New findings impacting children's health released, including strep and ADHD medication abuse

Strep normally impacts kids 5 to 15 and a new analysis of medical records shows cases are increasing.

Rose Shannon and Gillian Neff

Apr 23, 2023, 1:48 PM

Updated 613 days ago

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New research on strep infections, ADHD medication and how social media affects children's mental health have been released.
Strep normally impacts kids 5 to 15 and a new analysis of medical records shows cases are increasing.
Epic Health Research Network examined data from thousands of clinics and hospitals nationwide and found infections were up 30% in February and continued to trend upward in March.
Doctors say what is most concerning is that this is happening amid a shortage of an antibiotic commonly used to treat the infection.
They say while many cases are mild and treatable, Group A infections can be more severe.
Strep season runs through April.
A new study from the Journal JAMA Network Open shows 25% of teens in middle and high schools are abusing ADHD medications.
Researchers have found numbers varied from school to school.
They say while some teens do have prescriptions and safely use the medication, it is considered abuse when the drugs are used to get high or combined with alcohol or other drugs.
There is also a new push to address concerns that have linked social media to mental health issues in teens.
The Federal Trade Commission is currently hiring staff psychologists to investigate to see if and how social media is impacting teens' mental health.