Children's Health News

November 4, 2024

Top Headlines

Exposure to Particular Sources of Air Pollution Is Harmful to Children's Learning and Memory

Nov. 1, 2024 — A new study involving 8,500 children from across the United States has revealed that a form of air pollution, largely the product of agricultural emissions, is linked to poor learning and memory ...

Meta-Learning of Motor Skills in the Dorsal Premotor Cortex of the Brain

Oct. 31, 2024 — Researchers have discovered that the dorsal premotor cortex serves a 'meta-learning' function, overseeing and regulating physical movements. Once believed to be limited to movement planning, this region has now been shown, through computational ...

Researchers Solve Medical Mystery of Neurological Symptoms in Kids

Oct. 31, 2024 — A team of doctors and scientists have identified the cause of a rare disorder involving intellectual disability and brain malformations. The team found a link between the child's neurological symptoms and a genetic change that affects how proteins ...

Low-Level Lead Poisoning Is Still Pervasive in the US and Globally

Oct. 30, 2024 — Chronic, low-level lead poisoning is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease in adults and cognitive deficits in children, even at levels previously thought to be safe, Low-level lead poisoning is a risk factor for preterm. Annually 5.5 ...

Latest Headlines

updated 4:52pm EST

Childhood Overweight Is Associated With Socio-Economic Vulnerability

Nov. 4, 2024 — More children have overweight in regions with high rates of single parenthood, low education levels, low income and high child poverty. The pandemic may also have reinforced this ...

Study Demonstrates Efficacy of Iron Supplements for Children Living With HIV

Oct. 31, 2024 — A research team has found that giving iron supplements to children living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in sub-Saharan Africa could be an ...

The Dangerous Pursuit of Muscularity in Men and Adolescent Boys

Oct. 30, 2024 — Men and adolescent boys are increasingly at risk of resorting to the dangerous use of anabolic steroids in a bid to achieve the desired muscular build modeled on social media, warn body image ...

Cannabis Use During Pregnancy Can Impact Thinking and Learning Skills, Increase Aggression Among Children, Study Shows

Oct. 28, 2024 — As cannabis is legalized and is more accessible in various forms across the country, there is increasing concern among health care providers about ...

Childhood Attention Issues and Genetic Factors May Predict Psychosis Risk

Oct. 28, 2024 — Researchers have found that a person's risk of developing psychotic-like experiences may be influenced by both childhood attention problems and their genetic ...

Children's BMI Can Affect Their Future Lung Function

Oct. 28, 2024 — An abnormal BMI in children -- be it high or low -- can now be associated with impaired lung function, but if their BMI is normalized before they reach adulthood, the impairment can be offset, ...

How Limiting New Fast-Food Outlets May Reduce Childhood Obesity

Oct. 23, 2024 — Planning policies to restrict the number of new fast-food outlets leads to fewer overweight and obese children according to research. Researchers examined the impact of policy in the North East of ...

Let Sleeping Babies Lie: Scientists Highlight Negative Impacts of Sleep Disruption on Early Brain Development

Oct. 23, 2024 — Researchers show how sleep loss during early life impacts key aspects of brain development and how it can increase one's risk for developing autism ...

In Pioneering Study, Gene Technology Outperforms Standard Newborn Screening Tests

Oct. 24, 2024 — Early results from 4,000 babies show that genome sequencing picks up many more serious health conditions than standard newborn screening and is ...

Effects of Chemical Mixtures: Neurotoxic Effects Add Up

Oct. 17, 2024 — How do complex mixtures of chemicals affect our health? New research has shown that chemicals that occur in complex mixtures and in concentration ratios as found in humans act together. Even if the ...

The Salton Sea -- An Area Rich With Lithium -- Is a Hot Spot for Child Respiratory Issues

Nov. 1, 2024 — Windblown dust from the shrinking Salton Sea harms the respiratory health of children living nearby, triggering asthma, coughing, wheezing and disrupted sleep, USC research shows. The problem is ...

First Pediatric Guideline on Opioid Prescribing in Primary Care Focuses on Preventing Overdose

Oct. 31, 2024 — With its emphasis on opioid overdose prevention, the first guideline for primary care providers from the American Academy of Pediatrics on prescribing opioids for acute pain in children and ...

Dramatic Drop in Marijuana Use Among U.S. Youth Over a Decade (2011 to 2021)

Oct. 28, 2024 — Using a national survey of 88,183 adolescents in grades nine to 12, findings show marijuana use declined from 23.1% in 2011 to 15.8% in 2021, with first-time use before age 13 dropping from 8.1% to ...

Study Shows That Rett Syndrome in Females Is Not Just Less Severe, but Different

Oct. 17, 2024 — Symptoms and disease progression of Rett syndrome are different in females than males. A new study shows why it is important to understand these differences to develop better ...

Raising Happy Eaters: Unlocking the Secrets of Childhood Appetite

Oct. 17, 2024 — The foundation for healthy eating behavior starts in infancy. Young children learn to regulate their appetite through a combination of biological, psychological, and sociological factors. Researchers ...

Folic Acid May Mitigate Link Between Lead Exposure During Pregnancy and Autistic Behaviours in Children

Oct. 16, 2024 — A new study has found that folate may weaken the link between blood-lead levels in pregnant women and autistic-like behaviors in their ...

Boy or Girl? Researchers Identify Genetic Mutation That Increases Chance of Having a Daughter

Oct. 16, 2024 — Researchers have detected a human genetic variant that influences the sex ratio of children. Additionally, they found that many hidden genetic variants of sex ratio may exist in human ...

Why Leadership Outweighs an Interdisciplinary Mix in the Effectiveness of a Research Team

Oct. 15, 2024 — An analysis of a child health project reveals surprising factors in early-stage team ...

Good Physical Fitness from Childhood Protects Mental Health

Oct. 15, 2024 — A recent study found that good physical fitness from childhood to adolescence is linked to better mental health in adolescence. These results are significant and timely, as mental health problems are ...

Large-Scale Study of Children With Genetic Disorders Finds Huge Benefit of Diagnosis

Oct. 15, 2024 — Genetic results from the Deciphering Developmental Disorders (DDD) study have enabled thousands of children with severe developmental disorders to receive better ...

Survey Finds 25% of Adults Suspect They Have Undiagnosed ADHD

Oct. 14, 2024 — Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder -- also known as ADHD -- is typically thought of as a childhood condition. But more adults are realizing that their struggles with attention, focus and ...

Researchers Identify Signs Tied to More Severe Cases of RSV

Oct. 11, 2024 — Clinician-scientists analyzed samples from patients' airways and blood, finding distinct changes in children with severe cases of RSV, including an increase in the number of natural killer (NK) ...

Researchers Identify Neurodevelopmental Symptoms That Indicate Genetic Disorders

Oct. 11, 2024 — Researchers have found that motor delay and low muscle tone were common signs of an underlying genetic diagnosis in children with neurodevelopment ...

Maternal Exercise During Pregnancy May Protect the Child Against Asthma

Oct. 10, 2024 — The risk of asthma in the child can be reduced by nearly half if the mother engages in active physical exercise at least three times a week during pregnancy, compared to a child of a mother who is ...

New Research Identifies Key Mental Health Risk Factors for Children After Trauma

Oct. 10, 2024 — A new study has shed light on why some children and adolescents develop mental health disorders like PTSD, anxiety, or depression after experiencing a traumatic ...

Coffee During Pregnancy Safe for Baby's Brain Development, Study Suggests

Oct. 10, 2024 — A new study has failed to find any strong links between drinking coffee during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental difficulties in ...

Gene Therapy Shows Long-Term Benefit for Patients With a Rare Pediatric Brain Disease

Oct. 9, 2024 — Cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (CALD) is a rare progressive, genetic brain disease that primarily presents in young boys, causing loss of neurological function and ultimately leading to early death. ...

Neurons Look Different in Children With Autism, Research Finds

Oct. 9, 2024 — There is new evidence that the cells responsible for communication in the brain may be structured differently in children with autism. Researchers discovered that in some areas of the brain neuron ...

Toddlers Show Increased Physical Activity With a Robot Playmate Moving Around the Room

Oct. 9, 2024 — Parents seeking help in encouraging toddlers to be physically active may soon need to look no further than an inexpensive robotic buddy for their kids, a new study ...

Oh My Meniscus: Age Poses Risk of Further Knee Injury in Children

Oct. 8, 2024 — A research team evaluated the treatment outcomes for discoid lateral meniscus (DLM) with osteochondritis dissecans. Age was found to be a risk factor for osteochondritis dissecans relapse or ...