Children’s Health

Pediatric Emergency Department (ED) encounters related to physical abuse decreased by 19 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a multicenter study published in the journal Pediatrics. While encounter rates with lower clinical severity dropped during the pandemic, encounter rates with higher clinical severity remained unchanged. This pattern raises concern for unrecognized harm, as opposed

UBC researchers demonstrated in 2019 that pre-schoolers can safely overcome peanut allergies with a treatment called oral immunotherapy. Now they have evidence that the earlier pre-schoolers start this treatment, the better. This real-world study focused on infants younger than 12 months old and reveals that not only is oral immunotherapy effective against peanut allergies, it’s

Surface sampling for SARS-CoV-2 RNA has shown promise to detect the exposure of environments to infected individuals shedding the virus who would not otherwise be detected. Now a new study, published in mSystems, an open access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, shows that the methodology used to detect COVID-19 in nasal swabs at

In a recent study published in the Jama Network Open journal, researchers investigated the impact of in utero exposure to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the neurodevelopment of infants. It is still unclear if a mother’s severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection affects her offspring’s neurodevelopment. However, the robust immune activation observed in

In a recent article posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, scientists assessed the efficacy of the primary and boosted regimens of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccinations in preventing SARS-CoV-2 Omicron-linked hospitalizations in the United States (US). ​​​​​​​Study: Vaccine Effectiveness of Primary Series and Booster Doses against Omicron Variant COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization in the

Horror stories of children trapped in hot cars make headlines, but air pollution and impacts from a changing climate are more constant threats. Children are at higher risk for health changes due to these impacts for a range of reasons, including the way their bodies metabolize toxins, need more air on a per pound basis,

While recommended screenings beginning at age 45 have helped decrease colorectal cancer cases in older adults, cancer rates are continuing to increase in younger populations. Since 2009, the rate of new colorectal cancer diagnoses in patients under age 50 has increased by 2% each year. When I started practice and residency around 2010, I’d uncommonly

Determining how SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19, moves from an early stage of infection, when patients are largely asymptomatic, into a later stage when people may experience life-threatening inflammation in the lungs, is a critical step in understanding how to target and treat the disease more efficiently. But that transition process is complex and cannot

A new study found that children ages 3 to 5 who consumed more ultraprocessed foods had poorer locomotor skills than children who consumed less of these foods. It also showed lower cardiovascular fitness in 12- to 15-year-olds who consumed more ultraprocessed foods. Although previous research has shown that consuming ultraprocessed foods is linked with a

A new study has revealed how acculturation -; the process of assimilating to a different culture -; can affect the dietary patterns of adolescents who move to the U.S. The researchers found that being born outside the U.S. and living in the U.S. for less time were associated with higher diet quality. The analysis also

Eating disorders are often misunderstood as lifestyle choices gone awry or oversimplified as the unfortunate result of societal pressures. These misconceptions obscure the fact that eating disorders are serious and potentially fatal mental illnesses that can be treated effectively with early intervention. Mortality rates for people with eating disorders are high compared to other mental

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common pediatric liver disease, affecting 5 to 8 million children in the United States. In NAFLD, the cells of the liver store large fat droplets, which can affect the function of the liver. Physicians have long observed a relationship between NAFLD and type 2 diabetes in adults,

Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center continues to rank as the No. 1 children’s hospital in North Carolina by U.S. News & World Report, with nine pediatric specialties ranked among the best in the nation. Duke Children’s also retained a prominent position in the region and nationally – ranking fourth in the southeast and 27th

The guts of infants are nearly sterile at birth, but they become a community of trillions of microbial cells, known as the microbiome, by the time they reach adulthood. For infants who are breastfed, their health is off to a solid start with milk that provides nutrients for good bacteria that fight off pathogens. But,

Diet-related chronic diseases are now considered a global pandemic. Thus, promoting better health amongst populations necessitates curtailing faulty and deleterious dietary patterns and evidence-based recommendations. The human gut microbiota plays a crucial part in modulating chronic diseases and the expression of the physiological effects of diet. A recent Cell Host & Microbe study discusses the

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics shows how frequently childcare insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and the effect it had on parental job loss. Employment disruptions due to childcare insecurity existed before the pandemic began, especially for parents of children with special medical needs. But shutdowns and other measures taken to prevent the spread

New research from UT Southwestern suggests that RNA exosomes – the cellular machines that degrade old molecules of RNA – play a key role in the development of B cells, which are critical to the immune system’s ability to protect against infection. The findings, published in Science Immunology, explain why patients with rare mutations in

Does dose reduction for patients on stable opioid therapy have long-term overdose and mental health risks? Researchers from the UC Davis Center for Healthcare Policy and Research examined the potential long-term risks of opioid dose tapering. They found that patients on stable but higher-dose opioid therapy who had their doses tapered by at least 15%

Several months ago, a lab technologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital mixed the blood components of two people: Alphonso Harried, who needed a kidney, and Pat Holterman-Hommes, who hoped to give him one. The goal was to see whether Harried’s body would instantly see Holterman-Hommes’ organ as a major threat and attack it before surgeons could finish

For the first time in the last 30 years, the consumption of ultra-processed foods among teenagers in the United States declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study presented at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in Atlanta, Ga. The decline in junk food consumption among teens took place in the wake