THURSDAY, Aug. 4, 2022 (HealthDay News) – A “social contagion” theory that suggests teens, and girls in particular, are being influenced by their peers to become transgender is baseless, a new study finds. “The hypothesis that transgender and gender-diverse youth assigned female at birth identify as transgender due to social contagion does not hold up…  read on >  read on >

Numerous studies have found discrimination can hurt aspects of human health. Now, new research adds to that the impact of discrimination on the youngest humans by linking discrimination with a heightened risk of underweight and premature infants. Maternal death rates among Black and Indigenous women in the United States are two to three times higher…  read on >  read on >

Parechovirus, a virus that can cause severe illness in infants, is on the rise in parts of the United States. Twenty-nine infants were admitted to the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville this year, which includes 23 admitted during a six-week period this spring, according to a new study. By contrast, only…  read on >  read on >

COVID rebound, which struck both President Joe Biden and White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci recently, doesn’t just happen in those who take Paxlovid, a new study finds. Rebound symptoms were spotted in 27% of COVID-19 patients who hadn’t taken the antiviral pill, with about 12% testing positive again, researchers report. “It happens…  read on >  read on >

For peak performance, school-age children need more than a healthy diet and exercise. They also need plenty of sleep. A new study finds that elementary school kids who get less than nine hours of sleep each night show significant differences in some brain regions responsible for memory, intelligence and well-being compared to those who get…  read on >  read on >

Where you live may affect your fertility, a new study suggests. People who live in economically deprived neighborhoods are about 20% less likely to conceive, compared to people from areas with more resources, researchers said. Investments in deprived neighborhoods that address economic disparities may improve fertility in those areas, according to the authors, who researched…  read on >  read on >

More young children may struggle with eating disorders than previously thought, a new study reveals. Data on nearly 12,000 U.S. children between the ages of 9 and 10 that was collected as part of a federally funded study found that 5% had engaged in binge eating, researchers reported. Another 2.5% had taken measures to avoid…  read on >  read on >