Child Health News

RSS

Parental loss doubles children's risk of mental health disorders

A new, large-scale Curtin University study has found children who experience parental loss are twice as likely to develop a mental health disorder, compared to those living with both parents.

19 Aug 2026

New genetic risk score uncovers hidden type 1 diabetes cases

Incorporating a genetic risk score into standard testing for a genetic form of diabetes which affects young people could identify hidden type 1 diabetes in around one in five patients with a negative genetic test.

19 Aug 2026

Paternal valproate use not linked to offspring neurodevelopmental risks

Use of the antiseizure drug valproate by fathers before conception is not associated with neurodevelopmental disorders like autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in their children, according to a new study published August 19, 2026, in Neurology®, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Aug 2026

A decades-long study raises questions about sugary drinks and stomach cancer

A large prospective U.S. study followed more than 111,000 adults to examine whether sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverage intake was associated with gastric cancer incidence. Researchers identified 278 gastric cancer cases over 3.2 million person-years and found that associations differed according to beverage type and level of consumption.

19 Aug 2026

TikTok food videos prompt adolescent cravings and desire to eat

A recent study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB), published by Elsevier, found that adolescents reported TikTok food content cued their desire to eat or try foods, while acknowledging that parents could play a protective role by helping them disengage from the platform and fostering critical conversations about food, bodies, influencers, and online health information.

19 Aug 2026

Red blood cells inspire next-generation therapeutic nanocarriers

Red blood cells serve as the foundation for nanocarriers that show promise in a new study as effective and efficient vehicles for gene therapy, tumor targeting and other medical treatments.

19 Aug 2026

Re:Cognition Health launches first dedicated Alzheimer's disease-modifying treatment clinic in Ireland

Re:Cognition Health, the UK's largest independent provider of Alzheimer's disease-modifying treatments, announces the opening of its first Irish clinic in Dublin, marking a major milestone in dementia care for Ireland.

19 Aug 2026

Moderate fruit juice intake could help close vitamin C gaps in UK diets

UK dietary modeling found that fruit juice contributed substantially to vitamin C intake, although around four in five participants already met the national Reference Nutrient Intake. The simulations examined whether changing fruit juice consumption among existing consumers or introducing moderate intake among non-consumers could improve vitamin C adequacy while limiting additional free sugars.

19 Aug 2026

Infants' sense of agency develops through culture-specific caregiver interactions

A baby sits on the floor and reaches toward a red ball on a floor and grunts. The mother responds, "Do you see the ball?" She picks it up and holds it in front of baby and says, "Do you want to hold the ball?" The baby shrieks in excitement as the mother hands the ball to the baby.

18 Aug 2026

Early-onset epilepsy tied to lower academic achievement

Childhood epilepsy is linked to significantly poorer exam grades and long term educational attainment, with the lowest levels of academic prowess among those whose neurological disorder started when they were very young, finds a large, long term Danish study, published online in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry.

18 Aug 2026

London's Ultra Low Emission Zone delivers measurable lung health benefits for children

A landmark study of more than 3,400 children, led by Queen Mary University of London, has found that air quality improvements following the introduction of London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) are strongly associated with accelerated lung growth in children.

18 Aug 2026

Prenatal exposure to higher water fluoride levels associated with lower child cognition

Pregnant mothers who lived in neighborhoods where public drinking water fluoride levels were near or above the current U.S. recommended levels tended to have children who scored lower on tests of fluid reasoning as fluoride levels increased, according to a new study supported by the National Institutes of Health's Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

18 Aug 2026

Improved indoor lighting may prevent nearsightedness in children

Research has already shown that the more time children spend playing with screens indoors instead of playing outdoors, the more likely they are to develop myopia.

18 Aug 2026

Tufts study links pet relationships to teen coping styles

About one in 10 teenagers experience social anxiety-persistent and disruptive worries about being judged by their classmates and other peers.

17 Aug 2026

Beauty tutorials in social media increase use of hormone-disrupting products by teens

Personal care products are among the largest everyday sources of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and high schoolers who follow social media influencers or watch beauty tutorials seem to use considerably more of them, according to Rutgers researchers.

17 Aug 2026