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One third of the children had been exposed to illegal drugs

Research, conducted by experts at the Centre for Drug Misuse Research at the University of Glasgow, involving a survey of 2,318 ten to twelve year olds in Glasgow and Newcastle, reveals a unique insight into the factors behind illegal drug use by preteen children

23 Sep 2004

Whooping cough at epidemic levels in New Zealand

The Ministry of Health's Dr Alison Roberts says "Numbers have been on the rise since June this year, but they really spiked up in August. We have been expecting an epidemic around now.

22 Sep 2004

Tiny babies may face development and behaviour problems

The long term difficulties facing Britain’s “miracle babies” are revealed by a new study following the lives of some of the tiniest infants born in this country.

22 Sep 2004

Abused or neglected children are more likely to develop heart disease as adults

The study is the first to suggest that ischemic heart disease in adulthood may be a possible long-term consequence of childhood trauma.

22 Sep 2004

Whooping cough at highest levels since 1997 in Western Australia

Western Australia is experiencing the highest level of whooping cough (pertussis) notifications since 1997, when more than 1200 cases were notified.

22 Sep 2004

Overweight children up to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke before age of 65

Overweight children are three to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke before they reach the age of 65 warns the World Heart Federation, an NGO dedicated to the prevention of heart disease and stroke, on World Heart Day, Sunday 26th September 2004.

20 Sep 2004

Increase in cases of pertussis (whooping cough) in Indiana

Pertussis is a contagious illness caused by bacteria. It occurs in infants and young children more often than older children and adults. Adults with milder, undiagnosed symptoms can transmit the disease to infants and children.

20 Sep 2004

Nicaraguan deaf children create a new sign language entirely their own

At a school in Managua, Nicaragua, deaf children are speaking a new language entirely their own, which nonetheless has remarkable similarities to the world's other languages. Researchers studying these similarities suggest this week in Science that, in fact, children give language its most fundamental, universal features just by the way they learn it.

18 Sep 2004

Adenotonsillectomy resolves child sleep disorders

Within the last ten years, the primary reason that children have had surgery to remove their tonsils and adenoids is not infection but obstructive sleep apnea.

18 Sep 2004

Hib infection on the rise in children despite vaccination programme

Cases of the Hib infection (haemophilus influenzae type b) among children and adults have risen in recent years, despite a vaccination programme which initially proved successful, say researchers in this week's BMJ.

17 Sep 2004

Two scoops of reading in the morning will improve children's literacy

Adjusting schedules to add reading time before or after breakfast will allow parents to make use of time when children are ready to learn rather than fall asleep, says Claudia McVicker, an assistant professor of elementary education in Ball State's Teachers College.

16 Sep 2004

Current methods of delivering health care to kids are woefully unable to cope with a pediatric disease pendulum

"There's a growing gap between where child health is moving and how we're attempting to deliver health care to kids," said pediatrician and health policy researcher Paul Wise, MD, MPH.

15 Sep 2004

Time spent in same-sex activities may advantage boys but disadvantage girls

Ten-year-olds' free time activities -- as well as whom they spend their free time with -- are linked to gender development, academic interests, school grades and self esteem at age 12, a Penn State study shows.

15 Sep 2004

Knowing which treatments work and which don't is an important first step in improving children's health care, but it's not enough

University of South Florida pediatrician Dr. Lisa Simpson says she knew enough to ignore a physician’s recommendation that treating repeated ear infections with ear tubes was important to her son’s eventual speech and language outcomes.

14 Sep 2004

Inhaled nitrite spray may help babies diagnosed with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn

Scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center and the Loma Linda University School of Medicine have found that use of an inhaled nitrite spray may help babies diagnosed with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN).

13 Sep 2004

Chronic illnesses among children not adequately addressed

Current methods of delivering health care to kids are woefully unable to cope with a pediatric disease pendulum that has swung from acute to chronic illnesses, says a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

13 Sep 2004

Corporal punishment can lead to more bad behavior by children

A new University of Michigan study that used stronger statistical controls than previous research lends additional support against corporal punishment, saying the effects can be detrimental to children.

10 Sep 2004

Efforts to prevent school children smoking are not targeted early enough, as children experimenting with tobacco by age seven

New Zealand based research on youth tobacco use suggests that current efforts to prevent school children smoking are not targeted early enough, as it found a significant number are already experimenting with tobacco by age seven.

10 Sep 2004

Program that targets allergens and tobacco smoke in the home resulted in fewer asthma symptoms in children

A program that targets allergens and tobacco smoke in the home resulted in fewer asthma symptoms in children participating in the intervention than in those who were not, according to a new study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in seven metropolitan areas nationwide.

10 Sep 2004

Childhood leukaemia significantly lower in Asia than in Western countries

The incidence of childhood leukaemia in Britain increased dramatically during the twentieth century. The increase has mainly affected the under-five age group, in whom the risk increased by more than 50 per cent during the second half of the century alone.

9 Sep 2004