Children's Health News and Research

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Family rejection of lesbian, gay and bisexual children linked to poor health in early childhood

For the first time, researchers have established a clear link between family rejection of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adolescents and negative health outcomes in early adulthood.

30 Dec 2008

90% of overweight children may not be properly diagnosed

Despite recent widespread media attention given to studies that have indicated one-third of American children have a weight problem, a new study shows just one-third of children who are overweight or obese actually receive that diagnosis by a pediatrician.

30 Dec 2008

Death rates in hospital highest for infants, and children without insurance

The vast majority of children who die while hospitalized are newborns, according to a new nationwide study.

10 Dec 2008

Unstable housing linked to child hunger and poor health

A new study shows that children whose families move frequently or live in overcrowded conditions are more likely to suffer from hunger and poor health than those in stable housing.

3 Dec 2008

Children of farm workers less likely to have health cover

Children of farm workers are three times as likely as all other children and almost twice as likely as other poor children to be uninsured, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

1 Dec 2008

Obese women who undergo bariatric surgery decrease pregnancy-related health complications

Obese women who have weight loss surgery before becoming pregnant have a lower risk of pregnancy-related health problems and their children are less likely to be born with complications, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

18 Nov 2008

Performance-enhancing drug use by high school athletes

Stories about doping - using performance-enhancing drugs - among professional and Olympic athletes have been regular fodder for the news media in recent years, but what about the trend in use by younger, more vulnerable high school-aged athletes?

17 Nov 2008

25% of U.S. kids received no dental care in at least one year

A University of South Carolina study of children's dental health has found that nearly one-fourth of the nation's children have had no dental care in at least a year.

11 Nov 2008

2 million children with insured parents are uninsured in the U.S.

Some 2.3 million children a year, mostly from low- to middle-income families, have no health care coverage to pay for preventive or other medical needs, even though at least one of their parents is insured, according to a new study supported by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Center for Research Resources, part of HHS' National Institutes of Health.

6 Nov 2008

Contaminants in human milk

An overview of studies on environmental pollutants in human milk has found that not breastfeeding an infant typically poses more of a threat than does exposure to any of the chemical agents measured in human milk, as reported in the 11th Annual Children’s Health Issue of Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP).

6 Nov 2008

Cumulative spending on Medicaid benefits projected to reach $4.9 trillion over 10 years

Under current law, spending on Medicaid is expected to substantially outpace the rate of growth in the U.S. economy over the next decade, according to a new annual report released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

19 Oct 2008

Voters pick Obama to tackle nation's health care problems

Health care - cost and coverage - has been a hot topic among presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 4 election.

13 Oct 2008

States see rising enrollment in Medicaid as economy falters

With states confronting a weakening economy, enrollment in Medicaid began to rise last year with states expecting even larger increases for fiscal year 2009, according to a new 50-state survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation's Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU). With the increased enrollment, Medicaid spending is also rising more rapidly than in the recent past, raising the potential for program cutbacks as states confront the combined impact of more enrollees and fewer available resources.

29 Sep 2008

Antibiotics in preterm labour linked to cerebral palsy in infants

New research has linked the practice of giving antibiotics to some women at risk of premature birth to cerebral palsy and other problems in infants.

18 Sep 2008

Discovery of promising new chemotherapy target for a deadly form of leukemia

Cancer researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have discovered a promising new chemotherapy target for a deadly form of leukemia. Their discovery hinges on a novel "double agent" role for a molecular signal that regulates cell growth.

17 Sep 2008

Congressional Democrats will not vote on SCHIP expansion legislation this session amid veto threats, increased cost estimates

Congressional Democrats said they will not hold a vote on legislation to renew and expand SCHIP this year, citing an inability to override a promised veto by President Bush, among other issues, the New York Times reports.

9 Sep 2008

Bullying parents' top concern for obese kids

As the new school year begins, many parents with overweight and obese children are worried about how their kids will be treated by other students on the playground and in the classroom.

8 Sep 2008

Kentucky Governor, Lt. Governor promote initiative to simplify KCHIP application process

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) and Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo (D) this week are scheduled to make eight stops on a statewide tour to promote a plan designed to expand health coverage to more children under the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program by 2010, the Kentucky Enquirer reports.

7 Sep 2008

CMS adds children's health care information to Hospital Compare web site

CMS on Wednesday announced that it has updated its Hospital Compare Web site to include information on 30-day mortality rates for the pneumonia and inpatient asthma treatment for children, CQ HealthBeat reports.

5 Sep 2008

New research settles measles vaccine/autism controversy

New research from the United States will hopefully settle once and for all the controversial debate about a link between the measles vaccine and autism.

4 Sep 2008