https://medicalxpress.com/childrens-health-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Children's Health Often diagnosed in the teenage years, childhood-onset lupus is a serious, potentially fatal autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack itself. For as many as 10,000 U.S. youths, it can bring extreme fatigue, mood changes, pain and inflammation that affect many parts of the body. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-therapy-kids-lupus-sessions.html Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:00:02 EDT news695564219 A supplier of baby food jars in Austria is recalling a line saying a lethal substance may have been introduced through tampering. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-austria-recalls-baby-food-jars.html Sat, 18 Apr 2026 06:18:19 EDT news695711871 New research to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12–15 May) shows that living with obesity in childhood is associated with lower future levels of education, employment, and earnings. The study is by Dr. Lise Bjerregaard, Dr. Elisabeth Andersen, and research group leader Dr. Jennifer Lyn Baker of the Center for Clinical Research and Prevention, Copenhagen University Hospital—Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-childhood-obesity-shadow-slashing-pay.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:00:06 EDT news695625471 Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common virus that can cause severe respiratory illness in infants and young children, including lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia. It is a leading cause of infant hospitalization worldwide, with early-life infection linked to potential longer-term effects including recurrent wheeze or asthma, repeat hospital admissions and impaired lung health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-maternal-rsv-vaccination-infant-hospitalization.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:00:04 EDT news695625391 Most parents of children and adolescents aged 10 to 19 years are unaware that the U.S. federal minimum legal age (MLA) for tobacco sales is 21 years, according to research published online April 14 in Pediatrics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-parents-children-teens-unaware-minimum.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:20:05 EDT news695650981 Two previously unknown stem cell types appear to play a central role in children's height growth, according to a study from the University of Gothenburg. The study also shows that growth hormone can act directly on these cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-previously-unknown-stem-cells-power.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:00:03 EDT news695644681 Broken wrists are among the most common injuries in children, accounting for about half of children's fractures. Severely displaced distal radial fractures, where the bones move out of place, are often routinely treated with surgery. However—unlike adults—children have a remarkable ability to straighten broken bones, in a process called remodeling. Researchers questioned whether a plaster cast would achieve the same long-term result without exposing children to the risks of an operation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-large-trial-bone-superpower-children.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 04:00:01 EDT news695554804 In new research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey (12–15 May) and published in The Journal of Nutrition, a 42-year-old theory as to why children's body mass index (BMI) decreases post-infancy before then rising continuously from age 6 years—"the adiposity rebound"—is refuted using new analyses—rather than decreasing body fat, the real reason is proposed as increasing muscle mass. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-decades-obesity-theory-body-composition.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:00:10 EDT news695543570 Researchers at The University of Manchester have identified a range of key risk and protective factors influencing whether young people vape, drink alcohol, smoke or use drugs. Based on data from more than 30,000 pupils aged 12–15, the study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, provides one of the most comprehensive pictures to date of adolescent substance use in England, highlighting the importance of social, emotional and environmental influences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-teen-substance-linked-peer-pressure.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:00:02 EDT news695564612 A study conducted at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil reveals that tissues such as the tonsils and adenoids can serve as hiding places for the rhinovirus, which causes the common cold and is responsible for most respiratory infections worldwide. Using samples from 293 children who underwent surgery to remove these tissues, the study showed that the pathogen can infect immune cells known as lymphocytes and remain there for long periods without causing symptoms. This allows the virus to potentially be transmitted to others without warning. The findings are published in the Journal of Medical Virology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-cold-virus-tonsils-adenoids-people.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:40:04 EDT news695569141 A new study from MIT suggests that a carcinogen that has been found in medications and in drinking water contaminated by chemical plants may have a much more severe impact on children than adults. In a study of mice, the researchers found that juveniles exposed to drinking water containing this compound, known as NDMA, showed dramatically higher rates of DNA damage and cancer than adults. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-chemical-ndma-cancerous-mutations-early.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:20:08 EDT news695558761 Imagine you and your partner are sitting in the waiting room of your doctor's office, waiting for your appointment to get birth control—and instead of calculating how many other people will be called before you, or perusing old magazines, a nurse hands you a digital tablet and encourages you to play a game. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-health-video-game-bridge-communication.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 13:20:07 EDT news695561102 Babies who are exclusively breastfed for at least three months carry markers in their blood that differ from babies who are not breastfed. The finding comes from the largest study of its kind, conducted across an international consortium. Researchers studied blood sample data in children, looking at epigenetic marks across the genome. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-exclusive-breastfeeding-linked-term-dna.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:20:04 EDT news695535841 A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition, offers new insights into a decades-old puzzle in childhood obesity. The study found that while body mass index (BMI) starts to rise in early childhood during a stage known as adiposity rebound, when BMI increases after an initial decline, the waist-to-height ratio, a measure that better reflects body fat, continues to drop. This suggests that the BMI increase at this age mainly reflects growth in lean tissues such as muscle and bone, rather than extra body fat. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-decades-puzzle-childhood-body-fat.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 07:00:01 EDT news695464776 Research published earlier this year found the strongest evidence yet that the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has played a key role driving up autism diagnoses in Australia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-autism-largely-fueled-national-disability.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 20:40:01 EDT news695472781 Researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València, the Francesc de Borja University Hospital in Gandia and the La Ribera University Hospital, through the Fisabio Foundation, have found that sunlight passing through windows in homes is neither a safe nor a recommended alternative for preventing or treating neonatal jaundice, a condition affecting more than half of all newborns. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-exposing-newborns-sunlight-windows-jaundice.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 19:40:02 EDT news695488262 A University of Calgary-led study has found evidence that children with genes predisposing them to migraine might have an increased risk of having more headaches after a concussion, which are known to be linked to prolonged symptoms up to six months after the injury. Dr. Serena Orr, MD, an associate professor in the Cumming School of Medicine, and Dr. Keith Yeates, PhD, a professor in the Faculty of Arts, led the study which looked at over 600 children aged 8 to 16 who presented with symptoms of concussion, and followed them for six months post injury. The work is published in the journal Neurology Genetics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-link-migraine-genetics-concussion-headaches.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:00:05 EDT news695485202 New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) suggests schools relying on one-off well-being surveys may be overlooking students who need mental health support. The study, led by psychology researcher Dr. Shane Rogers, found that tracking students' moods over several weeks provides a more accurate picture than a single snapshot in time. The results are published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-school-mental-health-students.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:40:06 EDT news695476917 Efforts to identify and evaluate next-generation therapeutics for pediatric brain tumors are easily stymied by the quality and availability of laboratory models for research. To address this issue, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have developed patient-derived tumor organoids and tumor organoid xenografts that accurately reflect the biologic underpinnings of embryonal brain tumors. These models utilize the latest technical advances, allowing researchers to perform functional assays and preclinical drug testing faster without relying on newly obtained tumor samples. The models are available to other researchers upon request, providing a resource to help advance the field. The work appears in Science Advances. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-3d-brain-tumor-organoids-scientific.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:30:02 EDT news695492401 New research published in The European Journal of Endocrinology shows that increased total body fat mass and abdominal fat mass from late adolescence to early 20s, but not from the childhood period before this, predicts progressively worsening cardiac structural and functional outcomes by young adulthood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-future-heart-health-body-fat.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:00:03 EDT news695476947 Researchers at Cincinnati Children's, working with collaborators at University College London and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have identified a practical, data-centered strategy to reduce bias in artificial intelligence (AI) systems used in children's mental health care. The findings, published in Communications Medicine, address growing concern that AI tools designed to assist clinicians may not perform equally well across patient groups. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-method-advances-efforts-bias-ai.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:40:01 EDT news695486823 Adolescents who consume more ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have significantly higher odds of being overweight or obese, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Mekuriaw Nibret Aweke of the University of Gondar, Ethiopia, and colleagues. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ultra-food-intake-sharply-higher.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:00:11 EDT news695466061 When you have a baby, mealtimes can be messy and stressful. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-baby-solid-foods.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:00:04 EDT news695472841 New research from the University of Toronto suggests that children who drink whole-fat milk in early childhood may have lower odds of obesity in middle childhood than those who drink reduced-fat milk. The study adds to emerging evidence that lower-fat milk does not reduce child obesity, even though many dietary guidelines in the last three decades have encouraged low-fat dairy, including Canada's dietary guidelines from 2019. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-fat-lowers-child-obesity.html Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:40:01 EDT news695469482 Millions of neurons branch throughout our bodies, keeping them in close communication with our brains. This peripheral network begins to take shape long before birth, as the cells of a growing embryo move into position and adopt their specialized roles. This crucial stage of human development can't be monitored directly, but by examining genetic clues that linger in adult cells, scientists have now gained surprising insights into the developmental origins of the peripheral nervous system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-secrets-human-early-nerve-cell.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:00:01 EDT news695404502 A new Yale study shows how the timing of depression in mothers and fathers affects mental health in their adult children. This includes influences on depression, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-parental-depression-adult-children-mental.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:40:01 EDT news695401980 New waist-to-height cutoffs to assess fat mass and obesity predicted the risk of hypertension better than body mass index, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University in the US. The aim of the study was to externally validate new pediatric waist circumference-to-height ratio (WHtR)-estimated fat mass cutoffs for predicting the risk of elevated blood pressure and hypertension among a multiracial population of children and adults in the U.S. The work is published in The Journal of Nutrition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-waist-height-ratio-hypertension-bmi.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:20:01 EDT news695397601 An extensive register-based study conducted in Finland has found an increase in severe mental health problems among some adolescents and young adults who have undergone medical gender reassignment (GR). According to the research, young people who underwent gender identity assessments with the hope of receiving medical GR required psychiatric treatment for severe mental health problems three times more often than age-matched controls. The paper is published in the journal Acta Paediatrica. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-link-medical-gender-reassignment-mental.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:00:06 EDT news695395441 Over the past decade, as youth e-cigarette use reached what the Surgeon General labeled epidemic proportions, at least 30 U.S. states and numerous local municipalities have implemented excise taxes on electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) to curb consumption. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-vaping-taxes-teen-nicotine.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:40:03 EDT news695390101 The cerebellum, a part of the brain traditionally associated with balance and movement, is also important for more complex tasks like reading and spelling, a University of Alberta study suggests. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-links-brain-region-linguistic-ability.html Tue, 14 Apr 2026 07:40:01 EDT news695368261