Fetal growth restriction, particularly in preterm children, is associated with delayed development and poor growth. Knowledge about the consequences of fetal growth restriction if classified by symmetry is lacking, especially in preterm children.

In preterm children, symmetric and asymmetric growth restriction at birth results in poorer growth later in life. Both groups are at considerable risk of developmental delay because their long-term development is independent of their head circumference at birth. (Read the full article)

Asthma morbidity disproportionately affects racial minorities and disadvantaged children. Differences in socioeconomic status and genetics have been offered as explanations but an in-depth understanding of differences in hardships may better explain disparities and also help to identify intervention targets.

Among children admitted for asthma, African Americans were twice as likely to be readmitted as whites. Nearly half the disparity was explained by socioeconomic status and hardships. Community-based interventions targeting hardships may be more feasible given emerging health care payment reform. (Read the full article)

High sodium intake is considered an indirect cause of obesity because it is often accompanied by higher energy intake and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption. High sodium intake is associated with increased inflammatory response in adult patients.

This study shows that high sodium intake is positively associated with adiposity, leptin, and tumor necrosis factor-α independent of total energy intake and sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption in healthy white and African American adolescents. (Read the full article)

Concerns have been raised that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination could lead to riskier behaviors in vaccinated adolescents, but it is unknown whether changes in risk perceptions after vaccination lead to riskier sexual behaviors.

Risk perceptions following HPV vaccination were not associated with subsequent riskier sexual behaviors in sexually experienced and inexperienced young women. These data contribute to the growing evidence that HPV vaccination does not lead to changes in sexual behaviors among adolescents. (Read the full article)

It is known that adult language input is important to healthy language development and that preterm infants are at risk for language delay.

This is the first study to provide evidence that preterm infants’ exposure to adult words in the NICU before the mother’s due date are associated with better cognitive and language outcomes at 7 and 18 months’ corrected age. (Read the full article)

More than 60% of all US tuberculosis cases occur among foreign-born persons, but ~90% of cases in young children occur among US-born; many of these children have foreign-born parents, suggesting that this is an important population for prevention.

This is the first study to calculate tuberculosis rates in US-born children by parental nativity. Compared with US-born children with US-born parents, rates were 32 times higher in foreign-born children and 6 times higher in US-born children with foreign-born parents. (Read the full article)

The majority of caffeine intake among children and adolescents is due to soda and tea consumption. Energy drinks, which provide a potent source of caffeine, have increased in availability in the United States in recent years.

This analysis presents trends in caffeine intake between 1999 and 2010, which have previously not been described in the United States, and reveals the impact of increasing energy drink use, also previously not described, on these trends among children and adolescents. (Read the full article)

Although fertility rates among adolescents have declined in recent years, certain groups of adolescent girls remain at risk. Whereas adolescents with major mental illness have many risk factors for teenage pregnancy, their fertility rates have not been yet to be examined.

Fertility rates among adolescent girls with major mental illness are almost 3 times higher than among unaffected adolescents and are not decreasing to the same extent. Mental health considerations are highly important for pregnancy prevention and for perinatal interventions targeting adolescents. (Read the full article)

A growing body of research suggests that the food environment affects children’s weight. Specifically, living in areas with higher-priced fast foods and soda is associated with lower weight and BMI, whereas higher fruit and vegetable prices demonstrate the opposite association.

Using longitudinal data on lower-income young children, this study finds that higher-priced fruits and vegetables are associated with higher child BMI, but not food insecurity, and that this relationship is driven by the prices of fresh fruits and vegetables. (Read the full article)

Current guidelines recommend renal ultrasound as a screening test after febrile urinary tract infection, with voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) only if the ultrasound is abnormal. Few studies have evaluated the accuracy of ultrasound as a screening test for VCUG-identified abnormalities.

This study shows that ultrasound is a poor screening test for genitourinary abnormalities identified on VCUG, such as vesicoureteral reflux. Neither positive nor negative ultrasounds reliably identify or rule out such abnormalities. Ultrasound and VCUG provide different, but complementary, information. (Read the full article)

Income inequality is positively associated with several adverse child health and well-being outcomes. There is no existing research investigating the relationship between income inequality and child maltreatment rates.

This study is the first to demonstrate that increases in income inequality are associated with increases in child maltreatment rates at the county level. (Read the full article)

Greater numbers of invasive procedures from birth to term-equivalent age, adjusted for clinical confounders, are associated with altered brain microstructure during neonatal care and poorer cognitive outcome at 18 months’ corrected age in children born very preterm.

Altered myelination at school age is associated with greater numbers of invasive procedures during hospitalization in very preterm children without severe brain injury or neurosensory impairment. Greater numbers of invasive procedures and altered brain microstructure interact to predict lower IQ. (Read the full article)

In children with congenital toxoplasmosis, ocular lesions can be detected and may relapse after birth despite pre- and postnatal treatment. Long-term ocular outcome beyond puberty and associated prognostic factors are unknown due to limited follow-up.

Our study in 477 patients with treated congenital toxoplasmosis who were followed up to 22 years indicated that new ocular lesions can be detected well into adolescence (with a cumulative probability at 18 years of almost 50%), but they rarely cause severe visual impairment. (Read the full article)

Viral wheezing is common in preschool-aged children. The efficacy of inhaled steroids in preventing viral wheezing is debated. Despite this debate, nebulized beclomethasone is widely prescribed (particularly in a few countries) to children with upper respiratory tract infections.

Findings from this study confirm that inhaled steroids are not effective in preventing viral wheezing. Moreover, no differences were found in the persistence of symptoms (eg, runny nose, sore throat) or in the parental perception of asthma-like symptom severity. (Read the full article)

There is conflicting evidence about the relationship between dental caries in primary teeth and children’s height and weight.

Findings reveal an inverse linear association between caries levels and children’s height and weight. The findings take the argument beyond the presence or absence of an association and provide a better understanding of the pattern of this association. (Read the full article)

Preterm infants must develop oral feeding skills before successfully transitioning to home. Pacifier-activated devices playing selected music can improve nonnutritive sucking in preterm infants. A mother’s voice is a positive auditory stimulus for infants.

A brief intervention with a pacifier-activated music player using mother’s voice can decrease tube feeding duration without adverse effects on stress or growth. Operant conditioning with positive reinforcement is an effective developmental strategy to improve preterm infants’ feeding skills. (Read the full article)

Pulse oximeter is better than skin color assessment in the initial minutes of life. After sensor application, a delay occurs in the display of reliable saturation and heart rate. An appropriate method of sensor placement can minimize the delay.

Attaching sensor first to oximeter and then to neonate picked up signal faster than attaching it to the neonate first and then to the equipment. However, the time from birth to display of reliable signal was similar between the methods. (Read the full article)

There are misconceptions regarding childhood phimosis. Textbooks still teach that male children should have retractable foreskin by age 3. Young children are referred for evaluation for phimosis, which is a commonly used diagnosis for postneonatal circumcision.

We found a high prevalence of physiologic phimosis in kindergarten children, up to 44% at age 6. We also reviewed the incidence of other congenital abnormalities in this coastal Chinese city. The management and complications of these conditions were analyzed. (Read the full article)

Preterm (PT) birth is negatively associated with growth. Particularly small for gestational age PT infants are at risk for delays in growth, whereas knowledge about the consequences regarding growth of large for gestational age PT birth is lacking.

During infancy, growth in height, weight, and head circumference of large for gestational age PT infants was well balanced and sufficient. Subsequently, however, weight gain accelerated and resulted in high BMIs compared with the World Health Organization Multicentre Growth Reference Study population. (Read the full article)

Juvenile-onset fibromyalgia (JFM) is a poorly understood chronic pain condition, typically identified in adolescence and accompanied by physical and social impairment and mood difficulties. There are no long-term studies on the prognosis of adolescents with JFM into adulthood.

This prospective study demonstrated that pain and other symptoms persisted into adulthood for >80% of JFM patients, with associated impairments in physical functioning and mood. At follow-up, one-half of the sample met full criteria for adult fibromyalgia. (Read the full article)

Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction allows sensitive detection of respiratory viruses. The clinical significance of detection of specific viruses is not fully understood, however, and several viruses have been detected in the respiratory tract of asymptomatic children.

Our results indicate that quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction is limited at distinguishing acute infection from detection in asymptomatic children for rhinovirus, bocavirus, adenovirus, enterovirus, and coronavirus. (Read the full article)

Many parenting Web sites encourage use of infant "sleep machines" to play ambient noise while infants sleep. Noise recommendations for hospital nurseries suggest a limit of 50 A-weighted dB, whereas occupational standards limit exposure times for noise >85 A-weighted dB.

We measured the maximum sound level outputs of infant sleep machines and found that several devices are capable of producing levels that may be damaging to infant hearing and may be detrimental to auditory development. (Read the full article)

Maintaining high levels of measles-mumps-rubella immunization is an important public health priority that has been threatened by discredited claims about the safety of the vaccine. Relatively little is known about what messages are effective in overcoming parental reluctance to vaccinate.

Pro-vaccine messages do not always work as intended. The effectiveness of those messages may vary depending on existing parental attitudes toward vaccines. For some parents, they may actually increase misperceptions or reduce vaccination intention. (Read the full article)

The first evaluation of the economic impact of all vaccines in the routine US childhood immunization schedule assessed the 2001 schedule (excluding pneumococcal conjugate and influenza vaccines) and documented substantial cost savings over the lifetimes of the cohort of children born in 2001.

This report updates our previous evaluation, and estimates the costs and benefits of vaccinating the cohort of children born in 2009. We include vaccines routinely recommended for children in 2009. (Read the full article)

Existing literature indicates relationships between BMI, physical activity, sleep patterns, eating behavior, and health-related quality of life in children and adolescents. However, many previous studies have used non–preference-based instruments, which are not suitable for application within economic evaluation.

The Child Health Utility 9D, a new preference-based health-related quality of life instrument for application in economic evaluation in children and adolescents, revealed stronger associations between utilities and sleep patterns or eating behavior than with BMI, physical activity, or sedentary behavior. (Read the full article)

Kidney transplantation is the optimal treatment of children with end-stage renal disease. The field of pediatric kidney transplantation has changed over time with regard to immunosuppression, surgical technique, organ allocation policy, and rates of living donor transplantation.

Outcomes after pediatric kidney transplantation in the United States have improved over time, independent of changes in recipient, donor, and transplant characteristics. These improvements were most dramatic within the first posttransplant year and among the most highly sensitized patients. (Read the full article)

Mobile devices are ubiquitous in children’s lives, but how caregivers and children use them in everyday situations, and how use of devices affects caregiver–child interactions, has not been studied.

In naturalistic mealtime observations, we documented the behavior of many caregivers whose attention was highly absorbed in their mobile devices, with varying child reactions to this absorption. This study raises several hypotheses about mobile device use and caregiver-child interaction. (Read the full article)

We previously reported that parents of children enrolled in genomic research made more restrictive data sharing (DS) decisions than adults. The ethics of pediatric DS have been discussed, but reasons for differences in decision-making have not been explored.

We present an empirically based discussion of attitudes toward and preferences for DS obtained from structured interviews of adult patients and parents of pediatric patients enrolled in genomic research studies. Parents expressed more concern about future risks than adult participants. (Read the full article)

Individuals living in Mediterranean countries have historically had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Important changes in diet and lifestyle have taken place in these countries in recent years, and it is unknown how these changes might influence current cardiovascular health.

Fitness and fatness levels indicate that urban adolescents from southern Europe are less healthy than those from central northern Europe. The extent to which these differences might be explained by physical activity, diet, and genetics is analyzed and discussed in this article. (Read the full article)

Diarrhea still remains as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Intervention to reduce this risk are needed. Evidence on the effect of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 to prevent diarrhea in children is scarce.

In healthy children attending day care centers, daily administration of L reuteri DSM 17938 had a significant effect in reducing episodes and duration of diarrhea and respiratory tract infections, with consequent cost saving for the community. (Read the full article)

Although expert consensus and previous literature document the importance of early feeding and activity behaviors and practices in preventing obesity and the risks of early rapid weight gain, few studies have rigorously assessed obesity-related behaviors by caregivers of infants.

This study demonstrates the high prevalence of behaviors thought to increase risk for obesity in a diverse, large sample of parent/2-month-old dyads and finds that many behaviors vary by race and ethnicity, suggesting the potential for culturally tailored interventions. (Read the full article)

Initial studies in children and young adults have identified higher levels of anxiety and lower quality of life scores in patients with implantable cardioverter–defibrillators. Few studies are available looking at the same questions in young patients with pacemakers.

Anxiety is highly prevalent in young patients with ICDs, but the higher rates can be attributed to medical disease severity and age at implantation rather than type of device. Patients with pacemakers have depression and anxiety but at lower rates. (Read the full article)

Physical activity is beneficial to health. Parents are crucial in shaping children’s behaviors, with active mothers appearing to have active children. Little is known about this association in preschool-aged children, or about factors influencing activity in mothers of young children.

Mother-child physical activity levels were positively associated and influenced by temporal and demographic factors. Maternal activity levels were low, and influences differ by activity intensity. Health promotion efforts to increase activity in mothers may also benefit their young children. (Read the full article)

The familial nature of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) is well recognized. Several studies have shown that siblings of children with VUR are at much higher risk for reflux than the general pediatric population with a reported prevalence between 26% and 50%.

There is increased risk of renal cortical abnormalities in siblings with a previous urinary tract infection, siblings with high-grade VUR, and siblings >1 year of age. This information may be useful when counseling parents about the risk of familial VUR. (Read the full article)

Integrated or collaborative care intervention models have revealed gains in provider care processes and outcomes in adult, child, and adolescent populations with mental health disorders. However optimistic, conclusions are not definitive due to methodologic limitations and a dearth of studies.

This randomized trial provides further evidence for the efficacy of an on-site intervention (Doctor Office Collaborative Care) coordinated by care managers for children's behavior problems. The findings provide support for integrated behavioral health care using novel provider and caregiver outcomes. (Read the full article)

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening condition and often the presenting symptom of newly diagnosed type 1 or type 2 diabetes in youth. SEARCH previously reported that the prevalence of DKA at diagnosis was 25.5% in 2002–2003.

DKA in youth with type 1 diabetes remains a problem, with almost one-third presenting with DKA. Among youth with type 2 diabetes, DKA was less common and decreased by ~10% per year, suggesting improved detection or earlier diagnosis. (Read the full article)

Resistance exercise is known to have a robust effect on glycemic control and cardiometabolic health among children and adolescents, even in the absence of weight loss.

Normalized strength capacity is associated with lower cardiometabolic risk clustering in boys and girls, even after adjustment for cardiorespiratory fitness, level of physical activity, and BMI. (Read the full article)

The incidence of Kawasaki disease is increasing in many countries. The only reported Australian incidence (3.4/100 000 <5 years) is almost 20 years old and the current Australian epidemiology and outcomes are unknown.

We analyzed 30 years’ total population hospitalization data from Western Australia. Kawasaki disease incidence increased markedly from 1979 to 2009 and is currently 9.34/100 000 <5 years. The epidemiology and cardiovascular outcomes are similar to other predominantly European-Caucasian populations. (Read the full article)

Scabies is a frequent cause of consultation and has recently been classified as a neglected disease. The clinical presentation seems to be linked with age, although no specific study has aimed to delineate the clinical spectrum of scabies in infants and children.

Scabies in infants and children has distinct clinical features. This prospective observational study found that infants were more likely to have relapse, nodules, and to present involvement with extremities, face, and scalp, arguing for specific cares in this age group. (Read the full article)

Guidelines recommend that primary care physicians provide preventive dental services to young children. Most state Medicaid programs reimburse physicians for providing fluoride varnish. Individual-level studies show that these services are effective in reducing caries-related treatments and costs.

Preventive dental services provided through a North Carolina Medicaid preventive dental program led to a reduction in dental caries among young children statewide. Programs targeting vulnerable populations through medical offices can reduce disparities in oral health among preschool-aged populations. (Read the full article)

Preterm infants have transiently lowered thyroid hormone levels during the early postnatal period. Past research suggests that low thyroid hormone levels are related to cognitive and developmental deficits in children born preterm.

Contrary to expectations, in this study of children born <30 weeks’ gestation, higher concentrations of free thyroxine over the first 6 weeks of life were associated with poorer cognitive function at 7 years of age. (Read the full article)

Breast tissue may be most sensitive to environmental exposures during adolescence. Carotenoids, a group of pigments found in fruits and vegetables, have antioxidative/antiproliferative properties and may reduce breast cancer risk. Benign breast disease (BBD) is an independent breast cancer risk factor.

In this prospective cohort study, higher adolescent intakes of β-carotene were associated with a lower risk of BBD in young women. BBD prevention may be one of the many positive health effects of fruit and vegetable consumption. (Read the full article)

Many studies have demonstrated that the built environment is related to both collision risk and walking to school. However, little research examines the influence of the built environment on the relationship between walking to school and pedestrian collision risk.

Increased walking was not associated with increased pedestrian collision once the effects of the built environment and socioeconomic status were modeled. Safety was related primarily to the built environment and specifically features related to road crossing. (Read the full article)

Maternal prepregnancy obesity is associated with an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children, but previous studies have not taken paternal obesity into account. This has precluded differentiation between the effects of intrauterine exposures and potential genetic associations.

Robust associations were demonstrated between paternal obesity and the risk of autistic disorder and Asperger disorder in children. This study is the first to implicate paternal obesity as a risk factor for autism, and replication is warranted. (Read the full article)

Rapid and reliable tools for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis are still unavailable. No single biomarker studied has yielded conclusive results. Genome-wide expression profiles (GWEPs) have been successfully determined for the diagnosis of sepsis in pediatric and adult populations.

GWEPs are described for the first time in very low birth weight infants with proven bacterial sepsis. Our results suggest that GWEPs could be used for early discrimination of septic newborn versus nonseptic infants. (Read the full article)

In parts of sub-Saharan Africa, sexual assault incidence among adolescents is as high as 24%, resulting in serious physical and mental health problems. In the United States, empowerment and self-defense training have been shown to decrease incidence of sexual assault.

This study evaluated an empowerment and self-defense training intervention for adolescent girls in the African context. This intervention proved highly effective at preventing sexual assault and should be replicable in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world. (Read the full article)

Many young children are at risk for caries, which is the most common chronic disease of childhood. As primary teeth begin to develop in utero, prenatal influences are believed to affect the integrity of enamel and subsequent resistance to decay.

This study shows, for the first time, that maternal prenatal 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels may have an influence on the primary dentition and the development of early childhood caries. Specifically, lower levels are associated with increased risk of caries in infants. (Read the full article)

A national probability study based on time diaries for 2 days indicated that black and white adolescents get close to the recommended amount of sleep. Sleep should be measured by using multiple methods to get an accurate picture of adolescent sleep.

Based on actigraphy and daily diary assessments, healthy adolescents from a lower socioeconomic community got less than the recommended amount of sleep; black male students were likely to have short, fragmented sleep, which may play a role in their health risks. (Read the full article)

In the United States, given the high burden of disease, influenza vaccine is recommended for all children from age 6 months. The paucity of vaccine effectiveness data in children <2 years has led some to argue against routine vaccination in this age group.

This study reveals the effectiveness of trivalent influenza vaccine in young children and supports the current Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation. This study provides the strongest evidence to date confirming the effectiveness of trivalent influenza vaccine in children <2 years of age. (Read the full article)

Previous studies that reported learning deficits among children with oral clefts mostly used small, clinic-based samples prone to ascertainment bias. No previous studies in the United States have used a population-based sample and direct testing of academic achievement.

Using a large population-based sample from the United States and standardized school tests for achievement, we found that children with oral clefts scored significantly lower than their classmates on all evaluated domains of achievement and had higher rates of learning disability. (Read the full article)