Child Health News

RSS

Screen time impairs children's language skills

A new study looks at the time spent by kids looking at a screen and the development of their language skills. The team writes that there have been several studies that have found an adverse relationship between the two and this study is a collation of the data that exists from these studies.

23 Mar 2020

Researchers develop and test autism-specific quality of life measurement tool

A new study led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia shows that a set of simple questionnaires can help clinicians and families better evaluate the quality of life of people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

23 Mar 2020

More mental health care utilization reduces odds of suicide among youths, study finds

A multistate study of Medicaid enrollees led by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center found that suicide risk was highest among youth with epilepsy, depression, schizophrenia, substance use and bipolar disorder.

23 Mar 2020

Now on the menu at closed schools: Drive-thru lunches

There were no hugs, handshakes or high-fives Tuesday morning at Juniper Elementary School, where the student drop-off line had transformed into a school lunch drive-thru.

21 Mar 2020

Study uncovers a new childhood-onset neurodegenerative disorder

A study has uncovered a new neurodegenerative disorder in which children experience developmental regression and severe epilepsy.

21 Mar 2020

The cost of excessive sugar in the diet

A new study from the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, in the UK, reports that while eating foods rich in sugar does not necessarily make you fat, they can make you very sick. They do this by increasing the level of a compound called uric acid in the blood. The study is published in the journal Cell Metabolism in March 2020.

19 Mar 2020

Pets, the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 disease

Can dogs and other pets play a role in the transmission of the novel coronavirus? The question has surfaced after a Pomeranian in Hong Kong tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 or the novel coronavirus last week.

19 Mar 2020

Some children may become seriously ill with coronavirus, experts warn

Evidence shows that coronavirus disease (COVID-19) most often affects older adults, who are 60 years old or more, and those with underlying medical conditions. But a new study has shown that several children in China had developed severe or critical conditions, with one child dying from COVID-19.

19 Mar 2020

Problems with processing visual impressions may be the real root of children’s problems

Visual processing is about how the brain perceives and processes the impressions of the eyes. Problems with processing visual impressions can also impact a variety of other skills.

19 Mar 2020

Obese children more prone to anxiety, depression and shortening of life

Two studies published in the journals PLOS Medicine and BMC Medicine in March 2020 show that obesity in childhood is linked to a higher risk of future anxiety, depression, and death in early adult life compared to children in the general population. This could shape efforts to detect specific risk factors that predispose children to obesity and thus prevent it.

18 Mar 2020

Drug from scorpion venom could offer hope for children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

A research team led by Children's National Hospital faculty was able to "rescue" a pre-clinical model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder in juvenile models, reversing motor skill deficits with the help of a novel drug derived from scorpion venom.

18 Mar 2020

Study shows link between repetitive negative thinking, delayed sleep and depressed mood in teens

Nagging negative thoughts - and striving for perfection - keep teenagers awake at night, raising their chance of becoming depressed and anxious, a new study shows.

18 Mar 2020

Prestigious journal lauds innovative NICU training

"Fires, tornadoes and other natural disasters are outside of our team's control. But it is within our team's control to train neonatal intensive care unit staff to master this necessary skill," says Lisa Zell, BSN, a clinical educator at Children's National Hospital.

17 Mar 2020

Young vapers less likely to smoke regular cigarettes than their peers

A new study has found that youngsters who use e-cigarettes are less likely to use cigarettes in the future compared to those who use other tobacco products. The researchers called this the “gateway effect” – moving on the full-fledged smoking and say it is small among those who use e-cigarettes to start with.

17 Mar 2020

Pediatrician uses her 'trusted voice' to underscore the importance of Census

For months in 2019, Chidiogo Anyigbo, M.D., MPH, had been consumed by the need to learn more and read more about the upcoming 2020 Census.

17 Mar 2020

$Acid reflux drugs may lead to increased risk of fractures in children$

Acid reflux drugs may lead to increased risk of fractures in children

Proton pump inhibitors - a widely used class of drugs used to treat acid reflux and related symptoms - may lead to an increased risk of fractures in children and adolescents, reports a study in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

17 Mar 2020

Many schools have closed ― but not all. What parents need to know about that tough call.

In the face of a global pandemic, thousands of K-12 school districts from Los Angeles to New York City and many cities in between announced closures in recent days.

17 Mar 2020

Breast milk may help protect preemies from developing sepsis

A component of breast milk may help protect premature babies from developing sepsis, a fast-moving, life-threatening condition triggered by infection.

16 Mar 2020

Eating fish 1-3 times a week in pregnancy beneficial for the child

Pregnancy is a time when the mother’s diet becomes essential not only for reasons of proper nutrition but to avoid harm to or enhance the development of the child. Now a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open in March 2020 shows that mothers who ate one to three servings of fish a week while they were pregnant gave birth to children with a better metabolic profile compared to those mothers who ate little or no fish at this time.

16 Mar 2020

Fish consumption during pregnancy associated with improved metabolic health of children

To eat or not to eat fish is a question that has long concerned pregnant women. Now, a new USC study shows that children whose mothers ate fish from one to three times a week during pregnancy were more likely to have a better metabolic profile -- despite the risk of exposure to mercury -- than children whose mothers ate fish rarely (less than once a week).

16 Mar 2020