WEBCAST: Niobe Way, "The Crisis of Connection for Adolescent Boys"

 

Partnership board member and NYU Professor Niobe Way  explains how boys' intimate friendships in early and middle adolescence support their mental health. By  late adolescence, many boys speak of losing the  close male  friendships and reveal feelings of loneliness and isolation. The webcast illuminates the dangers of assuming that boys don't want or need close male friendships and the importance of fostering positive friendships that can   help adolescent boys thrive. 

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Futurity, December 2, 2016

 Why do so many U.S. teens skip the HPV vaccine?

Vaccination rates were measurably higher among teenagers who received a recommendation by a medical provider. Rates for girls living in the Midwest and boys from low-income families eligible for the "Vaccines for Children" program were also higher. But while provider recommendation was "the strongest predictor" of vaccine completion, it was "insufficient to achieve high coverage rates, especially among boys," according to the study published in the   Journal of Community Health . In addition, provider recommendation did not lead to a higher rate of vaccine acceptance among girls with "highly educated" mothers.  "Highly educated mothers were immune to provider recommendations, suggesting that they may arrive at clinic visits with preconceived notions of what is appropriate for their child," the study says. "This paradox suggests some caregivers may perceive messages conveyed by clinicians as an option, rather than a direct recommendation. "Failure to address the skepticism of caregivers about HPV vaccines may significantly weaken the effectiveness of provider recommendations," the authors say.

Futurity, December 2, 2016

California Has High Aspirations For Lowering HIV Infections
California Healthline, December 2, 2016

A Cancer Research UK analysis reveals that rates of mouth (oral) cancer have jumped by 68% in the UK over the last 20 years. The figures - released during Mouth Cancer Action Month - reveal the cancer is on the rise for men and women, young and old, climbing from eight to 13 cases per 100,000 people over the last two decades.  For men under 50, the rate has jumped by 67% in the last 20 years - going up from around 340 cases to around 640 cases each year. For men aged 50 and over, rates have increased by 59% climbing from around 2,100 cases to around 4,400 cases annually. Oral cancer is more common in men, but there have been similar increases women. Around nine in 10 cases are linked to lifestyle and other risk factors. Smoking is the biggest avoidable risk factor, linked to an estimated 65% of cases. Other risk factors include alcohol, diets low in fruit and vegetables, and infections with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).

Drug Target Review, December 1, 2016

No play makes your son a dull boy: Study

The study showed that adolescent boys spending less time in physical activity and more hours in sitting idle are prone to show poor academic skills. "Boys who had a combination of low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary time had the poorest reading skills through Grades 1-3," said Eero Haapala from the University of Eastern Finland. On the other hand, increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary time, may improve academic achievement, the researchers said. It could improve reading skills amongst boys in Grades 1-3. This was also associated with better arithmetic skills among boys in Grade 1. However, in girls, there were no such strong and consistent associations of physical activity and sedentary time with reading or arithmetic skills, the study observed.

IANSLIVE, December 1 2016

A significant number of people with HIV have strains of the AIDS-causing virus that are resistant to both older and newer drugs, researchers report. The researchers looked at 712 HIV patients worldwide whose infection was not controlled by antiretroviral drugs. They found that 16 percent of patients whose infection was resistant to modern drugs had HIV mutations linked with resistance to older drugs called thymidine analogues. Among patients whose HIV had this mutation, 80 percent were also resistant to tenofovir, the main drug in most modern HIV treatment and prevention programs, the researchers reported. The findings were published in the Nov. 30 issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. "We were very surprised to see that so many people were resistant to both drugs, as we didn't think this was possible," study lead author Ravi Gupta, of University College London, said in a school news release.

Healthfinder, December 1, 2016

When the first World AIDS Day was marked, on Dec. 1, 1988, only one drug -- zidovudine (AZT) -- had been approved to treat HIV. And it was already becoming clear that, by itself, AZT could not stop progression to AIDS. On World AIDS Day 2016 -- nearly 30 years later -- the picture is dramatically different. There is still no cure for HIV. There is still no vaccine. Millions of people around the world catch HIV every year and many still die.

But some 18.2 million people are on HIV therapy, including a million who started in the past 6 months, according to the United Nation Joint Programme on HIV//AIDS (UNAIDS), and that treatment can save their lives.

MedPage Today, December 1, 2016

When it comes to the HPV vaccine cancer-preventing benefits for boys and men, much attention has been given to the association between the virus and cancers of the mouth and throat. But there are other HPV-related cancers that men can get. Of men with cancers caused by HPV, about 14 percent are anal cancers, according to Dr. Stephen Goldstone, a New York City surgeon and assistant clinical professor in surgery at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine, who  specializes in the treatment of cellular changes related to HPV. In a recent conversation, Dr. Goldstone stressed that men who have never had sex with other men can still get anal warts or cancer, but the substantial preponderance of HPV-related anal cancers occur in gay or bisexual men. Often, however, the discussion about HPV and cancer risk in men stops at the neck or fails to include the vaccine's broader protective benefits for men who have sex with other men. Like so many potentially fraught topics in medical care, balancing the reality of persistent homophobia with the need to fully educate parents about the benefits of a cancer-preventing vaccine requires nuance and a willingness to tolerate potentially awkward conversations. Even if the potential benefit is greater for those who may grow up to be gay or bisexual, the protective effect against anal cancer applies to all boys, and it should be included as part of the reasons to recommend it. And any discussion about the vaccine for older patients that doesn't specifically mention queer men does a disservice to those who need the information most.

Majority of Brits unaware of a leading mouth cancer cause

As a result of the Oral Health Foundation survey, conducted for Mouth Cancer Action Month, the charity is calling on dental and health associations and bodies, the government and policy-makers, as well as other charities, to help increase public awareness of the potential impact of HPV in a bid to reduce the amount of lives lost to mouth cancer each year.The Oral Health Foundation particularly wants further education and support for those aged between 25 and 34. This group displayed least awareness of the link but are conceivably at the highest risk due to low HPV vaccination levels and high levels of sexual activity.

Dentistry, November 30. 2016

Shanghai has reported fewer new HIV infections this year than last year, while the figure in young males has seen a significant growth, the city's health authorities said Wednesday. Data from Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning shows, from Jan. 1 to Nov. 20 in 2016, Shanghai reported 1,959 new HIV infection cases, 0.8 percent lower than the same period last year. The city reported 318 new HIV cases in males aged 18 to 24 during that period, a surge of 79.7 percent year on year.

The Office for National Statistics reported that 75% of the 6122 suicides in the UK in 2014 were undertaken by men. That's roughly 12 men every day. Shockingly, many of those will not have been in contact with any mental health professional. Only 53% of men who have felt depressed have actually spoken to anyone about it. Throughout the history of mankind, the male persona has been the epitome of stoicism, strength and courage. The male heroes from childhood stories instil in us the (perhaps dangerous) notion that the best kind of man is all of these things, and therefore dependable in the face of great adversity. Maybe the need to be strong, physically and mentally, goes some way to explain why men often only seek help when the mental condition has become extreme, making it all the harder to treat.

A new study has been released and human papillomavirus (HPV) in men in Canada is on the rise. Mouth and throat cancers caused by HPV have been rising steadily over the past two decades, with a "dramatic" increase among Canadian men, according to a new report from the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS). According to this new study, the incidence of HPV-related mouth and throat cancers increased 56 per cent in males and 17 per cent in females, between 1992 and 2012. "In 1992, the age-standardized incidence rate (or ASIR) of those cancers was 4.1 per 100,000 Canadian males. In 2012, it was 6.4 per 100,000 males. In females, the rate was 1.2 in 1992 and 1.4 in 2012."

Historically, statistics had shown that being black in the United States afforded protection against dying by suicide. African Americans across all age ranges had seen a low rate of suicide compared to other races, including whites. But this fact was overturned in 2015, when  researchers examining suicide in very young children made a startling discovery: Among 5-11-year olds, rates of suicide for black children were actually higher than those for whites. Even more alarming, the suicide rate among black children was increasing, particularly for boys. The research team used publicly available data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine trends spanning a twenty year period from 1993 to 2012, the last year that national suicide data was available at the time of their 2015 study. They found that rates of suicide among black children nearly doubled during that time, from 1.36 to 2.54 per one million. Among white children, rates actually declined, from 1.14 to 0.77 per one million.

"Research has shown everything is becoming younger and younger, even to the extent of puberty starting sooner. The earlier we can teach them to spot the signs of when they're not quite right, and be responsive to that, the better." Poole introduced sessions after lunch, where pupils at the Bromley-based school enjoy "five minutes of calm".  The idea of running mindfulness sessions in schools is not new. Dr Mark Williams, a professor of clinical psychology who researches the benefits of mindfulness, previously said during the  Mindfulness in Schools Project   conference in London: "Mental health difficulties really kick in at the age of adolescence - that's when children who perhaps have been struggling a bit but who have managed before suddenly find that they can't manage."

Huffington Post UK, November 28, 2016

U.S.News & World Report , November 23, 2016

'Moonlight' Sheds Light On The Taboo Of Being A Gay Man In The Black Community

In the Black community, talking about male sexuality - especially homosexuality - is taboo, with the virility of a man determined by his sexual preference. That's why  Barry Jenkins' Moonlight  is so important, as the acclaimed film has a fearlessness when it comes to the topic of Black men's sexualities. The movie explores the coming-of-age of a gay Black man, and it tackles the subjects of masculinity, sexuality, race, and self-worth in a way that few movies ever dare to do. And after the 2016 election, in which race and sexuality were hot-button issues, the movie is apparently resonating with audiences even more than it originally did.

Bustle, November 22, 2016

RED ZONE: ONE IN EVERY 16 COLLEGIATE MALES WILL FACE SEXUAL ASSAULT

When people think about rape victims they often picture a female, and for the most part that is because females are disproportionately the targets of sexual assault and rape. While there is a big gap between rates of female versus male rape, for a minority of males in college their own experiences with sexual violence can be very present and traumatic. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) lists statistics showing that males aged 18-24 who are college students are approximately five times more likely than non-students of the same age to be a victim of rape or sexual assault. Similar to women, men in college have a higher chance of being raped than non-college students of the same age, which equates to about one in every 16 men in college according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

The Northern Light, November 22, 2016

Campaign led by George Washington University public health student raises awareness for men's mental health

A new study shows how differences in vaccination rates can potentially reflect cultural norms and political beliefs. States that are more politically conservative, or "red states," tend to shy away from vaccines for teens, including the vaccine against HPV, a sexually transmitted disease. Blue states tend to be more socially and politically liberal. Comparing data from the 2012 National Immunization Survey-Teen, to voting results of the presidential election of 2012, and also factoring in a variety of socio-demographic factors including median household income, education, and ethnicity, the study revealed a 10 percent higher HPV vaccination rate for girls, and a nearly 25 percent higher HPV vaccination rate for boys that live in blue states.

Futurity, September 16, 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].