A new study finds that women who take folic acid supplements early in their pregnancy can substantially reduce their baby's chances of being born with a facial cleft. Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) found that 0.4 milligrams (mg) a day of folic acid reduced by one third the baby's risk of isolated cleft lip (with or without cleft palate). Folic acid is a B vitamin found in leafy vegetables, citrus...Sunday, 28-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
Many children feel pressure and discomfort in connection with their participation in sports. Adults in general think that children are exposed to tough pressure from their parents. Parents see others pressuring their children, but do not feel that they themselves do so. A majority of coaches feel that children are exposed to too much pressure in competitive sports. These are the findings of Christian Augustsson, a researcher at Karstad University in ...Wednesday, 24-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
Although several medications are available to help children maintain asthma control, clinical trials directly comparing them have not been conducted. In fact, current recommendations in national and international asthma guidelines are based either on studies of single treatments compared to a placebo in children or on comparison studies in adults.For the first time, researchers compared the effectiveness and safety of three different asthma medicines for initial daily therapy for school-a...Tuesday, 23-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
Childhood abuse could significantly increase the risk of psychosis in later life, according to research by University of Ulster psychologists.Using data from a large American epidemiological mental health survey, based on a nationally representative sample of over 5000 people, Dr Mark Shevlin and Dr Gary Adamson found that social and environmental factors, such as childhood abuse, could significantly increase the risk of psychosis in later life...Tuesday, 23-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
Two separate government reports highlight the economic costs of birth defects, focusing attention on the ongoing need for prevention. This week, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released reports detailing the expense and length of hospital stays for dozens of common birth defects.Average hospital stays for birth defects were 6.3 days and average costs $18,600 compared to 4.9 days and $8,200 for all admissions, a...Monday, 22-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
One the UK's most comprehensive investigations into fairness in education has uncovered disturbing failures in the way the system treats children from poorer backgrounds.The team from The University of Manchester's Centre for Equity in Education, led by Professors Mel Ainscow and Alan Dyson, examined how national strategies for education reform impact on children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.Among the findings of t...Sunday, 14-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
Children 8 to 12 years old are just as adept as teenagers at handling and wearing contact lenses."Optometrists traditionally don't prescribe contact lenses to children until they are at least 12 years old," said Jeffrey Walline, an assistant professor of optometry at Ohio State University. "But we found that younger children are just as responsible ...Wednesday, 10-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
An outdated physical education syllabus is failing the fitness of our school children according to Olympic and physical education expert Sheila Wigmore from Sheffield Hallam University. She also highlights the importance of the 2012 Olympics in helping shine a positive light on the UK following the involvement in the Middle East crisis. A member of several British Olympic groups and sport lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, Sheila Wigmore cla...Tuesday, 9-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
McMaster University pediatric cancer specialist Dr. Ronald Barr says the teen gap in cancer care has been overlooked for far too long. Statistics show that gains in survival rates for teenagers and young adults (age 15 - 29) with cancer are dismal when compared to those for youngsters and older adults with the disease."While there have been improvements in survival in children and older adults in recent decades there has been no such impr...Wednesday, 3-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]
According to a study published in the journal SLEEP, sleep-disturbed children are more severely depressed and have more depressive symptoms and comorbid anxiety disorders compared with children without sleep disturbance. To ensure the most effective care, parents of sleep-disturbed children are advised to first consult with the child's pediatrician, who may issue a referral to a sleep specialist for comprehensive testing and treatment....Tuesday, 2-Jan-2007 / [ Details... ]