When care for back pain extends beyond primary care, chiropractic is far less expensive than medical care. These findings are from a study that examined the costs of managing low-back pain (LBP) in a managed care organization in northeast Wisconsin.

Investigators compared the expense of managing LBP by medical providers (both primary care and other providers) with the expense of managing LBP by chiropractors.

According to the report, “allowed costs of chiropractic treatment were 12% greater than medical primary care and 60% less per case than other types of medical care combined, on a per-case basis: median cost of medical primary care was $365.00, chiropractic care was $417.00, and medical nonprimary care was $669.00.”

“This study suggests chiropractic management as less expensive compared with medical management of back pain when care extends beyond primary care. Primary care management alone is virtually indistinguishable from chiropractic management in terms of costs.”

JMPT – November 2009;32:734-9.
www.jmptonline.org

One in 110 American 8-year-olds has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a 57% jump in four years.

“This is a dramatic increase in the number of kids classified as autistic or documented on the spectrum of similar disorders,” explains study co-author Beverly Mulvihill, PhD. “It is not entirely clear what is causing the rise, but we know major collaborative efforts are needed to improve the understanding and lives of people and families impacted.”

The study also found that boys are 4.5 times more likely than girls to have ASD, a finding that confirms earlier studies, says co-author Martha Wingate, Dr.PH.

“It still is not clear why males more frequently are affected. One thing we know for sure is that more research is needed to quantify the effects of single or multiple factors such as diagnosis patterns, inclusion of milder cases and other components.”

MMWR – December 18, 2010.
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/

A mere 8% of high school students get adequate sleep on school nights, according to a study in the Journal of Adolescent Health, which surveyed 12,000 students in grades 9 through 12.

The authors found that 10% of adolescents sleep only five hours and 23% sleep only six hours on an average school night. More females than males have sleep deficits as do more African-Americans and whites compared to Hispanics. Nearly 20% more 12th-grade students have sleep deficits than do those in ninth grade.

“The natural sleep-wake pattern shifts during adolescence, making earlier bed time and wake times more difficult. The result for students with early school start-times is a chronic sleep deficit,” notes lead study author Danice Eaton, PhD, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

National Sleep Foundation research shows that delaying school start-times by an hour or more increases the amount of sleep adolescents get and improves their performance in school. However, to promote optimal sleep, Dr. Eaton said that adolescents should have set bedtimes before 10 pm. on school nights and consistent wake-sleep times every night.

Journal of Adolescent Health – January 4, 2010;Epub.
www.jahonline.org