Sports safe for most kids with disabilities

A new study suggests that most disabled teenagers who take part in school sports programs have a low rate of injury, though some may be at relatively higher risk. Many special education programs in the U.S. offer competitive and non- competitive sports for students with mental and physical impairments. Whether these children are at particular risk for sprains, concussions and other injuries has not... Read more

Recess Makes for Better Students

As a pediatric resident in a hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., Dr. Romina M. Barros sat in on a regular first-grade class at a local elementary school. Classes started at 8:30 in the morning, lasting till noon, with one 10-minute break during which children were not allowed to talk or move from their chairs. “It was winter, and I thought maybe they didn’t go outside because of the weather,”... Read more

Preschool Lunch Doesn’t Always Pack Nutritious Punch

When parents pack their preschoolers’ lunches, they may be sacrificing nutrition by giving the children food they like. That’s one of the conclusions of a new study in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The study also found that 71 percent of packed lunches didn’t have enough fruits and vegetables, and that one in four preschool tots didn’t... Read more

MRSA rising in kids’ ear, nose, throat infections

Researchers say they found an “alarming” increase in children’s ear, nose and throat infections nationwide caused by dangerous drug-resistant staph germs. Other studies have shown rising numbers of skin infections in adults and children caused by these germs, nicknamed MRSA, but this is the first nationwide report on how common they are in deeper tissue infections in the head and... Read more

House gives Obama jump-start on health reform

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to expand a children’s health program and raise cigarette taxes to pay for it, giving President-elect Barack Obama a jump-start on a campaign promise to insure more Americans. Similar legislation was twice vetoed by President George W. Bush, who opposed raising tobacco taxes and argued that expanding the popular program would push more children... Read more

Mothers, Newborns at High Risk in Developing World

A pregnant woman living in one of the world’s poorest countries is 300 times more likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth than women living in more affluent nations, a UNICEF annual report released Thursday shows. The State of the World’s Children report also estimates that infants born in developing nations have a 14-fold higher chance of dying during their first month of life compared... Read more

Vicks VapoRub can harm children under 2

Vicks VapoRub, a common cold remedy, can cause respiratory distress in children under 2 when inappropriately applied directly under the nose, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. They said using the Procter & Gamble Co product in this way can cause a young child’s tiny airways to swell and fill with mucus, triggering severe breathing problems. “The only problem we’ve seen is in... Read more

Depression may underlie “transmission” of poverty

Children from poor families are more likely than their peers to be depressed as teenagers, with effects that can ultimately make it harder to climb out from poverty, a new study suggests. The study, which followed nearly 500 Iowa families for a decade, found that children in poorer families were at greater risk of depression symptoms by adolescence. These teenagers, in turn, were more likely to “grow... Read more

Vitamin D deficiency common in diabetic kids

Children and teenagers with type 1 diabetes may have a particularly high rate of deficiency in bone-building vitamin D, a small study suggests. The findings, say researchers, underscore the importance of adequate vitamin D intake for children with type 1 diabetes — who, studies suggest, are already at particular risk for bone loss as they grow older. Among 128 children and teens with the disease,... Read more

Mom’s infection raises risk of infant hearing loss

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. More than half of the population is infected with CMV, a type of herpesvirus. The virus rarely causes symptoms in adults with healthy immune symptoms. However, CMV can... Read more

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