Obesity and the form of diabetes linked to it are taking an even worse toll on America’s youths than medical experts had realized. As obesity rates in children have climbed, so has the incidence of Type 2 diabetes, and a new study adds another worry: the disease progresses more rapidly in children than in adults and is harder to treat. “It’s frightening how severe this metabolic disease is in childre... (read more)
Pregnant women might now have one more good reason to watch their diet and exercise: A new study links autism and developmental delays in young children to metabolic conditions, like obesity and diabetes, in their mothers. The findings, published in Monday's edition of the journal Pediatrics, found that women who had diabetes or hypertension or were obese were 1.61 times as likely as healthy wo... (read more)
An increasing number of teens and young adults are turning to synthetic marijuana compounds with nicknames such as "K2," "Spice" and "Mr. Smiley" in search of a legal high. But as several new case reports point out, more and more teens and young adults who use these substances are turning up in hospitals with signs of intoxication. In the latest edition of the journal Pediatri... (read more)
Children aged 3 to 5 years whose mothers used methamphetamine during pregnancy have a higher risk of suffering from behavioral problems, researchers from Brown University in Providence reported in the journal Pediatrics. The authors wrote that the risk of developing depression or suffering from heightened anxiety was found to be greater among kids whose mothers used methamphetami... (read more)
Children who snore, or who have other night-time breathing conditions, are at risk from behavioural problems, according to a study. Sleep apnoea and snoring made conditions such as hyperactivity more likely later on, researchers said. The study, published in the US journal Pediatrics, looked at data on 11,000 children living in the UK. Lead researcher Dr Karen Bonuck said the sleep problems could be harming the devel... (read more)
Active video games are often touted as ways to help kids be more physically active—but don’t toss the basketball and jump rope just yet. A study finds that having active video games in the home may not translate into more exercise. The study, released Monday in the journal Pediatrics, tested video games among 78 children ages 9 to 12 with a body mass index between the 50th and the 99th perce... (read more)
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has published new guidelines for the use of the human papillomavirus vaccine and, for the first time, has specifically recommended use of the vaccine in adolescent boys as well as girls. The recommendations were published online February 27 and in the March print issue of Pediatrics. The vaccine was recommended for girls in 2006, but even though at that tim... (read more)
Fitting in can be a tough business for kids, especially for the boy who wants to play dress-up and the girl with the short haircut. Now a new study finds that children who display such gender non-conformity — activity choices, interests and pretend play that don’t conform with what’s expected of their gender — are more likely to suffer physical, psychological and sexual abuse and experience post-trau... (read more)
For many a frazzled parent, bedtime — their children’s, that is — is the best part of the day. But it can be hard to ease snooze-averse kids into bed, and now a new study confirms that this is an age-old problem: children have consistently gotten less sleep than recommended guidelines, for at least the past 100 years. Researchers from the University of South Australia did some historical spelunking, l... (read more)
A new government study reports that while fewer kids and teens are getting exposed to secondhand smoke while riding in the car, rates of exposure are still high enough to warrant concern. The authors recommend that more parts of the country ban smoking in cars carrying kids -- laws that are on the books in four states. In a survey of middle and high school students, close to one-third said they'd dri... (read more)
Autism tends to go hand in hand with a variety of other mental and behavioral conditions in kids, suggests a new study that highlights the fuzzy nature of autism diagnoses themselves. Researchers said that other disorders that often go along with autism -- such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or learning disabilities -- may complicate the diagnosis, or slow down any improvement in kids who ... (read more)
Potential playground hazards, a focus on classroom learning and boring play equipment have children spending too little time being physically active at daycare, according to a survey of staff members at child care centers in Ohio. "Physical activity is essential for kids in this age group for preventing obesity and for development," said lead study author Dr. Kristen Copeland, a professor at Cincinnat... (read more)
Teens are more likely to be obese if they had a poor emotional relationship with their mother when they were toddlers, according to a new study. The findings echo previous research showing that toddlers who didn't have close emotional ties with their parents were more likely to be obese by the time they were 4.5 years old. In the latest study, researchers examined U.S. National Institute of Child Health a... (read more)
A new study illustrates how influenza can quickly turn deadly — even among healthy kids. About one-third of children hospitalized in pediatric intensive-care units for H1N1 influenza during the first year of the pandemic were previously healthy, according to a new study in Pediatrics. Nearly one in 10 of all children sent to intensive care for the flu that year died, according to the study, which analyzes ... (read more)
The use of long acting β²-adrenergic receptor agonists (LABAs) in children increases the risk for an excess of serious asthma-related events, according to a study published online Oct. 24 in Pediatrics. Ann W. McMahon, M.D., from the Office of Pediatric Therapeutics at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Silver Spring, Md., and colleagues investigated the risk of serious asthma-related events wi... (read more)
Parents of infants and toddlers should limit the time their children spend in front of televisions, computers, self-described educational games and even grown-up shows playing in the background, the American Academy of Pediatrics warned on Tuesday. Video screen time provides no educational benefits for children under age 2 and leaves less room for activities that do, like interacting with other people and playing... (read more)
A new national study of US teenagers dispels the idea that normal shyness is the same as social phobia or social anxiety disorder, a disabling psychiatric condition where the person is overwhelmed by anxiety and excessive self-consciousness in everyday social or performance situations. Social phobia can also occur independently of shyness, say researchers from the US National Institute of Mental H... (read more)
Babies born with a low birth weight are five times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than those born at a normal weight, according to an American study published Monday. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing followed 862 children who were born in New Jersey from 1984 to 1987, each weighing between 500 grams (17.6 ounces) and two kilograms (4.4 pounds), for a period of 21 years. To continue reading, click the link below.
By age 6, children should have vaccinations against 14 diseases, in at least two dozen separate doses, the U.S. government advises. More than 1 in 10 parents reject that, refusing some shots or delaying others mainly because of safety concerns, a national survey found. Worries about vaccine safety were common even among parents whose kids were fully vaccinated: 1 in 5 among that group said they think delayi... (read more)
Pediatrics is an official peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In the inaugural January 1948 issue, the journal's first editor, Hugh McCulloch, articulated the journal's vision: "The content of the journal is... intended to encompass the needs of the whole child in his physiologic, mental, emotional, and social structure. The single word, Pediatrics, has been chosen to indicate this catholic intent."
Pediatrics has been continuously published by the American Academy of Pediatrics since January 1948. Pediatrics has the second highest impact factor (4.473, 2007 Thompson Journal Citation Reports) among all journals in the field of pediatrics. It is among the top 2% most-cited scientific and medical journals (38,973 total citations in 2007) and is the most-cited journal in the field of pediatrics.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org
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