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Cannabis use during pregnancy linked to higher risk of infant complications

An updated systematic review finds that consuming cannabis while pregnant appears to increase the odds of preterm birth, low birth weight and infant death.

5 May 2025

MED13L Foundation funds groundbreaking study at Boston Children's Hospital

The MED13L Foundation today announced a nearly $250,000 grant to help launch an innovative natural history study at Boston Children's Hospital's Rosamund Stone Zander Translational Neuroscience Center (RSZ TNC).

5 May 2025

Growing up poor leaves lasting health scars, researchers find

A large cross-national study across 29 high-income countries found that childhood poverty significantly increases the risk of frailty in older age. The association persists even after accounting for education, wealth, and other life-course factors.

5 May 2025

Want to eat slower? Pick meals that need chopsticks, not hands

A new study from Japan reveals that eating meals like bento boxes—rather than pizza—can slow down eating and boost chewing, regardless of whether vegetables come first or last. It's not the order, but the kind of food, that matters.

5 May 2025

Ultra-processed foods linked to higher psoriasis risk

A large UK Biobank study found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is associated with an increased risk of developing psoriasis. Each 10% increase in UPF intake raised psoriasis risk by 6%, with obesity and inflammation partially mediating this effect.

4 May 2025

Medicaid enrollment drops linked to disrupted care for young people

Children and young adults with depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, asthma and epilepsy can get great relief from medications to control their symptoms, helping them stay in school or work and prepare for their futures.

3 May 2025

Are one-year-olds in Australia eating right? New study reveals nutrient gaps

A study from the ORIGINS cohort in Western Australia assessed the diets of one-year-old children, comparing intake to national guidelines. While most nutrient targets were met, key shortfalls in iodine and excessive sodium intake raised concerns, especially for breastfed infants.

2 May 2025

Children born with congenital syphilis face higher risk of hospitalization

Children born with syphilis are six times more likely to be admitted to hospital in their first five years of life compared to children not exposed to syphilis from their mother before birth, according to new research.

1 May 2025

Childhood health and family ties boost adult optimism, study finds

A large international study of 203,000 adults across 22 countries found that early-life experiences—such as childhood health, family relationships, and religious upbringing—significantly shape levels of optimism in adulthood. Cultural context also influenced whether factors like parental divorce had negative or positive effects.

1 May 2025

Researchers tie childhood vitamin D shortfalls to adult heart disease

Low childhood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were linked to a significantly higher risk of early adult-onset atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The association remained even after accounting for conventional childhood risk factors and persisted across multiple analyses.

30 Apr 2025

Extreme temperatures drive people toward high-fat diets, study finds

Short-term exposure to extreme temperatures alters dietary patterns by increasing fat intake, even when total calorie consumption remains stable. This shift, driven by physiological appetite regulation, raises the risk of high-fat diets and diet-related diseases, especially among vulnerable groups.

30 Apr 2025

Study: Nicotine pouch use nearly doubles among U.S. high school students

The use of nicotine pouches - small, easily concealed sachets of nicotine and additives that are placed between the gum and lip - nearly doubled among U.S. high school students between 2023 and 2024, according to a new USC study.

30 Apr 2025

Parental or caregiver alcohol use tied to increased child maltreatment

A new systematic review has found that parents and other child caregivers who have alcohol-related diagnoses are twice as likely to maltreat children in their care than parents and caregivers with no alcohol-related diagnoses.

30 Apr 2025

ADHD and anxiety show different patterns in boys and girls

ADHD can exacerbate anxiety, and anxiety can exacerbate ADHD. Girls are particularly vulnerable to developing anxiety disorders, but researchers have recently discovered something that may help slow down – or prevent – the development of these types of disorders.

29 Apr 2025

Higher cigarette taxes could save thousands of children's lives

A higher tax on cigarettes in low and middle-income countries can help to reduce child mortality, especially amongst the poorest children, a new study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in The Lancet Public Health suggests.

29 Apr 2025

Study connects low birth weight to reduced adult physical activity

Poorer gross motor skills, such as the ability to walk quickly, run, or jump, may explain some of the correlation between being born prematurely and the tendency to engage less in physical activity.

29 Apr 2025

Why different loneliness tests still identify the same emotional struggles

Researchers examined how loneliness classifications, by frequency, distress, or chronicity, relate to cognitive and behavioral traits in 790 adults. Despite modest agreement between classification methods, the study found consistent psychological patterns among lonely individuals across all types of loneliness.

29 Apr 2025

Measles makes a deadly comeback in Europe as vaccine gaps widen

In 2024, measles cases in Europe soared to the highest levels in decades, with over 35,000 reported cases, 87% from Romania alone. Most affected were unvaccinated children, revealing critical immunity gaps and suboptimal vaccination coverage across the EU/EEA.

29 Apr 2025

Teen depression may offer better treatment opportunities with flexible symptoms

Depression in young teens could be easier to treat than in adulthood due to the symptoms being more flexible and not yet ingrained, a study shows.

29 Apr 2025

Largest study to date reveals high blood sugar accelerates heart damage in healthy youth

In the present study, 1,595 adolescents drawn from the University of Bristol's Children of the 90s cohort were followed up from age 17 until 24 years. To assess the prevalence of prediabetes, which refers to high fasting blood glucose levels, two alternative cutpoints were used, a stricter cutpoint of ≥5.6 mmol/L recommended by the American Diabetes Association, and ≥6.1 mmol/L , which is the present recommendation in many countries.

29 Apr 2025