Children News and Research

RSS

Co-infection itself a very important risk factor among school-aged children in Tanzania

The new study analyses data from school aged children in Tanzania infected with the most common forms of worms. It was found that infection by one parasitic species actually changes the risk of catching another, over and above other risk factors.

11 Jan 2013

Pakistan re-launches polio vaccination campaign amid increased security

"Pakistan's ambassador for polio eradication, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, re-launched the anti-polio campaign in Sindh province on Tuesday," Pakistan Today reports.

11 Jan 2013

Roundup: Kan., Ga., Mass., Neb. face decisions on implementing health law

At an Atlanta panel discussion Tuesday previewing children's health issues for the upcoming General Assembly session, one item stood out. State Sen. Fran Millar (R-Atlanta) was officially on the panel to highlight "School Flexibility," but he summed up what he sees as the urgency of passing a Medicaid hospital provider fee during the legislative session. Approving the hospital assessment is "perhaps the most critical thing we have to do," Millar said.

11 Jan 2013

H. pylori may protect against stroke and some cancers

A new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers reveals that an especially virulent strain of the gut bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) isn't implicated in the overall death rate of the U.S. population, and may even protect against stroke and some cancers.

10 Jan 2013

Tips for parents to safely help relieve child's flu symptoms

Doctors' offices are teeming with patients suffering from one of the worst outbreaks of cold and flu season in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that flu is at an elevated level across the nation. Though virus symptoms vary by age, children are especially vulnerable since they are unable to take over-the-counter medications to help alleviate symptoms.

10 Jan 2013

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center receives $36M NCI grant

The National Cancer Institute has awarded the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center a $36 million grant to fund cutting edge research programs and clinical trials over five years.

10 Jan 2013

E-gaming can actually boost energy expenditures among inner city children

Video games have been blamed for contributing to the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States. But a new study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) suggests that certain blood-pumping video games can actually boost energy expenditures among inner city children, a group that is at high risk for unhealthy weight gain.

10 Jan 2013

New York State WIC program reduces rates of obesity among children

New York children participating in a federal nutrition program had healthier eating behaviors and lower rates of obesity two years after improvements to the program were undertaken, according to a study published online today in Obesity, the official journal of the Obesity Society.

10 Jan 2013

Tips to keep kids safe while playing outside in the cold

Cold winds, icy rain and, in some places, snow—Old Man Winter is here. With the snowball fights, snow forts and snowy hills come some serious dangers. In addition to ducking from flying snow balls and avoiding out-of-control skiers, parents need to be on the lookout for dangerously low body temperatures and frostbite related to cold weather exposure.

10 Jan 2013

Moms more likely to use TV to entertain and soothe fussy infants

Moms, especially those who are obese, are more likely to use TV to entertain and soothe infants who are more fussy and active, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The finding adds to the growing body of knowledge that may help explain the escalating rate of obesity and inactivity in U.S. children, and has led to behavioral and educational strategies that may help mothers combat these effects.

9 Jan 2013

Risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity identified

Birthweight and gestational age are risk factors for retinopathy of prematurity and should be considered when screening infants for the condition, a study by Turkish researchers shows.

9 Jan 2013

'Kangaroo Mother Care' helping infants survive in middle-, low-income countries

Jennifer James, the founder of Mom Bloggers for Social Good who traveled last month with Save the Children to observe their work in Ethiopia, writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, "I was heartened to see that both hospitals we visited, Black Lion hospital in Addis Ababa and Bishoftu hospital in Debre Zeyit, had a dedicated 'Kangaroo Mother Care' (the practice of wrapping ones' baby to ones' bare chest and breastfeeding exclusively) unit."

9 Jan 2013

Overall cancer death rates continue to decline in the U.S.: Report

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2009, shows that overall cancer death rates continued to decline in the United States among both men and women, among all major racial and ethnic groups, and for all of the most common cancer sites, including lung, colon and rectum, female breast, and prostate.

9 Jan 2013

UNICEF Executive Director discusses need for commodities market for life-saving medicines

In this Forbes interview, Rahim Kanani of the Skoll World Forum speaks with UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake about reducing child mortality and the need for a commodities market to improve access to medicines and health care.

9 Jan 2013

State roundup: Medicaid costs could affect state surpluses; Calif. gets 'C' for dental care

In Tennessee, Republican governor Bill Haslam has said that much of the state's $580 million surplus is already spent. Obamacare is expected to increase enrollment in TennCare, the state's Medicaid program, by more than 60,000 Tennesseans. ... At the same time, Texas has a $8.8 billion surplus and more than $8 billion in its rainy day fund, but faces a staggering $4.3 billion hole in its Medicaid budget.

9 Jan 2013

Public health school deans condemn CIA's use of fake vaccination campaign in letter to Obama

"The deans of the nation's top public health schools sent a letter to President Obama on Monday condemning the Central Intelligence Agency's use of a vaccination campaign ruse in the hunt for Osama bin Laden," the New York Times reports.

9 Jan 2013

EC approves Pfizer’s Prevenar 13 to prevent pneumococcal disease

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the European Commission has approved expanding the use of the company's pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevenar 13(pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]), to older children and adolescents aged 6 to 17 years for active immunization for the prevention of invasive disease, pneumonia and acute otitis media caused by vaccine-type Streptococcus pneumoniae.

9 Jan 2013

Viewpoints: Health care and the 'crushing federal debt;' Optimism about 'grand bargain;' Iowa's premium increase request

The largest issue America will face in 2013 is health care. And it will only get larger. As the national conversation changes, we'll find that by year-end we're talking about it all the time, whether the ostensible topic is politics, government, the economy, our jobs, or our families. Health care will be the unavoidable topic. Medicare and Medicaid are the biggest element of our most serious national problem: crushing federal debt.

9 Jan 2013

Postpartum depression could impact health of babies in Ghana

Postpartum depression not only affects mothers but it could mean higher health risks for the baby - especially in low-income countries like Ghana where the condition isn't well-recognized, University of Michigan Health System research shows.

9 Jan 2013

Babies born to obese mothers have low levels of vitamin D

Women who are obese at the start of their pregnancy may be passing on insufficient levels of vitamin D to their babies, according to a new Northwestern Medicine- study.

8 Jan 2013