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Jan 2009 “Time to Decaffeinate Your Kids?”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has no guidelines for caffeine intake, but Canada does. Find them in this article from Newsweek.
Jan 2009 “Family Services Joins Health Care Program”

Head Start families in WA who participated in training about when to seek medical care for their children showed an increase in school and work attendance and a decrease in emergency room visits. This article is from the “Herald” online newspaper.
Dec 2007 Watch What You're Putting in that Sippy Cup

According to experts at the University of Florida Health Science Center, children should drink mostly water this summer, instead of juice.

Dec 2008 Vaccine Preservative Thimerosal Found Harmless

Thimerosal, which contains mercury and was used as a preservative in vaccines, was almost entirely removed from vaccines by 2002. This study of children ages 7-10 indicated that thimerosal is not linked with neurological and some psychological problems in children.

Mar 2009 Undetected Autism in Women Manifests as Anorexia Nervosa

Professor Christopher Gillberg, of the University of Strathclyde, says that autism, characterised by defects in communication and social interaction, also makes many anorexic patients unresponsive to traditional treatments and may be responsible for anorexia's low recovery rates.
Mar 2009 Underlying Sleep Problem Linked To AD/HD in Children

A study in the March 1 issue of the journal SLEEP suggests the presence of an intrinsic sleep problem specific to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and supports the idea that children with ADHD may be chronically sleep deprived and have abnormal REM sleep.

Aug 2008 U.S. Variations in Child Health System Performance: A State Scorecard

This report from The Commonwealth Fund ranks states' child health care systems, based on how they perform on various indicators: access, quality, costs, equity, and the potential to lead healthy lives. Montana’s overall ranking is 30, but rankings on the individual indicators range from 5 to 48.
Jan 2008 Thimerosal Not Cause of Autism

A California study found that the removal of the mercury-based preservative Thimerosal from vaccines has not decreased rates of autism. In fact, autism rates have increased since the removal.

Dec 2007 Sugary Drinks May Trigger Long-Term Health Risks for Children

(from Channing-Bete) Can drinking soda and other sweetened beverages have long-term ill effects on children's health? A new longitudinal study says it very well might. Researchers at Penn State's Center for Childhood Obesity Research have been examining the group of traits known as metabolic syndrome, which is a predictor of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease -- conditions that are becoming more prevalent in the general population, and most notably in children and teens. "Researchers think insulin resistance is the underlying trait that leads to the other metabolic abnormalities," says Alison Ventura, doctoral candidate at Penn State's Center for Childhood Obesity Research. "It is now thought that obesity may be a trigger for insulin resistance, thus creating a cascade of risk."

Aug 2008 Rising Food Costs Affect Families

The Food Research and Action Center provides a fact sheet and some family testimonials about the effect of rising food costs on low-income families.
Mar 2009 Resource Guide for Parents of Epileptic Children

The Epilepsy and Seizure Disorders: A Resource Guide for Parents was developed by parents and professionals to help parents of children with epilepsy and/or a seizure disorder better understand their child’s condition. This 48-page guide is divided into 4 sections: Understanding Epilepsy and/or Seizure Disorders, Health Care for my Child: Access to Care/Access to Services, Advocacy and Support, and Forms and Tools.

Jan 2009 Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency: New Guidelines for Vitamin D Intake

The American Academy of Pediatrics has doubled the recommendation for children’s Vitamin D intake. Read about the new guidelines.
Dec 2008 Phthalates in Toys

Some soft plastic toys contain phthalates, which may cause hormonal changes in children. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act recently passed by Congress bans phthalates in children’s toys. This Newsweek article discusses phthalates and toy safety issues.

Mar 2009 Inconsistent Performance Speed Among Children With ADHD May Underlie How Well They Use Memory

Children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show more variable or inconsistent responses during on ‘working’ or short-term memory tasks when compared with typically developing peers, a study by UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute Julie Schweitzer has found.
Feb 2008 Healthy Foods Becoming Less and Less Affordable than Unhealthy Foods

(From Channing-Bete e-newsletter) “A new University of Washington study has found that healthier, low-calorie foods -- which were more expensive than those high in refined grains and added fats and sugars to begin with -- have increased in price nearly 20 percent over the last two years, while the price of calorie-rich foods has stayed about the same.”

Aug 2008 Food Stamp Utilization

FRAC also looks at Food Stamp participation rates.
Apr 2008 Food Insecurity and Overweight among Infants and Toddlers

Babies in families that experience very low food security are more likely to be overweight as toddlers. “…Very low food security is strongly associated with parenting practices, infant feeding practices, and depressive symptoms among parents, which may affect the likelihood of overweight among toddlers.”

Apr 2008 Few Smoking Parents Abstain Around their Kids

Research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that 82% of parents who smoke do so when their children are present, increasing secondhand smoke exposure.

Feb 2008 Eye-Blink Test Can Identify Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in Infants

Eye-Blink Conditioning (EBC) pairs stimuli like sound and air puffs to measure reaction time and brain functioning. A study from Case Western Reserve University found that EBC deficits were linked in five-year-olds to fetal alcohol exposure. Normally developing babies reach “functional capacity” on the EBC response by five months of age, thus making EBC capacity a viable screening tool to identify babies at risk early in life, particularly when the infants don’t exhibit the classic facial characteristics of fetal alcohol syndrome.

Feb 2008 Babies whose Parents Smoke have Higher Blood Levels of Cotinine

A new study on 10-12 week old babies in Great Britain found that the nicotine marker cotinine was five times higher in babies whose parents were smokers than in infants whose parents did not smoke. Levels were particularly high in the wintertime when parents were more likely to smoke indoors. Since babies may not be able to excrete nicotine properly, exposure in infancy is especially dangerous.

Feb 2009 Autism: How Childhood Vaccines Became Villains

Anatomy of a Scare When one study linked childhood vaccines to autism, it set off a panic. The research didn't hold up, but some wounded families can't move on.

Mar 2009 Autism - Sesnory Integration Therapy

Most of us unconsciously learn to combine our senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, balance, body in space) in order to make sense of our environment. Children with autism have trouble learning to do this. Sensory integration therapy is a type of occupational therapy (OT) that places a child in a room specifically designed to stimulate and challenge all of the senses.
Jan 2009 America's Health Starts With Healthy Children

This report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation looks at children’s health and how it is affected by socioeconomic background. It includes a snapshot of every state, including Montana.
Apr 2008 ADHD a Genetic Condition that Occurs During Pregnancy

Research from New Zealand indicates that key areas of the brain--those responsible for encoding and holding information and understanding time and space--do not develop as quickly in children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Dec 2008 135,000 Kindergartners Unvaccinated

Concerns about deadly diseases grow as the number of children exempt from vaccination requirements at schools increases.


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