Posted by baseball55 on September 1, 2016, at 19:20:19
In reply to Re: vaccinations and autism, posted by linkadge on August 31, 2016, at 21:46:02
But allergic reactions, obesity and diabetes are objective, measurable conditions. Mental health diagnoses are diagnosed based solely on symptoms, the definition and understanding of which have changed greatly over the years.
I would imagine that childhood schizophrenia diagnoses have declined over the last several decades since, years ago, all intractable mental health problems in kids were labeled schizophrenia. I myself spent two years in a state hospital on thorazine and was diagnosed as schizophrenic, though in fact I was just depressed and lost due to a childhood of physical abuse.Of course, when I was a kid, physical abuse wasn't abuse - it was discipline. Sexual abuse didn't exist because nobody talked about it. Rates of child abuse have increased dramatically over the last several decades, not because more children are abused, but because social mores have changed dramatically. Once I saw the boy next door lying in his yard while his father kicked him over and over. Nobody called the police or child protective services. The father was just disciplining a bad kid. It was a parent's prerogative.
Also, a question. Have diagnoses of childhood type 1 diabetes increased, or of type 2 (which would be related to higher obesity rates)?
As far as allergies go, allergy and asthma rates are way up over the years and one theory is that children have less exposure to potential allergens as a result of better hygiene. A recent study found, for example, that allergies and asthma rare in Amish children, who are exposed to lots of dirt, dust, fecal matter, etc. on farms.
> It's the same with peanut allergies. The rate of serious peanut allergies **has** significantly increased in the past two decades. The dramatic rise in childhood allergies is **not** the simply a case of 'rising awareness' or 'better diagnosis'. When I was in school, we could bring peanut butter sandwiches to lunch without sending half the class to the hospital.
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> Its the same with childhood diabetes. The rate of childhood diabetes **has** significantly increased in the past few decades. It is **not** the case that we are simply better diagnosing the problem.
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> It is the same with childhood obesity. The rate of childhood obesity has significantly increased in the past few decades. It is **not** the case that we are simply better able to detect the problem (our scales worked just as well 30 years ago as they do now).
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> Like the above mentioned problems, I doubt that the increase in rates of autism is simply due to better 'diagnostic abilities'.
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> Linkadge
poster:baseball55
thread:1091559
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20160819/msgs/1091632.html