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Conflict with fathers deters youth from seeking mental health services

Youth are less likely to seek mental health services if they have a tumultuous relationship with their father, although the exact nature of this link is still unclear.

15 Oct 2026

Parents invent home safety fixes for medically complex children

Approximately 1 in 20 U.S. children younger than 18 years of age are medically complex, meaning they have multiorgan system conditions like cerebral palsy and depend on implanted tube-related medical technology.

15 Oct 2026

A study of 2.3 million California children raises questions about lithium in water

Researchers analyzed healthcare records from more than 2.3 million children in California and found that those living in counties with higher lithium concentrations in water sources had 60% higher adjusted odds of a Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) diagnosis. A separate New York analysis supported an association at a lower lithium threshol

14 Oct 2026

Breast milk antibodies show promise against multiple respiratory viruses

Yona Tugg and colleagues show that a polyclonal secretory immunoglobulin A preparation, purified from breast milk pooled from multiple donors, neutralized respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human adenovirus type 5, and H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses in laboratory assays.

14 Oct 2026

Scientists reviewed studies covering 1.17 million children and found a major research gap

Researchers identified 104 pregnancy and birth cohorts representing more than 1.17 million children across 41 countries, documenting the availability of data on early-life nutrition and neurodevelopment. Approximately 99% of participants in the income-stratified analysis came from high- or upper-middle-income countries, while differences in data collection and assessment methods complicate future international comparisons.

14 Oct 2026

Common asthma drug improves strength in children with muscle disease

A common asthma medication improves motor skills and muscle strength in children with congenital myopathies, a group of incurable muscle diseases.

14 Oct 2026

Scientists identify novel autoimmune driver behind DNA repair breakdown in childhood cancer

Researchers have found the first evidence for a previously unsuspected cause of pediatric cancer. They showed that children with such cancers were more likely than their healthy peers to produce ‘auto-antibodies’ targeting six proteins necessary for normal DNA repair. Likewise, they showed that young adults with cancer had greater amounts of these circulating antibodies already years before diagnosis.

14 Oct 2026

Coffee, citrus and genetics: What scientists found inside human breast milk

In a bioRxiv preprint, researchers analyzed 458 metabolites in breast milk samples from 349 mothers to investigate how maternal diet, genetics, clinical characteristics, and milk-cell gene expression relate to milk composition. Maternal diet explained the greatest share of metabolite variation among the measured maternal factors, while specific genetic variants and gene-expression patterns were associated with individual metabolites, although the study did not establish effects on infant health.

14 Oct 2026

Your diet may have more to do with your sense of smell than you think

Researchers analyzed dietary patterns and odor identification in 6,690 adults in Italy, finding that healthier plant-rich diets, particularly those emphasizing fruits and vegetables, were associated with better olfactory function and lower odds of hyposmia. Diets emphasizing less healthy plant foods showed the opposite association, although the cross-sectional study could not establish whether diet influences smell or impaired smell affects food choices.

14 Oct 2026

Disadvantaged children with intellectual disabilities face greater mental health difficulties

Children with intellectual disabilities face greater mental health difficulties when they are from a disadvantaged background, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

13 Oct 2026

Parents of children with mental health problems face stigma

Parents of children with mental health problems may experience stigma when the ideals that matter most to being considered a "good parent" are perceived as not being met, according to preliminary research led by Weill Cornell Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and NewYork-Presbyterian investigators.

13 Oct 2026

CHOP researchers link MAP2K4 variants to a neurodevelopmental disorder

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have discovered the mechanisms of previously unknown changes in a gene that result in symptoms associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder.

13 Oct 2026

Maternal opioid use in pregnancy linked to childhood hospitalizations

Children whose mothers received opioid prescriptions during pregnancy have a higher rate of hospital admission in childhood than unexposed children, including unexposed siblings, according to a new study published October 13th in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Dong Keon Yon of Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, South Korea, and colleagues.

13 Oct 2026

Charity funds Aston University research into childhood cancer MRI

Aston University's Dr Jan Novak has accepted funding of £45,000 from cancer charity Help Harry Help Others (HHHO) to support a PhD student to research new ways of using MRI scans of children with cancer to better inform their doctors and improve treatment.

13 Oct 2026

Childhood leukemia treatment causes rapid, lasting challenges for patient families

New research in the October 2026 issue of JNCCN-Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network finds that families of children receiving treatment for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) experience substantial and lasting challenges beginning early after diagnosis, according to a new multicenter study embedded in a Children's Oncology Group (COG) trial.

13 Oct 2026

Replacement chemical for harmful phthalates may restrict fetal growth

A chemical used to make plastic more flexible, once introduced as a safer substitute for older additives now known to be harmful, may itself also be harmful, slowing babies' growth in the womb, a new study shows.

13 Oct 2026

CMAJ analysis urges Canada to pass Safe Social Media Act to protect children

Canada's proposed Safe Social Media Act, which aims to protect children, should be passed, according to an Analysis article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.261104.

13 Oct 2026

Study finds a surprising downside to having favourite foods

In a study of 279 adults, researchers found that initially reinforcing existing food preferences reduced learning flexibility when associations between foods and outcomes changed. Participants learned positive associations more readily than negative ones, while associations involving disliked foods were more adaptable than those involving liked foods.

12 Oct 2026

Screen time was linked to teen anxiety. Then researchers compared twins

A longitudinal study of 21,797 Swedish twins found that heavy interactive screen use during adolescence was associated with more anxiety and depressive symptoms and a higher likelihood of subsequent clinical mental health outcomes. However, these associations weakened substantially when comparing twins with different screen habits, suggesting that shared genetic and environmental factors contribute to the relationship.

12 Oct 2026

Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy lowers risk of infant colic and eczema

Infants born to mothers who ate a healthy, Mediterranean-style diet during pregnancy were at lower risk for colic and eczema, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston Children's Hospital, and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.

12 Oct 2026