California's Children

CA has 4th lowest infant mortality rate in US

UPDATE, May 25, 2012: California's infant mortality rate dropped to a record low in 2010, announced state public health officials Tuesday; California now has the fourth lowest rate in the nation at 4.7 deaths per 1000 infants in the first year of life, a slight drop from 4.9 per 1000 in 2009 (see previously reported below). 

From the California Department of Public Health: 

One of the factors contributing to the decrease in 2010 was a decline in the percentage of babies born prematurely (less than 37 weeks). In 2010, premature babies accounted for 10% of all births in the state, down from 10.4 percent in 2009.

The largest decline in infant mortality was among African Americans in California, from 10.6 infant deaths per 1,000 in 2009 down to 9.5 deaths in 2010.

Racial/ethnic disparities in infant mortality persist, however. African-American infant deaths occurred 2.3 times more frequently than Caucasian infant deaths in 2010. The infant mortality rate among Caucasians remained unchanged between 2009 and 2010 (4.1 deaths per 1,000 live births) and dropped from 5.0 to 4.9 among Hispanics. 

Previously reported:

The overall birth rate is declining (see story below) -- and whether that's good news or not, the indisputable good news is that the Department of Public Health's report issued on Wednesday showed that infant mortality rates in California have declined to historic lows.

The story in the Central Valley Business Times reports:

In 2009, the most recent year data is available, the rate was 4.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. The rate has fluctuated over the past 20 years, from a high of 7.5 per 1,000 in 1991, to the previous low of 5.0 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2006. 

“Optimal infant health outcomes are influenced by a woman’s health even before she becomes pregnant including avoidance of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, maintaining a healthy weight, and taking folic acid supplements,” says [DPH director Ron] Chapman. “Early entry prenatal care, genetic testing to identify health risks at birth, breastfeeding, childhood immunizations, and continuing proper nutrition through a baby’s developing years all contribute to improving infant health outcomes.”

 African-Americans in California experienced the largest decline in infant mortality, from 12.1 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2008 to 10.6 in 2009. “While this is a significant improvement, racial/ethnic disparities in infant mortality persist, and African-American infant deaths in 2009 occurred 2.6 times more frequently than Caucasian infant deaths,” the report states.

 The multi-race category had the highest infant mortality rate (12.0), followed by African American (10.6), Pacific Islander (7.5), American Indian (5.5), Hispanic (5.0), Caucasian (4.1) and Asian (3.1).

 

Strange bedfellows: shrinks nix bill banning "gay conversion" for kids

 UPDATE, May 24, 2012: Opposition from several mainstream medical organizations is slowing the passage of SB 1172, the bill that would ban "gay conversion" or reparative therapy for minors by state Senator Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), at left. 

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the California Psychological Association, California Association for Licensed Professional Clinical Counselors, California Psychiatric Association, and California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists co-authored a letter to Lieu, expressing their opposition to the language in the bill and offering "adjustments and amendments" to address their concerns. 

SB 1172 allows former patients who have received the therapy to file a cause of action against a psychotherapist.

"We don't support anything that brings this wider birth of legal action against psychologists," said Jo Linder-Crow, executive director of the California Psychological Association, at left. In the letter, Lieu said that Senator Lieu is not "properly addressing" her organization's concerns.  

[The letter states that] the groups don't want to ban the therapy for minors. They see the issue as a choice minors should be able to make for themselves.

They also said the bill's definition of sexual orientation change efforts is too vague. The authors argued that the language will have numerous interpretations and "may limit legitimate therapy for individuals that want to explore sexual orientation," Linder-Crow said.

Previously reported:

At risk: 43% of all teens for heart disease; 1 in 4 for diabetes

May 22, 2012: Nearly 1 in 4 teens have Type 2 diabetes or prediabetes, a 14% increase since 1999, according to a study by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, published online yesterday in the journal Pediatrics.

 NPR reported on the findings:

2Diabetes increase in teens

According to the American Diabetes Association: "Prediabetes" is when blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Recent research has shown that some long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and circulatory system, may already be occurring during prediabetes. Losing 7% of bodyweight can lower the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. 

Lead researcher Ashleigh May, Ph.D., and her colleagues analyzed data for four cardiovascular disease (CVD) risks in 3,383 youths ages 12-19 in CDC's  National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey  (NHANES).

The CVD risks were: prehypertension/hypertension, borderline-high or high low-density lipoprotein (LDL)  "bad" cholesterol, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) "good" cholesterol,  and prediabetes/diabetes.

They found the risk for heart disease remained steady over a 9-year period between 1999-2008, but discovered a significant increase in the rates for diabetes risk, up from 9% to 23%.

The study also found "disturbingly high" levels of other problems that increase risk for heart disease and stroke:

• 43% of all teens had at least one CVD risk factor. 
• 49% of overweight teens and 61% of obese teens had one or more CVD risk factor.
• 37% of normal weight teens carried one risk factor, indicating that weight management is not the only factor involved in keeping teens healthy into adulthood.
• Borderline-high/high LDL-C was the most prevalent risk factor overall (22%)
• Boys were more likely than girls to have 1, 2, or 3 risk factors. 
• A higher percentage of older adolescents (18-19 years) had 2 risk factors than did the youngest adolescents (12-13 years)
• Significantly higher proportions of overweight and obese adolescents had 2 risk factors
• Obese youth (but not overweight teens) were more likely to have 3 risk factors 

(A May study in the New England Journal of Medicine also found that half of the teens with Type 2 diabetes had trouble stabilizing their blood sugar levels with oral medication over time, putting them more at risk for needing daily shots of insulin; 1 in 5 suffered serious complications.)  

The NHANES is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States, that combines interviews and physical examinations.

Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.

Alameda County, Target test food assistance thru public schools

May 18, 2012: Two schools in Oakland -- McClymonds High and Laurel Elementary -- are the focus of a pilot food assistance program conducted by the Alameda County Community Food Bank (ACCFB).

In a partnership with the discount retailer Target and the nonprofit, Feeding America, once a month ACCFB is distributing red cloth bags, stuffed with fresh vegetables, fruit, canned food and rice just before the end of the school day.

The program, Meals for Minds, is also known as the Mobile Pantry. Partner Target is no stranger to food assistance: two years ago, it donated $2.3 million to Feeding America and $1.2 million to local food banks nationwide to support mobile pantry school-based food programs. (The program at Laurel Elementary is Target-sponsored; the one at McClymonds High is funded through the ACCFB's general fund.) Next year, ACCFB hopes to expand to three more schools with the support of other businesses.

Kate Murphy, education writer for the Oakland Tribune reported on how the Mobile Pantry worked this past Tuesday: 160 people, all of whom were parents and caregivers of children at the school, collected nearly 1,480 pounds of food.

...The food bank reported a 29% increase in referrals to its emergency food help line from 2 years ago in the two ZIP codes nearest to Laurel Elementary; 71% percent of the children at Laurel Elementary are eligible for federally subsidized meals.

Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.

Photo: Ximena and Judy Hernandez pick up free food bags with other families of Laurel Elementary students from the Alameda County Food Bank in Oakland on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (Laura A. Oda/Oakland Tribune)

SFUSD: healthy food may have improved behavior by 50%

IMay 17, 2012: Susan Frey, a program associate at EdSource, has released an "occasional paper," outlining the efforts of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to provide kids with healthier food choices.

Interviewed for the paper,"San Francisco’s Long Campaign to Provide Healthier School Meals Yields Results," was Dana Woldrow, healthy school food advocate and volunteer chair of SFUSD's Student Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee (SNPAC). Woldrow describes the district's transformation from a two-tiered system--regular lunch and a la carte (potato chips, sodas and snack cakes, for those who can pay)--to the one today that has salad bars, has eliminated all trans fats (fried food), and offers a daily vegetarian entree in all district schools.

Patricia Gray, above, SFUSD assistant superintendent, thinks that eliminating the unhealthiest items and providing fresh fruit snacks contributed toward a reduction in referrals for discipline to her office by about half, particularly for “bad behavior after lunch.”

But it does so at a cost. In these tough budgetary times, the food service runs a deficit every year—more than $3 million last year. District children have healthy meals each day because the school board has decided to make it a priority, closing the deficit with monies from the district’s unrestricted general fund, which was more than $300 million in 2010–11.

The system is inherently flawed, Woldow points out, because the federal reimbursement for lunches is the same for all 48 contiguous states despite the differences in cost of living.

Eligibility for the free and reduced-price meals program...does not take into account the higher cost of living in California...Unlike many districts, San Francisco also does not charge students the 40 cents for reduced-price meals either.

In 2009, Ed Wilkins, SFUSD's director of Student Nutrition Services, decided to eliminate the a la carte menu and create a card system that all students could use...removing the [potential] stigma [of] ...participating in the ...subsidized program. The card program was implemented district-wide in 2010–11. Now the only items left on the a la carte menu are bottled water, 100% fruit juice, and low-fat, lower-sugar cookies.

The district [still] needs more federal, state, or local funds to make the costs of distributing food and buying it from local vendors sustainable, Wilkins said...adding that policymakers...need to understand that healthy food does not come cheaply.

EdSource, founded in 1977, is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to clarify complex education issues and to promote thoughtful policy decisions about public school improvement. Louis Freedberg, founding director of California Watch, is executive director.

Written for California's Children by Elizabeth J Carlyle.