Hurricane Katrina gave the world a glimpse of the disparities in the South. Our research documents just how profoundly these disparities impact the health of children in the region.

We need new tools and hypothetical models to study the ecology of disease, and we need interdisciplinary professionals from medicine, public health, economics and the social sciences to collaborate. This can't be shoved under the desk or put on hold because the maps show in color the disparities that children in the Deep South face every day.

These policies, which consign 50 percent of children to poverty, neglect quality early education, generate huge income disparities, result in homelessness and limit access to quality nutrition and critical health services, may differentiate children in the South from those in other regions.

Generally, children in the world's developed countries are healthy. But children who live in some of the states in the Deep South are two to three times more likely to die or have other health problems as compared to children living in some states in other regions of the country.

They're coming earlier, and they have the benefit of 26 years plus of research and experience that they'll be able to benefit from.

This research is important because diagnosis of juvenile bipolar disorder is controversial - impulsivity, irritability and hyperactivity commonly occur in adolescents in general. If these symptoms all present concurrently, the challenge is to determine whether they are symptoms of bipolar disorder, or are simply a normal part of teenage development.