The United States is a country of immigrants. With the exception of Native-Americans, every other American is, or descends from, an immigrant. First and second generation immigrant children are the most rapidly growing segment of the American population, with the great majority of this population being of non-European origin. This paper reviews the unique risk factors and mental health needs of our new immigrant populations, as well as treatment and services approaches to address their unique needs.

Disparities remain in mental health status and care for racial and ethnic minority youth, despite national attention to disparity reduction. This paper offers a comprehensive picture of the status of pediatric disparities, by addressing the major areas affecting minority youth mental health, including: prevention of problems, need for services, access to care, mental health treatment types and treatment outcomes. It addresses relevant factors in the family, community and socioeconomic context, and describes various local and national programs that aim to tackle the obstacles and fill the gaps in high quality care for racial/ethnic minority youth. It concludes by offering recommendations for improvement which acknowledge the importance of understanding preferences and attitudes towards treatment, ensuring that screening and diagnosis is appropriate to minority youth, and ensuring that evidence-based programs are available at multiple levels to best service children and succeed in addressing their needs.

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Background: A high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). Yet, due in part to the relatively small samples previously used, the prevalence of OSA has varied greatly across studies. It is also unclear if factors such as age, gender, body mass index (BMI), or type of genetic imprinting are associated with increased risk for OSA among children with PWS. Objectives: To evaluate the (a) prevalence of OSA, as well as narcolepsy, in pediatric populations diagnosed with PWS; (b) effects of age, gender, body mass index, and genetic imprinting on OSA severity; and (c) effi cacy of adenotonsillectomy (AT) for decreasing OSA severity in this population. Methods: All studies assessing OSA among children with PWS through August 2013 were identifi ed using the PubMed/Medline, Psych Info, Cochrane library, and Google Scholar data bases. Results: Fourteen studies of children diagnosed with PWS and who were assessed for OSA using polysomnography (PSG) met inclusion criteria (n = 224 children). The prevalence of OSA across studies was 79.91% (n = 179/224). Among youths with OSA, 53.07% had mild OSA, 22.35% moderate OSA, and 24.58% severe OSA. Narcolepsy was found to occur in 35.71% of children with PWS. Adenotonsillectomy was associated with improvement in OSA for most children with PWS. However, residual OSA was present in the majority of cases post-surgery. Conclusion: This study confi rms the high prevalence of OSA and narcolepsy among children with PWS. Screening for OSA and narcolepsy among children with PWS is recommended. In addition, while adenotonsillectomy was effective in reducing OSA for some children, alternative treatments may need to be considered, given the only moderate response rate.