http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Pregnant mothers' exposure to the flu was associated with a nearly fourfold increased risk that their child would develop bipolar disorder in adulthood, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings add to mounting evidence of possible shared underlying causes and illness processes with schizophrenia, which some studies have also linked to prenatal exposure to influenza. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-flu-pregnancy-quadruple-child-bipolar.html Psychology & Psychiatry Tue, 14 May 2013 09:16:32 EST news287741770 Chemicals called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been used for decades to reduce fires in everyday products such as baby strollers, carpeting and electronics. A new study to be presented on Monday, May 6, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting shows that prenatal exposure to the flame retardants is associated with lower intelligence and hyperactivity in early childhood. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-flame-retardants-toxic-children.html Pediatrics Mon, 06 May 2013 05:20:03 EST news287034636 While water bottles may tout BPA-free labels and personal care products declare phthalates not among their ingredients, these assurances may not be enough. According to a study published February 27 in the Nature's Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, people may be exposed to these chemicals in their diets, even if their meals are organic and foods are prepared, cooked and stored in non-plastic containers. And children may be most vulnerable. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-contaminated-diet-contributes-phthalate-bisphenol.html Health Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:00:01 EST news281187338 Parents, teachers and psychologists know boys and girls behave differently. However, that difference isn't taken into account by most methods used to assess the risk to children from chemical exposure, according to Cheryl Rosenfeld, associate professor of biomedical sciences in the University of Missouri's Bond Life Sciences Center. A series of experiments by Rosenfeld studied the effects of prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) on later reproductive-associated behaviors using a socially and genetically monogamous rodent, the California mouse, which may better mirror most human societies than other rodents. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-bisphenol-affects-sex-specific-reproductive-behaviors.html Health Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:48:14 EST news279805678 (Medical Xpress)—Research on the communication trait of verbal aggressiveness, which includes behavior like name calling, ridicule, insults, racial epithets and threats, has tended to focus on its social causes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-aggression-womb.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 07 Jan 2013 06:26:46 EST news276762388 Children who had in-utero exposure to ischemic-hypoxic conditions, situations during which the brain is deprived of oxygen, were significantly more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life as compared to unexposed children, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the journal Pediatrics. The findings suggest that events in pregnancy may contribute to the occurrence of ADHD over and above well-known familial and genetic influences of the disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-association-oxygen-deprivation-birth-adhd.html Attention deficit disorders Mon, 10 Dec 2012 02:55:18 EST news274330506 Prenatal exposure to alcohol (PAE) can lead to serious deficiencies associated with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), such as impairments in general intelligence, adaptive function, verbal learning and memory, attention, executive function, and visual-spatial functioning. The role of family history of alcoholism (FHP) in the neurocognitive effects of PAE has not yet been studied. This study used neuroimaging to examine spatial working memory (SWM) in children with histories of heavy PAE and children with confirmed FHP but not PAE, finding that FHP may in fact have an impact on neural functioning of children with PAE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-family-history-alcoholism-effects-prenatal.html Addiction Tue, 16 Oct 2012 16:00:18 EST news269615091 Prenatal exposure to maternal cigarette smoking appears associated with an increased risk for adolescent obesity, and is possibly related to subtle structural variations in the brain that create a preference for eating fatty foods, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-prenatal-maternal-adolescent-obesity.html Overweight and Obesity Mon, 03 Sep 2012 16:00:01 EST news265890254 (HealthDay) -- Children who had significant prenatal exposure to alcohol may have delayed weight gain during infancy and alcohol-related growth restriction from early infancy until 9 years of age, researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-pregnancy-child-growth.html Addiction Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:29:54 EST news264259719 A new study is the first to find a difference between how boys and girls respond to prenatal exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health found that, at age 7, boys had greater difficulty with working memory, a key component of IQ, than girls with similar exposures. On the plus side, having nurturing parents improved working memory, especially in boys, although it did not lessen the negative cognitive effects of exposure to the chemical. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-boys-vulnerable-girls-insecticide-chlorpyrifos.html Health Wed, 08 Aug 2012 12:52:36 EST news263649142 Prenatal exposure to the environmental contaminants polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, causes long-term changes to the developing brain that have adverse effects on reproductive function later in life, a new study finds. Results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 94th Annual Meeting in Houston. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-exposure-environmental-chemicals-womb-reprograms.html Medical research Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:00:04 EST news259924984 Prenatal exposure to a ubiquitous household chemical called butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP) can increase a child's risk for developing eczema, according to research conducted at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-prenatal-exposure-common-household-chemical.html Health Tue, 26 Jun 2012 02:40:01 EST news259894876 Exposure to low doses of Bisphenol A (BPA) during gestation had immediate and long-lasting, trans-generational effects on the brain and social behaviors in mice, according to a recent study accepted for publication in the journal Endocrinology, a publication of The Endocrine Society. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-bpa-exposure-effects.html Health Fri, 15 Jun 2012 00:00:07 EST news258913862 The link between prenatal exposure to air pollution and childhood lung growth and respiratory ailments has been established by several studies in recent years, and now a new study suggests that these prenatal exposures can be especially serious for children with asthma. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-prenatal-exposure-pollution-dangerous-children.html Inflammatory disorders Sun, 20 May 2012 13:30:16 EST news256739375 Prenatal exposure to alcohol often results in disruption to the brain's cognitive and behavioral domains, which include executive function (EF) and adaptive functioning. A study of these domains in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), non-exposed children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and children without PAE or ADHD has found that, despite similarities in the relation between EF and adaptive abilities among children with ADHD or PAE, the patterns of abilities in these children were different. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-abilities-children-prenatal-alcohol-exposure.html Attention deficit disorders Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:01 EST news256309737 A citywide ban on public smoking in Colorado led to significant decreases in maternal smoking and preterm births, providing the first evidence in the U.S. that such interventions can impact maternal and fetal health, according to an article in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-maternal-preterm-birth.html Health Thu, 10 May 2012 13:05:07 EST news255873899 Overall, 17% of children in the United States are obese, and in inner-city neighborhoods, the prevalence is as high as 25%. While poor diets and physical inactivity are the main culprits, there is new evidence that air pollution can play a role. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-prenatal-exposure-air-pollution-linked.html Health Mon, 16 Apr 2012 12:37:28 EST news253798611 Among 6-month-old infants, a history of intrauterine antipsychotic medication exposure was associated with significantly lower scores on a standard test of neuromotor performance, according to a report published Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-links-intrauterine-antipsychotic-medication-exposure.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:00:03 EST news252590368 Remove your shoes at the door of your home to avoid tracking in pollutants. Decrease consumption of processed and canned foods. Avoid the use of plastics with recycling codes #3, #4 and #7. Don't use chemical tick and flea collars or dips for pets. Reproductive health care providers should share these tips and more scientific information with women who want to become pregnant or who are pregnant, but that does not always happen. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-reproductive-health-discuss-environmental-exposure.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:57:35 EST news250250238 New research by Australian scientists reveals that males who are exposed to high levels of testosterone before birth are twice as likely to experience delays in language development compared to females. The research, published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, focused on umbilical cord blood to explore the presence of testosterone when the language-related regions of a fetus' brain are undergoing a critical period of growth. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-prenatal-testosterone-linked-language-male.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:17:06 EST news246773797 A new study shows pregnant women exposed to armed conflict have a higher risk of giving birth to underweight babies, a result that could change the way aid is delivered to developing countries. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-birth-weights-armed-conflict.html Health Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:09:17 EST news246114552 Prenatal exposure to alcohol is associated with a spectrum of abnormalities, referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Physical features of the more serious Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) include smooth philtrum, thin vermillion border, short palpebral fissures, microcephaly, and growth deficiencies in weight and height. A new study has specified how specific quantities of alcohol exposure, patterns of drinking, and timing of exposure can have an impact on each of these features. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-quantify-alcohol-exposure-pregnancy.html Obstetrics & gynaecology Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:10 EST news245930122 A newly published study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health heightens concerns over the potential health effects on children of a group of ubiquitous chemicals known as phthalates. Phthalates are a class of chemicals that are known to disrupt the endocrine system, and are widely used in consumer products ranging from plastic toys, to household building materials, to shampoos. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-prenatal-exposure-phthalates-linked-decreased.html Health Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:15:49 EST news234497728 Children with severe asthma are 3.6 times more likely to have been exposed to tobacco smoking before birth – even without later exposure – than children with a mild form of the disease, according to a multicenter study led by researchers at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-pregnancy-linked-persistent-asthma-childhood.html Addiction Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:58:54 EST news233315922 Young adults whose mothers experienced psychological trauma during their pregnancies show signs of accelerated aging, a UC Irvine-led study found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-links-prenatal-exposure-stress-cell.html Medical research Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:30:03 EST news231432063 Prenatal exposure to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, especially during the first trimester, is associated with a modest increase the risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder, according to a report published Online First in the Archives of General Psychiatry. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-prenatal-exposure-antidepressants-modestly-autism.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 04 Jul 2011 16:00:01 EST news229008883 Overexposure to stress hormones in the womb can program the potential for adverse health effects in those children and the next generation, but effects vary depending on whether the mother or father transmits them, a new animal study suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-fetal-disease-parental-gender.html Health Sat, 04 Jun 2011 14:20:01 EST news226414098 If a pregnant woman is exposed to bisphenol A (BPA), especially during the first trimester, her child may be at higher risk of wheezing early in life, according to a study to be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-chemical-plastic-linked-wheezing-childhood.html Health Sun, 01 May 2011 05:28:00 EST news223446467 A scale used to assess the behavior of newborns exposed to methamphetamine before birth might be able to identify those children who will develop problems later on, according to a study that will be presented Sunday, May 1, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Denver. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-hard-arouse-calm.html Health Sun, 01 May 2011 05:27:28 EST news223446433 (PhysOrg.com) -- In a new study suggesting pesticides may be associated with the health and development of children, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health have found that prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides – widely used on food crops – is related to lower intelligence scores at age 7. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-prenatal-pesticide-exposure-tied-iq.html Health Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:39:22 EST news222579549