Children's health
08 Feb 2008
Better childhood nutrition increases productivity
Feeding very young children a high-energy, high-protein supplement leads to increased economic productivity in adulthood, especially for men, according to a study by Emory University public health researcher Reynaldo Martorell, PhD, and a team of economists. The study, published in the Feb. 2, 2008 issue of the Lancet, is the…
Children's health
08 Feb 2008
Check immunization status for pertussis
Pertussis (whooping cough) is one of the leading causes of vaccine-preventable deaths worldwide, and its prevalence in the community is underestimated. Most deaths occur in young infants who are either unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated. A study published in the latest issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia, the journal of the Australasian…
Blood
08 Feb 2008
Risk factors for severe RSV infection in immunocompromised children
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital investigators and collaborators have shown how to predict if a child who is infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) while being treated for cancer or another catastrophic disease is at high risk for developing severe infection. The finding will help clinicians improve guidelines for managing…
Children's health
08 Feb 2008
Parents scared children overeat salt
Although the health problems associated with high blood pressure often do not appear until later in life, they are strongly influenced by childhood health. A consumer poll published on 31 January 2008 reveals parents’ concerns about salt levels in children’s foods, with 86 per cent of parents calling for more…
Children's health
08 Feb 2008
Car seat inserts keep baby breathing
Babies travelling in car seats should be provided with additional support to prevent blocking of their airway, research suggests. A research team from The University of Auckland, Auckland Hospital and the New Zealand Cot Death Association found that breathing problems were significantly reduced when young infants were placed in a…
Children's health
06 Feb 2008
Displaced Kenyans lack critical health care
WHO expresses concern for the health of the people who have fled their homes in the midst of the conflict in Kenya’s Rift Valley, and who are now sheltering around Nairobi, Eldoret, Nakuru and Naivasha. Since the unrest began at the end of December 2007, more than 800 people have…
Children's health
05 Feb 2008
Overweight mums have fatter kids
Mothers-to-be beware. Women who are overweight during pregnancy may be more likely to have fatter children susceptible to chronic health problems, Univeristy of New South Wales research shows. Research from Professor Margaret Morris, the head of UNSW’s Department of Pharmacology, indicates that obesity in motherhood leads to heavier babies, with…
Children's health
05 Feb 2008
Babies excrete vaccine-mercury quicker than originally thought
February’s issue of Pediatrics offers another reason to rethink blaming the spike in autism diagnoses on thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative routinely used in several childhood vaccines until the late ‘90s. New research from the University of Rochester suggests that infants’ bodies expel the thimerosal mercury much faster than once thought…
Bone
05 Feb 2008
Dairy-free diets may put boys with autism at risk for thin bones
Results of an early study suggest that dairy-free diets and unconventional food preferences could put boys with autism and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at higher than normal risk for thinner, less dense bones when compared to a group of boys the same age who do not have autism. The study,…
