Children's health
12 Feb 2013
ADHD medication can slow growth in teenage boys
Adolescent boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to be shorter and slimmer than their same-age peers, according to a new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia. Dr Alison Poulton from the University of Sydney and her coauthors investigated the influence of stimulant medication on…
Children's health
07 Feb 2013
Kids being hospitalised for arthritis
Hospitalisation rates for juvenile arthritis are increasing, according to a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The report, A snapshot of juvenile arthritis, examines the prevalence, treatment and experience of arthritis in children aged 0 to 15 years old. ‘Juvenile arthritis is estimated to affect…
Children's health
01 Feb 2013
Video games benefit children: study
Children could be better off playing video games over the school holidays than watching television, a QUT study shows. Dr Penny Sweetser, Dr Daniel Johnson and Dr Peta Wyeth, from QUT’s Games Research and Interaction Design (GRID) Lab, investigated the amount of time children spent watching television and DVDs compared…
Children's health
31 Jan 2013
Sweet taste comforts babies during injections
Fictional character Mary Poppins may have been correct when she sang “a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” at least when it comes to injections for babies, according to a new systematic review published in the international Cochrane Library. The researchers found the sweet taste of sugar may…
Children's health
30 Jan 2013
Bullying causes significant emotional and physical consequences for children with autism
Nearly 70 percent of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience emotional trauma as a result of being bullied, according to findings published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, while a significant portion were concerned for their own safety at school. The study also found that children with…
Children's health
29 Jan 2013
Adolescent stress linked to severe adult mental illness
Working with mice, Johns Hopkins researchers have established a link between elevated levels of a stress hormone in adolescence – a critical time for brain development – and genetic changes that, in young adulthood, cause severe mental illness in those predisposed to it. The findings, reported in the journal Science,…
Children's health
29 Jan 2013
Low-income families can help their kids lose weight
When low-income families devote three to four extra minutes to regular family mealtimes, their children’s ability to achieve and maintain a normal weight improves measurably, according to a new University of Illinois study. “Children whose families engaged with each other over a 20-minute meal four times a week weighed significantly…
Children's health
25 Jan 2013
Limiting polyunsaturated fatty acid in pregnancy may influence body fat of children
Southampton researchers have demonstrated that mothers who have higher levels of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are found in cooking oils and nuts, during pregnancy have fatter children. The study, carried out by the Medical Research Council (MRC) Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, assessed the fat and muscle…
Children's health
25 Jan 2013
Human hearts generate new cells after birth
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital have found, for the first time that young humans (infants, children and adolescents) are capable of generating new heart muscle cells. These findings refute the long-held belief that the human heart grows after birth exclusively by enlargement of existing cells, and raise the possibility that…
