Children

While the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, the U.S. continues to face a national health challenge – the effective and equitable care of individuals with Long COVID. While the federal government is responding to this condition, few of their undertakings directly address clinical care and the potential of disability compensation. To ensure the effective and equitable care

Researchers from the Epilepsy Neurogenetics Initiative (ENGIN) at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that across nearly 50,000 visits, patients continued to use telemedicine effectively even with the reopening of outpatient clinics a year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, prominent barriers for socially vulnerable families and racial and ethnic minorities persist, suggesting

A groundbreaking study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago determined the threshold for a new measure of early scarring in the esophagus of children with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), which allows immediate intervention during endoscopy to halt further damage and prevent food from getting stuck in the esophagus (feeding tube) of kids

Children with certain immunodeficiency diseases carry mutations in genes that regulate the body’s immune system against viral infections and they have a higher mortality rate due to COVID-19. This is according to a study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Most children infected with the

Exposure to blue light via regular use of tablets and smartphones may alter hormone levels and increase the risk of earlier puberty, according to data from a rat study presented today at the 60th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting. A longer duration of blue light exposure was associated with earlier puberty onset in

Critical Path Institute (C-Path) has announced it will serve as the convener of the Critical Path for Rare Neurodegenerative Diseases (CP-RND), a new public-private partnership (PPP) to benefit people across multiple rare neurodegenerative diseases, supported by a grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Agency announced the PPP today in a press

Close to 4 million babies are born in the United States every year, and within their first 48 hours nearly all are pricked in the heel so their blood can be tested for dozens of life-threatening genetic and metabolic problems. The heel-stick test is considered such a crucial public health measure that states typically require

Prenatal cannabis exposure following the middle of the first trimester—generally after five to six weeks of fetal development—is associated with attention, social, and behavioral problems that persist as the affected children progress into early adolescence (11 and 12 years of age), according to new research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part

A recent study published in Frontiers in Neurology found that the most common long COVID symptoms in the pediatric population showed a higher prevalence among patients in the age range of 6-17 years and were identical to those reported in adults. Although the neurological manifestations of post-COVID syndrome faded over time, the psychological impacts persisted, and more

In a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers performed epidemiologic modeling to update coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated caregiver and parent loss estimates. Study: Orphanhood and Caregiver Loss Among Children Based on New Global Excess COVID-19 Death Estimates. Image Credit: fizkes/Shutterstock Background Related Stories COVID-19–associated deaths have left millions of children bereaved of their caregivers

A recent study on the acceptance of insect food products published in Food and Quality Preference found that certain types of insect products were better liked by Danish children. Study: Acceptance of Insect Foods Among Danish Children: Effects of Information Provision, Food Neophobia, Disgust Sensitivity, and Species on Willingness to Try. Image Credit: Charoen Krung Photography/Shutterstock Background

A growing number of hospitals are outsourcing often-unprofitable outpatient services for their poorest patients by setting up independent, nonprofit organizations to provide primary care. Medicare and Medicaid pay these clinics, known as federally qualified health center look-alikes, significantly more than they would if the sites were owned by hospitals. Like the nearly 1,400 federally qualified

Researchers studying how children’s daily activities are associated with their health have developed a web app that shows users how reallocating time in their day from one activity to another could impact their health and academic performance. The new app and the data used to develop it are described in a paper published this week

Pregnant people who had bigger fluctuations in stress from one moment to the next-;also called lability-;had infants with more fear, sadness and distress at three months old than mothers with less stress variability, reports a new Northwestern University study that examined how a child’s developmental trajectory begins even before birth. Prior research has found that

Leading clinicians and medical researchers in India say they are aghast at the media reports that portray hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) — a common, relatively mild, viral infection afflicting children — as caused by a new virus responsible for what is dubbed as ‘tomato flu’. The reports appear to originate from the ‘correspondence’

In a recent study published in the Pediatrics journal, researchers assessed the epidemiology of neonatal coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections. Study: Epidemiology of Neonatal COVID-19 in the United States. Image Credit: Iryna Inshyna/Shutterstock Background Neonatal populations have lower rates of COVID-19 infection than adult and pediatric populations, presumably because of innate protective mechanisms. While newborns

Many transgender parents with children between one-and-a-half and six years of age hesitate to label their child’s gender identity, according to new research from a team at Penn State and Guilford College. In addition, the results suggest that many children with transgender parents play in ways that conform to gendered societal expectations, while others play

Several studies have shown that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causal agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, affects children with mild symptoms, unlike older age groups. There is a scarcity of research related to the assessment of durability and strength of antibodies generated in children post-COVID-19.  Study: Analysis of Neutralizing Antibody Levels

Researchers from University of Turku investigated how the vaccine mandate against the deadly childhood infection smallpox was successful at increasing vaccination coverage in 19th century Finland. Children’s vaccination event at the end of the 1890s as part of the smallpox vaccination campaign. Source: Finnish Heritage Agency Poor vaccine uptake in vaccination campaigns limits vaccine impact

Race was already known to matter when it came to health outcomes for infants with congenital heart disease (CHD), the most common birth defect, affecting 1 in 100 live births. In the first year of life, African Americans are 1.4 times more likely and Hispanics are 1.7 times more likely to die due to CHD

Tight control of blood sugar in teens with Type 1 diabetes may help reduce the disease’s damaging effects on the brain, effects which have been shown even in younger children, according to a study published online today in Nature Communications. The findings indicate that better glucose control can actually improve brain structure and function in

A new study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) RECOVER Pediatric Electronic Health Records (EHR) Cohort and authored by Suchitra Rao, MD, infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital Colorado, found that the risk of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), or long COVID, in children appears to be lower than what has been

Scientists have published new evidence showing that selective planting of vegetation between roads and playgrounds can substantially cut toxic traffic-derived air pollution reaching school children. The new findings, published this week in the journal Scientific Reports, demonstrate that roadside vegetation can be designed, installed and maintained to achieve rapid, significant and cost-effective improvement of air

A new study that could have immediate implications for COVID-19 testing in schools found that with age-appropriate instructions, school-aged children can successfully use a nasal swab to obtain their own COVID-19 test specimen. The study provides data to support recommendations regarding self-swabbing that can be implemented by schools and in other settings where children undergo

About 50% of all mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) had elevated levels of depressive symptoms over 18 months, while rates were much lower (6% to 13.6%) for mothers with neurotypical children in the same period, UCSF researchers report in a new study published August 26 in Family Process. In addition, while past

“It used to be rare to hear about a child with type 2 diabetes, but its prevalence in adolescents has almost doubled in the past 20 years,” said Dr. Kesley. “Type 2 diabetes is associated with rapidly progressive disease and early onset of complications and, unfortunately, was on the rise even prior to the COVID-19

Babies born with very low birth weight (VLBW), which is defined as less than 1.5 kg at birth, have altered gut microbiota as compared to healthy term babies. This is a risk factor for neonatal growth and slowing/arrest of growth in the hospital. To correct this, nutrition in hospitals could be designed with appropriate microbial

In a multi-site study of medical records, researchers at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and across the United States say they have documented a steep rise in type 2 diabetes among children during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a report on the findings, published Aug. 17 in The Journal of Pediatrics, the investigators note it is unclear