Parent health sways views of asthmatic kids' health

January 2, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Parents' own chronic health problems may influence their perceptions of their asthmatic children's well-being, a new study suggests.

Preemies face some risk of psychiatric disorders

January 2, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Results of a Swedish population-wide study hint that children born prematurely have some risk of developing anxiety, depression or other psychiatric disorder in adolescence and young adulthood.

Uncorrected heart defect ups risk of infant death

January 1, 2009 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infants born with a congenital heart defect that goes uncorrected have a much greater risk of dying than their counterparts who have the heart defect corrected, suggest results of a new study.

Allergies unrelated to constipation in children

December 31, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The prevalence of allergies among children with chronic constipation is not significantly different from that of the general population -- and an allergy to cow's milk does not seem to be involved, researchers report in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Teens are influenced by health risks of smoking

December 31, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenagers who underestimate the risks of smoking -- or overestimate the social value -- are substantially more likely than their peers to take up the habit, a new study suggests.

Monthly newsletter helps new parents

December 30, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Monthly newsletters with parenting tips may offer a simple, low-cost way to help new parents through their baby's first year, a new study suggests.

Children may suffer mild altitude sickness

December 29, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Otherwise healthy older children and adolescents who visit high-altitude destinations may develop acute mountain sickness in the first few days after they arrive, results of a study indicate.

Obese kids who snore more sleepy in the daytime

December 29, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Obese children who have difficulty breathing while they sleep have excessive daytime sleepiness compared with slimmer children who are also chronic snorers, new research in the journal Pediatrics shows.

Bypass surgery may reverse diabetes in obese teens

December 29, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Type 2 diabetes usually resolves in extremely obese adolescents who undergo weight loss surgery, according to a review of 11 such patients treated at five centers in the United States.

Enriched formula has lasting benefits for preemies

December 24, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infants born prematurely at very low birth weights who are fed a special enriched formula, rather than standard formula, show better growth and bone mineral content during the first 2 months after hospital discharge, according to a study from France.

Vitamin D deficiency common in diabetic kids

December 24, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes may have a particularly high rate of deficiency in bone-building vitamin D, a small study suggests.

Mom's infection raises risk of infant hearing loss

December 23, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The risk of hearing loss due to congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is greater when the mother-to-be is infected with the virus in the first three months of pregnancy rather than later in the pregnancy, researchers have found.

Obese siblings of diabetic children at risk

December 22, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Compared with other overweight children, overweight siblings of children with type 2 diabetes mellitus have a significantly higher prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance, a risk factor for diabetes, according to researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Second-hand smoke tied to behavior problems in boys

December 22, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Boys with asthma who are exposed to higher levels of tobacco smoke at home are more likely to have behavioral problems, new research shows.

Bird flu vaccine protects children

December 22, 2008 — NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A vaccine to protect against infection with the bird flu virus, the pathogen experts fear is capable of causing pandemic disease in humans, proved safe and effective in a preliminary clinical trial with children, mirroring the results of a recent trial conducted in adults, Hungarian researchers report in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.