Pediatric care for kids who aren’t white is worse across the United States, a new study finds. Racial inequities for children of color are pervasive, extending from neonatal care, emergency medicine and surgery to treatment of developmental disabilities, mental health issues and pain, researchers say. “We now have more evidence than ever that pediatric care…  read on >  read on >

College freshmen who are more outgoing and agreeable — and less moody — are more likely to feel a sense of belonging at their new school, new research has found. Those personality traits could result in better academic performance and better mental health during college, the study authors concluded. However, two other important personality traits…  read on >  read on >

Stressed-out teens are likely to have more heart health risk factors in adulthood, a new study says. Teens with elevated stress levels tended to have high blood pressure, obesity and other heart risk factors as they aged, compared to those teens with less stress, researchers found. “Our findings suggest that perceived stress patterns over time…  read on >  read on >

Vaccination can protect young people — particularly teenagers– against long COVID, a new study finds. Records of more than 1 million U.S. kids showed that the COVID jab can effectively shield kids from long-term health problems related to the infection, according to findings published Jan. 16 in the journal Pediatrics. Using electronic health data from…  read on >  read on >