immunizations such as chickenpox,
hepatitis B and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)," said Dr. Jenkins.
"Depending on their health and medical history, some preteens may
require additional vaccines."

The campaign also seeks to provide caregivers and their health care
providers with the latest information about preteen vaccines and the
preteen check-up in the form of fact sheets and posters. It also
includes outreach to mainstream and ethnic media, as well as the
creation of partnerships with national and state organizations who reach
parents, and healthcare providers.

CDC's preteen vaccine recommendations are supported by the American
Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and
the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

For more information about preteen vaccines, and the campaign, visit
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/preteen/

Facts about Pertussis, Meningitis and HPV/Cervical Cancer:

Pertussis, or whooping cough, is one of the most common respiratory
diseases in American teens. It causes a prolonged cough that can last
weeks or months and can result in pneumonia or hospitalization.
Reported pertussis cases in the United States are on the rise - there
were more than 25,000 cases in 2005.

Meningococcal infections can be very serious, and can lead to
meningitis and even death. These infections are not very common - an
estimated 1,400 to 2,800 cases occur in the United States annually.
However, about 10 percent of teens who get meningitis die from it, and
another 15 percent have long-term disability.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted
infection in the United States, with about 20 million people currently
infected. Women have an 80 percent chance of getting HPV by the time
they are 50. Every year in the U.S., about 6.2 million people get a new
HPV infection. HPV is most common in young people who are in their late
teens and early twenties. In 2007, about 11,000 women in the United
States will be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and about 3,600 women
will die from the disease.

END

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11. BACK-TO-SCHOOL TIPS
Although children may not be ready to think about it, it's time to
start preparing to send them back to school. The AAP has back-to-school
tips that cover a wide range of topics for all ages of school kids.
Topics include a checklist for the first day of school, making the first
day easier, helping teens who may experience school avoidance and basic
school bus safety. The back-to-school tips can be found in both English
and Spanish at http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/augschool.htm

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The FAAP designation following a pediatrician's name stands for Fellow
of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians with a FAAP
designation have obtained board certification in pediatrics and made an
ongoing commitment to lifelong learning and advocacy for children.

MEDIA REQUEST FORM

To request copies of AAP news releases, digests or briefs, or policy
statements and studies from Pediatrics, go to:

http://www.aap.org/mediamailing/mediarequestform.cfm?cp1=h9wxy9

For more information on children's health, visit the AAP Press Room
at: http://www.aap.org/pressroom

The FAAP designation following a pediatrician's name stands for Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians with a FAAP designation have obtained board certification in pediatrics and made an ongoing commitment to lifelong learning and advocacy for children.

MEDIA REQUEST FORM

To request copies of AAP news releases, digests or briefs, or policy statements and studies from Pediatrics, click here.

For more information on children’s health, visit the AAP Press Room at http://www.aap.org/pressroom.