Child Health News

RSS

New guidelines for childhood obesity programs

The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), a global professional association committed to leadership in eating disorders research, education, treatment and prevention, issued guidelines for childhood obesity prevention programs to ensure that community- and school-based efforts are carried out with equal concern for children's physical, social and emotional health.

3 Mar 2009

TV watching linked to increased risk of asthma

Young children who spend more than two hours watching TV every day double their subsequent risk of developing asthma, indicates research published on-line today in the journal Thorax.

3 Mar 2009

Experts still recommend no television under the age of 2

A longitudinal study of infants from birth to age 3 showed TV viewing before the age of 2 does not improve a child's language and visual motor skills, according to research conducted at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School.

2 Mar 2009

Childhood swimming lessons appropriate as part of a comprehensive drowning prevention strategy

Providing very young children with swimming lessons appears to have a protective effect against drowning and does not increase children's risk of drowning, reported researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

2 Mar 2009

Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 have increased risk for neural tube defects

Children born to women who have low blood levels of vitamin B12 shortly before and after conception may have an increased risk of a neural tube defect, according to an analysis by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Trinity College Dublin, and the Health Research Board of Ireland.

2 Mar 2009

Children reap social benefits from wearing contact lenses instead of glasses

Children wearing contact lenses felt better about how they look, their athletic abilities and acceptance by their friends than did children wearing eyeglasses in a recent study.

2 Mar 2009

Help for children with rheumatic heart disease

These bacteria carry a special protein sequence, the so-called PARF motif, on their surface.

2 Mar 2009

Educational materials for new mothers may prevent shaken baby syndrome

Educational materials on how to deal with crying newborns lead to increased knowledge about infant crying and behaviours that are important to preventing shaken baby syndrome, found two new studies being published online March 2 in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) and Pediatrics.

2 Mar 2009

Better diagnosis and treatment of concussions in children

It's estimated that more than a half million kids in the U.S. go to the hospital each year with a concussion.

2 Mar 2009

Doctors call for change in how non-active tuberculosis in immigrant children treated

New guidelines proposed in the March 2009 issue of the journal Pediatrics by researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children may have a major impact on how pediatricians and family physicians treat non-active tuberculosis (TB) in children who are immigrants, internationally adopted or refugees.

2 Mar 2009

Children with hypertension have trouble with goal-directed tasks

Children with high blood pressure are not as good at complicated, goal-directed tasks, have more working memory problems and are not as adept at planning as their peers without hypertension, according to recent research.

24 Feb 2009

Stanford/Packard researchers recruit children for study of the biology of autism

Scientists have put forward many theories about why children with autism struggle to communicate with other people, but they have yet to find definitive answers.

23 Feb 2009

Children who watch R-rated movies more likely to smoke

A new study finds that kids who are allowed to watch R-rated movies are much more likely to believe it's easy to get a cigarette than those who aren't allowed to watch such films.

23 Feb 2009

Spending time with grandparents linked with better social skills

Spending time with a grandparent is linked with better social skills and fewer behavior problems among adolescents, especially those living in single-parent or stepfamily households, according to a new study.

23 Feb 2009

Babies born in pollen and mold seasons have increased likelihood of wheezing by age two

Newborns whose first few months of life coincide with high pollen and mold seasons are at increased risk of developing early symptoms of asthma, suggests a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

23 Feb 2009

Steroids ineffective in young children with wheeze

New research involving medical experts at The University of Nottingham has found that steroid tablets do not reduce the symptoms of virus-induced wheezing in pre-school children.

23 Feb 2009

New approach to dental visits may ease kids' fears

For many children, a trip to the doctor or dentist is a stressful experience.

22 Feb 2009

States expand newborn screening for life-threatening disorders

Regardless of where they are born in the United States, nearly all newborns now receive mandated screening for many life-threatening disorders, a remarkable public health advance of the last four years, according to a new report issued today by the March of Dimes.

20 Feb 2009

Study examines the effects of indoor particulate matter pollution on asthma in children

A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found an association between increasing levels of indoor particulate matter pollution and the severity of asthma symptoms among children.

20 Feb 2009