New Zealand Medical Association chairperson Dr Stephen Child said it was a positive step that would save lives, whatever the cost. "Cancers of the mouth and tongue are becoming increasing common and there is a link with the (HPV) virus, which is what we are trying to prevent," he said. Auckland head and neck surgeon Dr John Chaplin said the vaccine was already free to boys in Australia, Canada, the United States and the UK. It was time it was in New Zealand too, he said. "I see an increasing number of people with human papillomavirus-related throat cancers and that's occurs predominantly in men, in a ratio of four to one, men to women" he said. About 60 percent of teenage girls were vaccinated, and parents needed to be encouraged to immunise their sons as well, said Dr Chaplin.

RNZ, May 30,2016

"Many parents of children diagnosed with ADHD do not want their children on medication. Having their children follow healthy lifestyle behaviors may be an effective intervention, either alongside or in the place of traditional ADHD medications," said study author Kathleen Holton. She is a member of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience at American University in Washington, D.C. "Parents of children with ADHD should talk with their pediatrician about how to improve health behaviors, such as limiting screen time, encouraging physical activity, improving bedtime routines and drinking water rather than other beverages," she suggested in a university news release.

NOTE: The ADHD diagnosis rate among male adolescents is 2.3 times that among female adolescents

Healthfinder, May 30, 2016

TEN Queensland men a week are taking their own lives. The rate of male suicide has risen by more than a third in under a decade and experts say the alarming toll can no longer be ignored. "This is a daily tragedy affecting individuals, families and communities that isn't going away. We can and must do more,'' said Glen Poole, founder of a new project, Stop Male Suicide. "Everyone has heard of the gender pay gap, but no one has heard about the gender suicide gap,'' he said. "We have to name the problem to deal with it.'' Queensland's level of suicide for both sexes is above the national average, with the 648 lives lost in 2014 accounting for one in four of the Australian total, ABS figures show. More than three-quarters of those - 490 - were male. "The simple fact is that men and boys are three times more likely to kill themselves than women and girls,'' Mr Poole said.

Herald Sun, May 28, 2016

Recent research in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that, along with other clinical characteristics related to vaccination, female clinicians were more likely to administer vaccinations to adolescents during acute care visits."Because little is known about gender-related differences in delivery of adolescent preventive care, we examined the relationship between clinician, child, and guardian gender and receipt of HPV vaccine compared to Tdap and MCV4 vaccines, which are not associated with a sexually transmitted infection or gender-specific diseases," Laura Johnson Faherty, MD, MPH, of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues wrote. The researchers studied electronic health records of adolescents aged 11 to 18 years who visited 27 primary care clinics in The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Network between 2009 and 2014. Faherty and colleagues included visits during and after which the first HPV vaccination was due. After adjustment, data were analyzed to estimate the proportion of capture opportunities for HPV vaccine, Tdap and MCV4 administration. Study results showed no overall difference in the proportion of adolescents vaccinated between male and female clinicians during preventive visits. The researchers found, however, that female clinicians delivered all three vaccines significantly more often than male clinicians during acute care visits. Specifically, more HPV (2.7% vs. 1.2%; P < .001), Tdap (6.4% vs. 4.1%; P = .013), and MCV4 (6% vs. 3.7%; P = .013) vaccinations were given by female clinicians as opposed to males.

Helio, May 27, 2016

The UK is to trial offering the HPV vaccine to gay and bisexual men, but campaigners are calling for the vaccine to be given to all boys, as is done in the US and Australia. Since 2008, girls in the UK have been vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, which can cause cervical cancer. But the virus, which is spread by sexual activity, can also trigger a range of other cancers, including anal, penile and throat cancer. Now the UK public health minister, Jane Ellison, has announced a pilot programme to offer the jab to 40,000 gay and bisexual men. Campaign groups have welcomed the announcement, but have repeated the call for all boys in the UK to be vaccinated. "Vaccinating all men who have sex with men against HPV would be a vital step, but to be most effective, the HPV vaccine must be made available widely to all boys before they're sexually active," said Shaun Griffin, of the Terrence Higgins Trust charity.

New Scientist, May 27, 2016

Scientists have given an explanation for why some teenage boys go through a clumsy phase. Scientists in Italy say that a sudden growth-spurt seen in puberty affects the body's ability to control established motor skills - like walking. Normally this only lasts as long as it takes for the brain adjusts to the body's new dimensions. But as Health Check's James Gallagher explained to Claudia Hammond, his clumsiness didn't go away.

BBC, 26 May 2016

A concept for an app aimed at engaging boys aged 10 to 15 to teach them respectful relationships with girls has been developed by a QUT social marketing expert as "another part of the jigsaw" to prevent domestic violence against women. The app, however, never mentions the words "domestic violence" or "violence against women," says social marketing expert Professor Rebekah Russell-Bennett from QUT Business School's School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, who developed the concept with Logan-based (Brisbane) non-profit community organisation YFS. "Interventions at this stage of life can change young people's personal and relationship trajectories, preventing problems in adulthood," Professor Russell-Bennett said. "However, we are careful to steer clear of using the words 'domestic violence' anywhere in the app because, at that age, many young boys would not find it relevant. This may deter them from downloading and using the app.

Medical Express, May 25, 2016

AUSTRALIA: David Pocock's call for a new definition of masculinity

Wallabies flanker David Pocock has called for a new conversation about what it means to be a man. The Rugby World Cup player met Wednesday with boys from Sydney's Waverley College and took the opportunity to share ideas with students. "It was great being able to sit down and explore this idea of what is real strength and how do you cultivate this strength to care, " he told SBS. Pocock wants young people to consider sexism, homophobia, domestic violence and the way we treat our environment as issues we are all responsible for and all have a part in affecting.

SBS, May 25, 2016

Boys and young men remain reluctant to seek help for personal issues, amid a more than 500 percent increase in approaches to Kids Help Line over mental and emotional health concerns over the past 20 years. The Kids Help Line 2015 Insights Report shows there has been a 626 percent increase in contacts to KHL about mental health and/or emotional health, including self-injury, since 1996.The report also shows a 246 percent increase in contacts about suicide over the same period. But CEO Tracy Adams told The Huffington Post Australia young boys and men are still reluctant to reach out for help. "It's telling us young people are engaging in help seeking, which is a very positive thing," she said. "But it's also outlining a help seeking issue for boys and young men - most of the help seeking continues to be done by girls and young women.

Huffington Post, May 24, 2016

This is the largest generation of adolescents and young adults in human history (1.8 billion), they are a group that demands more attention and action. Adolescents and young adults face unprecedented social, economic, and cultural change. This new Lancet commission argues that there are tremendous unrealised opportunities not only for the health and wellbeing of young people themselves but also for the future of society and future generations. Inaction however remains a threat to health, economic development, and even the health of our planet. The most powerful actions for adolescent health and wellbeing are intersectoral, multilevel, and multicomponent and engage and empower young people themselves to be part of change and accountability mechanisms. In addition to this groundbreaking Commission,  The Lancet  is also launching a campaign to continue dialogue around this critical topic. Increasing social impact of science and research will lead to better lives for all.

The Lancet Commissions, May 10, 2016

QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Suicide Rates for Females and Males, by Method  - National Vital Statistics System, United States, 2000 and 2014

From 2000 to 2014, the age-adjusted suicide rate increased from 4.0 to 5.8 per 100,000 for females and from 17.7 to 20.7 for males. Suicide rates by specific method (firearm, poisoning, suffocation, or other methods) also increased, with the greatest increase seen for suicides by suffocation. During the 15-year period, the rate of suicide by suffocation more than doubled for females from 0.7 to 1.6 and increased from 3.4 to 5.6 for males. In 2014, among females, suicide by poisoning had the highest rate (1.9), and among males, suicide by firearm had the highest rate (11.4). Suicide among adolescents and young adults is increasing and among the leading causes of death for those demographic groups .

MMWR, May 20, 2017

Policy Statement from From the American Academy of Pediatrics

Historically, reproductive health in pediatrics has focused primarily on contraception and prevention of sexually transmitted infections. However, there is now a growing body of literature discussing the long-term impact of many pediatric conditions and treatments on fertility and sexual function, such as oncologic therapy, hematologic or autoimmune conditions requiring bone marrow transplantation, renal and rheumatologic disorders in which alkylators are used, cross-sex hormonal therapy used in the care of transgender youth, disorders of sex development, and other genetic syndromes such as galactosemia. Pediatric providers face dilemmas about the optimal approaches for assessing and discussing fertility and sexual function with patients and families, the type of guidance to give to parents about related communications with their children at each developmental stage, and ethical obligations regarding disclosure when parents are opposed to sharing sensitive information with their children.

Pediatrics, May 2016

The Weekly News Roundup is produced by The Partnership for Male Youth and is released every Monday. 

For more information contact Dennis J. Barbour, JD. News Roundup editor and President/CEO of the Partnership, at [email protected].