If acted out, these emotional problems can result in social and family withdrawal, difficulty in school, severe depression, and physical and mental abuse.
Maj. Keith M. Lemmon, MD, FAAP, conducted a session entitled, ???The Effects of Military Deployment on Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A Critical Support Role for the Pediatrician,??? in which he discussed an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) mental health program designed to increase awareness regarding the long-term effects of military deployment and provide resources to help and support military children and their families.
In addition, two new educational DVDs have been produced, one for children ages 6- 11, and another featuring teens talking about how they cope with their parents' deployment. Currently, hundreds of DVDs have been distributed to children, teen centers, and youth health care providers.
Editor's Note: The two educational DVDs, ???Military Youth Coping with Separation: When Family Members Deploy,??? and ???Mr. Po and Friends Discuss Family Reunion After Deployment,??? can be found online at: aap/sections/unifserv/deployment/index.html
aap/
This latest study provides long-term data as it reported on 887 cases of psoriasis over a 14-year study period.
The researchers found that compared with women who never smoked, the risk of psoriasis was 37% higher among past smokers and 78% higher among current smokers; what is more the heavier the smoking habit, the higher the risk appeared to be and it took as long as two decades after stopping smoking before the risk fell back to that of non-smokers.
The team also found that exposure to passive smoke during pregnancy or childhood was associated with an increased risk of psoriasis.
Study leader, Dr. Hyon Choi says the findings provide a clear incentive for those with psoriasis to stop smoking as well as those at risk of the condition.
Dr. Choi says stopping smoking may decrease the level of smoke induced inflammation in the body by lowering levels of circulating immune cells.
Experts say people with psoriasis should always aim to cease smoking for their general health and to help improve their psoriasis but psoriasis remains an immensely complex condition and there are people with psoriasis who do not and have never smoked.
The research is published in the American Journal of Medicine.