ANSWERS TO PRACTICE CURRENT EVENTS

Mother's Depression Linked to Child's Shorter Height Who: The article was based on a study of 6,500 children during pre-school or kindergarten and their mothers. What: The study looked at the correlation between mother’s who were depressed and their child’s height. The study found that mother’s who reported being depressed within the first year were 40% more likely to have children with a shorter stature, though the shorter stature only continued up to age 5 in most cases of moderate depression.

When: The news article states that the study was released the Monday prior to the article publishing date of September 10, Where: Researchers from Baltimore, Maryland looked at data from 6,500 children, though exact location of study is unknown.

Why: Why are mothers depressed during a pregnancy or the first year? The article states that 1 in 5 women suffer from post- partum depression, or depression after giving birth. This could be due to the enormous stress of having a child, mixed with a change in hormonal balance after giving birth.

How? How can medical staff help mothers become aware of the symptoms of post-partum depression in order to alleviate depression during the first year? Medical staff can counsel women who are pregnant and let them know the signs and symptoms of post-partum depression. They can also provide support groups of new mothers as well as services in-home to help with the exhausting task of caring for a baby.

Smoking pot linked to testicular cancer risk Who: 163 men, who were diagnosed with testicular cancer, compared with 292 healthy men. Results may be applied to all young men who smoke marijuana. What: The study looked at the association between smoking marijuana and getting testicular cancer. Those that used marijuana were 2.4 times more likely to have an increased risk of testicular cancer; opposite, however, were though those who smoked more often as they did not increase their chances were not at the increased risk.

When: The study date is unknown, though data for the study was pulled between 1986 and 1991 and included participant interviews. The study was published on September 10 th in the Journal Cancer. (The year is unknown, presumably 2012). Where: The location of study is unknown, but presumably in Southern California as researchers are from the University of Southern California.

Why? Why were men that had smoked marijuana more often unaffected by the increase in testicular cancer? The data was based on diagnosis as well as interview. In an interview, a person has the right to be honest or lie, so data is primarily based on information that could be factual or not as there is no way to prove past marijuana use (after 30 days).

How? How can we persuade men to understand that using marijuana can increase the risk of testicular cancer? Changing behavior is the most difficult thing to do. It may be best to educate young men that testicular cancer can result in a loss of one or both testicles. Young men should be educated about the overall risks of testicular cancer, and be given resources to quit as well as other stress- relieving techniques that will make them feel good without using drugs.