Depression Surpasses Asthma as Top Disability Problem among U.S. and Canadian Teens

The recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, perpetrated by 20 year-old Adam Lanza, has intensified the discussion about how mental health is handled and documented in the US. Officials have not provided information about Lanza’s motivation and state of mind, and many are rightfully quick to point out that it is wrong to equate mental illness with the fatal sociopathic actions of a small group of individuals. The conversation about access to mental health care should, however, take into account new data showing an increasing contribution of mental and behavioral disorders to deterioration in the health-related quality of life among teenagers in the US and Canada over the last two decades, and increases elsewhere around the globe.....

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Racial differences in asthma are shocking

Asthma is a lifelong disease that causes wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and often causes coughing during the nighttime or early-morning. Today, more than 12 million people in the U.S. have asthma. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of people with asthma continues to rise.....

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Asthma linked to low vitamin D levels

Because of previous research studies, doctors know that inhaled steroids are the most effective treatment available for asthma today. However, some people’s asthma remains uncontrolled even when they take inhaled steroids as directed. One reason might be that inhaled steroids do not work well in people with low vitamin D levels......

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