Tag: childhood

Childhood obesity persists into adolescence

(HealthDay)—Greater weight gain in early childhood often carries over to overweight and obesity in adolescence, according to a study published in the Oct. 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Mandy Geserick, from the University of Leipzig in Germany, and colleagues assessed the age at onset of obesity in a population-based sample of

Childhood risk profiles affect middle-age lung function

(HealthDay)—Profiles of childhood respiratory risk factors predict middle-age lung function levels and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) risk, according to a study published in the September issue of the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Dinh S. Bui, from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and colleagues assessed 11 childhood risk factor profiles (documented at

Lung inflammation from childhood asthma linked with later anxiety

Persistent lung inflammation may be one possible explanation for why having asthma during childhood increases your risk for developing anxiety later in life, according to Penn State researchers. In a study with mice, researchers found that childhood exposure to allergens was linked with persistent lung inflammation. It was also connected to changes in gene expression

Making chemotherapy kinder for childhood leukaemia

Chemotherapy often gets a bad reputation – mainly down to the side effects it can cause. This bad reputation can be hard to shake off. And it often stops people hearing the vast improvements that have been made in how chemotherapy is used. I can remember first learning about chemotherapy in my undergraduate pharmacology degree.

Spider venom strikes a blow against childhood epilepsy

A devastating form of childhood epilepsy that is resistant to traditional drugs may have met its match in spider venom. Researchers from The University of Queensland and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health discovered that a peptide in spider venom can restore the neural deficiencies that trigger seizures associated with Dravet syndrome. UQ

Recognizing early childhood speech problems

(HealthDay)—You eagerly await baby’s first words and delight at his growing vocabulary. But that excitement may cause you to miss speech problems that should be corrected quickly. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), many parents don’t know common warning signs of speech problems or that they’re easier to correct before age 4. At 12

Parents’ Childhood Affects Their Children’s Behavioral Health

TUESDAY, July 24, 2018 — Parents’ adverse childhood events (ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction, can impact their children’s lives, according to a study published online July 9 in Pediatrics. Adam Schickedanz, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of California in Los Angeles, and colleagues assessed whether parents’ ACEs confer intergenerational risk to their

To Fight Childhood Obesity, Moms to the Rescue

WEDNESDAY, July 4, 2018 — Moms can play a big role in combating America’s childhood obesity epidemic, researchers contend. The key: kids are less likely to be obese if their mothers follow five healthy habits, according to the report from Harvard. The five habits are: eating a healthy diet; exercising regularly; maintaining a healthy body

Learning disabilities diagnosed in childhood are associated with adult-age psychological wellbeing

Recently published research shows that learning disabilities (LD) diagnosed in childhood are associated with adult-age mental health problems, delays or difficulties in attaining an educational degree, and unemployment. In the longitudinal study conducted by the Niilo Mäki Institute and University of Jyväskylä Finland, individuals with childhood LD (n = 439) were compared to a population-based

Childhood poverty worse in school holidays

The summer holidays are supposed to be a happy and carefree time for school children but the reality is they are often stressful for children from low income families. A new paper, “The Cost of School Holidays for Children from Low Income Families,” published in the journal Childhood by researchers at the University of Glasgow,

Pregnant moms and their kids should limit added sugars to protect childhood cognition

A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has determined that poorer childhood cognition occurred, particularly in memory and learning, when pregnant women or their offspring consumed greater quantities of sugar. Substituting diet soda for sugar-sweetened versions during pregnancy also appeared to have negative effects. However, children’s fruit consumption had beneficial effects