Study Maps "Uniquely Devastating" Genital Injuries Among Troups

A new report on one of the most dreaded war wounds finds that 1,367 men in the United States military suffered injuries to their genitals or urinary tract in Iraq or Afghanistan from 2001 to 2013, mostly from bomb blasts. More than a third of the injuries were severe. The   report, published this week   by military researchers in The Journal of Urology, is thought to be the most comprehensive review of so-called genitourinary injuries in veterans. The problem was recognized before, but the extent was uncertain. The number of cases is "unprecedented" and the injuries "uniquely devastating" because they can impair a man's ability to have sex, father children or urinate normally, according to the report. Most of the wounded men - 94 percent - were 35 or younger, in "their peak years of sexual development and reproductive potential," the report said, adding that the psychological toll was especially heavy in such young men. Researchers say these men are at high risk for suicide.

New York Times, January 13, 2017

Joint Statement by 69 Cancer Centers Supports CDC's HPV Vaccination Guideline 

Late last year, the CDC released new guidelines on vaccinating children against the human papillomavirus (HPV)-the new recommendations suggest fewer shots and spacing them apart. Now, a conglomerate of 69 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers has come together to endorse the CDC's recommendations.   According to the new recommendations, 11- to 12-year-olds should be administered 2 doses of the 9-valent vaccine, which should be spaced 6 months apart. However, adolescents and young adults, 15 years and older, should be administered 3 doses.   "This collaborative effort is a tremendous opportunity to raise awareness of these new recommendations and the importance of HPV vaccination, knowing that most people will be exposed to HPV at some point in their lives," Lois Ramondetta, MD, professor of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at MD Anderson Cancer Center, said in a statement. "We hope that requiring 2 shots instead of 3 will make it easier for children to be vaccinated, bringing rates closer to the Healthy People 2020 goal of 80%."

American Journal of Managed Care, January 12, 2017

With repealing Obamacare, building a wall, cutting corporate taxes and keeping jobs at home all high on Donald Trump's agenda, the announcement Tuesday that he asked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to consider chairing a commission into vaccine safety and scientific integrity took many by surprise. It shouldn't have. Vaccines and his belief that they can cause autism are personal to Trump, who held multiple meetings with vaccine skeptics in the late stages of the presidential campaign and into the packed transition period prior to assuming the presidency. Moreover, although vaccine skeptics are often associated with far-left Birkenstock elites, many Republicans - including top Republicans close to Trump - have expressed doubts about the uncritical acceptance of vaccines.

Financial Times, January 11, 2017

At least one study put the number of college student athletes who've used prescription medications to enhance their performance at as high as 53.3 percent. And another recent study on high school athletes, published online in the Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, reported that 12 percent of male seniors and 8 percent of female seniors admitted to abusing painkillers.

The Herald, January 11, 2017

Talking With Both Daughters and Sons About Sex

Parents play a key role in shaping sexual decision-making among adolescents - especially for girls. A 2016   review   of more than three decades of research found that teenagers who communicated with their parents about sex used safer sexual practices. Likewise,   new research   from Dutch investigators who studied nearly 3,000 teenagers found that young adolescents who reported feeling close with a parent were unlikely to have had sex when surveyed again two years later. Notably, both research teams found that daughters benefited more than sons, and that the effective conversations and relationships were typically had with mothers. According to Laura Widman, lead author of the review study and an assistant professor of psychology at North Carolina State University, "parents tend to talk about sex more with daughters than with sons, and we can speculate that that's what's probably driving these findings. Boys may not get the messages as frequently or have the kind of in-depth conversations that parents are having with girls."

New York Times, January 11, 2017

Fear is one barrier that keeps some young men from racial and sexual minority groups from getting proper sexual health care. A   study in the Journal of Adolescent Health  used information from several dozen black and Hispanic guys between 15 and 24 years old to determine their own perceptions of factors that work for or against their reproductive health care. Of the young men in the study, 16 percent were gay or bisexual. The researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that some young men reported concern about the stigma of being seen at certain clinics, like those where health care professionals test for sexually transmitted diseases. They said that was something that could keep them from getting adequate care for their sexual and reproductive health. They also expressed concerns about long wait times at clinics, privacy issues, and the cost of care.

Medical Daily, January 10, 2017

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].