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Weekly News Roundup
June 27, 2016
Dennis J. Barbour, JD, Editor
Study examines how gender and family history may affect alcohol use in adolescents

This study looked at how gender and family history (FH) of alcoholism  might affect alcohol use in a sample of 18- to 19-year-olds from the Dresden Longitudinal Study on Alcohol use in Young Adults (D-LAYA). During the interviews, the females reported significantly less real-life drinking than the males and, in the laboratory, achieved significantly lower mean arterial Blood Alcohol Concentrations (BACs), reported greater sedation, and rated negative effects as high as the males. The authors believe that adolescent women chose lower BACs because they experienced adverse alcohol effects, such as sedation, at lower BACs than men. A positive FH did not appear to be a risk factor for drinking for this sample.
Medical News, June 25, 2016
Health Care Use and HIV Testing of Males Aged 15-39 Years in Physician's Offices - United States, 2009-2012

In 2014, 81% of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection diagnoses in the United States were in males, with the highest number of cases among those aged 20-29 years. Racial and ethnic minorities continue to be disproportionately affected by HIV; there are 13 new diagnoses each year per 100,000 white males, 94 per 100,000 black males, and 42 per 100,000 Hispanic males ( 1). Despite the recommendation by CDC for HIV testing of adults and adolescents (2), in 2014, only 36% of U.S. males aged ≥18 years reported ever having an HIV test (3), and in 2012, an estimated 15% of males living with HIV had undiagnosed HIV infection (4). To identify opportunities for HIV diagnosis in young males, CDC analyzed data from the 2009-2012 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) and U.S. Census data to estimate rates of health care use at U.S. physicians' offices and HIV testing at these encounters. During 2009-2012, white males visited physicians' offices more often (average annual rate of 1.6 visits per person) than black males (0.9 visits per person) and Hispanic males (0.8 visits per person). Overall, an HIV test was performed at 1.0% of visits made by young males to physicians' offices, with higher testing rates among black males (2.7%) and Hispanic males (1.4%), compared with white males (0.7%). Although higher proportions of black and Hispanic males received HIV testing at health care visits compared with white males, this benefit is likely attenuated by a lower rate of health care visits. Interventions to routinize HIV testing at U.S physicians' offices could be implemented to improve HIV testing coverage.
MMWR, June 24, 2016

What is even more alarming is that a significant number of young men are consuming a range of performance and image enhancing drugs, including steroids and human growth hormone. While the use of steroids has traditionally been limited to professional athletes, bodybuilders, soldiers and police, it is increasingly becoming a mainstream choice for young men looking to bulk up or lose weight.
The Conversation, June 23, 2016
Behavior Woes Hamper Boys More Than Girls in School: Study

Behavior problems are more likely to hold boys back in school than girls, a new study shows. "When I compared 4- and 5-year-old boys and girls who had the same levels of behavior problems -- including difficulty sustaining attention, regulating emotions, delaying gratification, and forming positive relationships with teachers and peers -- I found that boys were less likely to learn and more likely to be held back in school," said study author Jayanti Owens. She is a professor at Brown University in Rhode Island. "My study also showed that the way schools respond to boys' behaviors plays a significant role in shaping their educational outcomes years later," Owens said in an American Sociological Association news release.
Bismark Tribune, June 23, 2016

In recent months, high-profile medical organizations have joined an effort to urge more vaccination against HPV, with the NCI's Cancer Centers even calling the vaccines "tragically underused" and decrying low uptake in the U.S. as a "public health threat." Now, those groups will have more firepower for their arguments as a new analysis--citing a decade's worth of real-world data for Merck's ($MRK) Gardasil--documented dramatic HPV reductions following vaccine introduction in various countries. Led by the Royal Women's Hospital at the University of Melbourne, Australia, the team looked at 58 studies in 9 countries from 2007 to February 2016, documenting a nearly 90% decrease in HPV incidence in countries with the highest vaccination rates. However, the team found that some countries have a ways to go with their vaccination programs, adding that "HPV-related disease remains a significant source of morbidity and mortality in developing and developed nations, underscoring the need" for such programs. "The full public-health potential of HPV vaccination is not yet realized," the team wrote in the abstract. In areas with the best coverage, the analysis also found reductions of approximately 90% for genital warts, 90% for high-grade histologically proven cervical abnormalities and 60% for low-grade cytological cervical abnormalities. The data were gathered from PubMed and Embase, with the impact of Gardasil becoming "increasingly evident" over the course of the period. More than 205 million Gardasil doses had been distributed as of Dec. 31, 2015, the team noted.
Fierce Pharma, June 21, 2016

The nation's leading cancer doctors are pushing pediatricians and other providers to help increase use of the HPV vaccine, which studies show could help avert tens of thousands of cancer cases during young Americans' lives. Yet a decade after its controversial introduction, the vaccine remains stubbornly underused even as some of those diseases surge. The oncologists' goal is to rebrand the vaccine to focus on cancer prevention. They are determined to dismantle what researchers say is the No. 1 obstacle to wider inoculation: pediatricians and family doctors who aren't strongly recommending the vaccine. Studies show that a forceful endorsement from a physician is the most important factor in whether children get the vaccine, which is recommended for ages 11 and 12. Yet a frustrating level of "provider hesitancy" persists. "The failure belongs to us," acknowledged Jason Terk, a pediatrician in Keller, Tex. "It's an epic fail."
Washington Post, June 19, 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 dbarbour@partnershipformaleyouth.org.

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