As a U.S. Food Drug Administration advisory panel prepares to weigh whether to recommend that a birth control pill be sold over the counter in this country, a coalition of advocates on Monday called attention to the safety and effectiveness of the medication. If approved, Opill, a daily progestin-only birth control pill, would become the… read on > read on >
It’s easy for kids to get drawn into Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok, and a leading U.S. psychologists’ group warns they need some training in social media literacy beforehand. The American Psychological Association on Tuesday issued 10 science-based recommendations for teen and preteen social media use, the first time it has done so. The APA compares… read on > read on >
What puts kids at risk for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and what could help prevent it? A review of 36 observational studies that included 6.4 million kids offers some key clues. Taking antibiotics at an early age, eating a Western diet and living in a more affluent family were associated with an increased IBD… read on > read on >
The synthetic opioid fentanyl is killing increasing numbers of U.S. kids, emulating the chilling trends seen among adults, a new study finds. Pediatric deaths from fentanyl increased more than 30-fold between 2013 and 2021, according to study author Julie Gaither, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine. Nearly half of the… read on > read on >
While a lot of research has focused on autism in children, much less effort goes toward studying adults with autism. Now, two new reports find this group is at substantial risk for age-related physical conditions and injuries, as well as being particularly susceptible to certain mental health issues including loneliness, social isolation and lower quality… read on > read on >
While public health officials have expressed concerns about teens vaping, a new study suggests getting more to quit may be simple. Eliminating flavored e-cigarettes may reduce the use of vapes altogether in teens and young adults, the research found. “The restriction of the availability for certain e-cigarette e-liquid flavors has been considered by various regulatory… read on > read on >
While the typical recommendation is for women to start getting mammograms at age 40, the American College of Radiology has released new guidelines that call for all women to have a breast cancer risk assessment by age 25 to determine if they should start screening mammograms before they turn 40. This early step is particularly… read on > read on >
About a third of children with autism aren’t able to speak — but that doesn’t mean they’re unable to listen and comprehend, a new study reports. About 1 in 4 kids and teens who have autism and are minimally verbal understand significantly more language than they’re able to produce, said lead researcher Yanru Chen, a… read on > read on >
For young women who survive breast cancer, a new study offers some reassurance about pregnancy: Pausing hormonal therapy to have a baby does not raise the risk of a cancer recurrence, at least in the shorter term. A trial of more than 500 young women treated for breast cancer found no signs of harm from… read on > read on >
About half of extremely preterm babies have at least one life-threatening bacterial infection in their bloodstream after 72 hours of life. Now, new research points to the babies’ own gut microbiomes as the source. Knowing that the most common bacteria in bloodstream infections are also commonly found to colonize the gut without causing disease at… read on > read on >
