Latest news with #JAMAPediatrics
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Newborn deaths related to malnutrition, slow growth increased
While U.S. neonatal deaths have generally decreased in recent decades, mortality because of slow fetal growth and malnutrition increased annually by almost 2 percent from 1999 through 2022, according to a research letter published in JAMA Pediatrics in June. Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers reported that over 280,000 newborn infants — 283,696 — died of perinatal complications from 1999 to 2022 in the United States. Researchers said over half of those who died were male, which the study suggests was because of differences in their lung development and immune response.
Chicago Tribune
6 days ago
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Willie Wilson: Chicagoans cannot wait 50 years for clean water
I was astonished to learn the city has submitted a request to extend its replacement of lead service lines — 30 years beyond the 20 years the federal government has proposed. The city plans to complete 8,300 replacements annually for 50 years, wrapping up in 2076. This pace defies common sense and is unconscionable. The city must move with a sense of urgency in replacing lead pipes. We know that structures built before 1986 have service lines that allow lead to leach into the drinking water. Chicago has over 400,000 lead service lines. The majority are located in Black and brown communities. Health experts agree there is no safe level of lead exposure. Exposure to lead can cause cognitive damage, developmental delays, difficulty learning and behavioral problems in children. Could this be a factor contributing to Black and brown children being overrepresented in special education classes and the prison system? Children's exposure to small amounts of lead-tainted water causes them to appear inattentive, hyperactive and irritable. Higher levels of lead exposure may cause children to have problems with learning and reading. Last year, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics estimated 68% of children younger than 6 years old in Chicago are exposed to lead-contaminated drinking water, with 19% of affected children using unfiltered tap water as their primary drinking water source. Elected leaders should be held accountable for lead in tap water. The failure to move with urgency in replacing lead service lines will place children and adults at greater risk of drinking lead-tainted water. The Chicago Housing Authority was ordered to pay $24 million in a lead paint poisoning case that affected two young children. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health in 2023, about 3,200 children tested positive for elevated blood lead levels. Preventing residents from consuming toxic water will reduce health costs and a potential public health crisis. Why would government leaders knowingly allow residents to be poisoned by contaminated water? This was the case in the city of Flint, Michigan, where the drinking water became contaminated with lead because of a change in the water source. WBEZ-FM 91.5 reports that the federal rule requires Chicago to replace nearly 20,000 lead pipes a year beginning in 2027 — more than double the speed of the city's current plan. Among the cities with the highest number of lead service lines, only Chicago has yet to adopt the federal deadline. Clean water is essential to life; without it, we cannot survive. The water we drink helps regulate body temperature, aids in digestion, carries nutrients to cells, flushes out waste, enhances our skin and much more. It is important that residents have confidence in water from the tap. A 2023 Gallup poll found 56% of Americans overall said they worry 'a great deal' about pollution of drinking water. However, that sentiment was expressed by 76% of Black adults and 70% of Hispanic adults, compared with less than half (48%) of white adults. The bottled water industry in 2016 surpassed soft drinks to become the most consumed beverage in the country. 'Bottled water in the U.S. has been found to be no safer than tap water on average, contains higher levels of microplastics, is less strictly regulated and consumers are much less likely to find out if contamination does occur,' a 2023 research paper published in WIREs Water noted. Moreover, distrust in the quality of public tap water is driving the growth of bottled water. The following are suggestions to ensure clean and safe drinking water for all residents: Elected leaders should consider children and the most vulnerable when urging a delay to remove lead service lines from homes. Long-term exposure to lead can contribute to an increased risk of kidney, testicular and potentially other cancers. Also, lead exposure can lead to high blood pressure and reproductive problems. Clean water is a universal human right. In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly formally recognized the right to safe and clean drinking water as a right inextricably linked to the full enjoyment of life and all human rights. The U.N. statement should be shared with elected leaders in Illinois. We cannot wait another 50 years to remove all lead service lines in Chicago. Every day we delay, the potential grows for more children to be poisoned by lead from their drinking water. I write this commentary to make those comfortable with allowing residents to drink lead-tainted water uncomfortable.
Gulf Today
01-07-2025
- Health
- Gulf Today
Guns kill more US children than other causes
More American children and teens die from firearms than any other cause, but there are more deaths — and wider racial disparities — in states with more permissive gun policies, according to a new study. The study, published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics on June 9, analyses trends in state firearm policies and kids' deaths since 2010, after the landmark US Supreme Court decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago. The ruling struck down the city's handgun ban, clearing the way for many states to make it easier for people to buy and carry guns. The study authors split states into three groups: 'most permissive,' 'permissive' and 'strict,' based on the stringency of their firearm policies. Those policies include safe storage laws, background checks and so-called Stand Your Ground laws. The researchers analysed homicide and suicide rates and the children's race. Using statistical methods, the researchers calculated 6,029 excess deaths in the most permissive states between 2011 and 2023, compared with the number of deaths that would have been expected under the states' pre-McDonald rules. There were 1,424 excess deaths in the states in the middle category. In total, about 17,000 deaths were expected in the post-decision period, but 23,000 occurred, said lead author Dr. Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, in an interview. Among the eight states with the strictest laws, four — California, Maryland, New York and Rhode Island — saw statistically significant decreases in their pediatric firearm death rates. Illinois, which was directly affected by the court's decision in the McDonald case, and Connecticut saw increases in their rates. In Massachusetts and New Jersey, the changes were not statistically significant. The rate increased in all but four (Alaska, Arizona, Nebraska and South Dakota) of the 41 states in the two permissive categories. (Hawaii was not included in the study due its low rates of firearm deaths.) Non-Hispanic Black children and teens saw the largest increase in firearm deaths in the 41 states with looser gun laws. Those youths' mortality rates increased, but by a much smaller amount, in the states with strict laws. Experts say the study underscores the power of policy to help prevent firearm deaths among children and teens. The analysis comes less than a month after the release of a federal report on children's health that purported to highlight the drivers of poor health in America's children but failed to include anything on firearm injuries — the leading cause of death for children and teens in 2020 and 2021, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trauma surgeon Dr. Marie Crandall, chair of surgery at MetroHealth medical center and a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, researches gun violence. She previously practiced at a Jacksonville, Florida, urban trauma unit, where she frequently saw children and teens caught in gun violence. 'When I see children come in with 10 holes in them that I can't save — that is a loss. That is a completely preventable death, and it is deeply emotionally scarring to have to have those conversations with families when we know, as a society, there are things we could do to de-escalate,' said Crandall, who wasn't involved in the new study. In her state of Ohio, firearm death rates among children and teens increased from 1.6 per 100,000 kids in the decade before the McDonald decision to 2.8 after it, according to the study. Ohio was categorised in the group with the most permissive laws. The study adds to previous research that shows state laws around child access to firearms, such as safe storage and background checks, tend to be associated with fewer child firearm deaths. 'We know that child access prevention decreases unintentional injuries and suicides of children. So having your firearms locked, unloaded, stored separately from ammunition, decreases the likelihood of childhood injuries,' Crandall said. 'More stringent regulation of those things also decreases childhood injuries.' But she said it's hard to be optimistic about more stringent regulation when the current administration dismisses gun violence as a public health emergency. The Trump administration earlier this year took down an advisory from the former US surgeon general, issued last year, that emphasised gun violence as a public health crisis. Faust, the lead author of the new study, stressed that firearm injuries and deaths were notably missing from the Make America Healthy Again Commission report on children's health. He said the failure to include them illustrates the politicisation of a major public health emergency for America's kids. 'It's hard to take them seriously if they're omitting the leading cause of death,' Faust said. 'They're whiffing, they're shanking. They're deciding on a political basis not to do it. I would say by omitting it, they're politicising it.' Faust and pediatric trauma surgeon Dr. Chethan Sathya, who directs the Center for Gun Violence Prevention at the Northwell Health system in New York, each pointed to the development of car seat laws and public health education, as examples of preventive strategies that helped reduce childhood fatalities. They support a similar approach to curbing youth gun deaths. 'We really have to apply a public health framework to this issue, not a political one, and we've done that with other issues in the past,' said Sathya, who wasn't involved in the study and oversees his hospital's firearm injury prevention programmes. 'There's no question that this is a public health issue.' In Louisiana, which the study categorised as one of the 30 most permissive states, the child firearm mortality rate increased from 4.1 per 100,000 kids in the pre-McDonald period to 5.7 after it — the nation's highest rate. The study period only goes to 2023, but the state last year enacted a permitless carry law, allowing people to carry guns in public without undergoing background checks. And just last month, Louisiana legislators defeated a bill that would have created the crime of improper firearm storage. Louisiana Democratic state Rep. Matthew Willard, who sponsored the safe storage legislation, said during the floor debate that its purpose was to protect children. Louisiana had the highest rate of unintentional shootings by children between 2015 to 2022, according to the research arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates for stricter gun access. Willard cited that statistic on the floor. But Republican opponents said Willard's proposal would infringe on residents' gun rights and make it more difficult for them to use guns in self-defense. 'Nobody needs to come in our houses and tell us what to do with our guns. I think this is ridiculous,' Republican state Rep. R. Dewith Carrier said during the debate. Another Republican opponent, state Rep. Troy Romero, said he was concerned that having a firearm locked away would make it harder for an adult to quickly access it. 'If it's behind a locked drawer, how in the world are you going, at 2 or 3 in the morning, going to be able to protect your family if somebody intrudes or comes into your home?' Romero said.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Dad's mental health in the first two years has a lasting impact on kids, new study shows
When we think about early childhood development, we often focus on milestones, sleep routines, and the emotional bond between mother and baby. But new research reminds us: the mental health of fathers in those first two years plays a critical—and often overlooked—role, too.A recent meta-analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics, which examined 84 studies involving thousands of fathers and children, found a clear link between paternal mental well-being and a child's emotional, cognitive, and social development. The effects were most pronounced in early childhood—an especially sensitive window for growth. For many mothers, these findings validate something they've long sensed: a partner's emotional state can shape the energy of the entire household. When one parent is silently struggling, it can shift the emotional rhythm of the entire household—including the littlest members of the family. Researchers found that paternal distress—including anxiety, depression, and chronic stress—was strongly associated with outcomes like emotional dysregulation, cognitive delays, and social difficulties in children. These patterns held true across infancy, toddlerhood, and the preschool years. The takeaway? Prioritizing dad's mental health isn't just good for him—it's good for kids, too. Related: This viral TikTok captures what it's like to parent through exhaustion and mental health struggles Mental health struggles don't always look the same in men as they do in women, especially in the postpartum period. But experts identify several subtle yet telling symptoms, particularly among fathers, that can help partners recognize when to reach out: Emotional withdrawal or irritability: Some men express depression or anxiety as anger or emotional distance. Loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed: A sudden disinterest in hobbies, social outings, or time with the kids can be a red flag . Trouble sleeping or persistent fatigue not tied to parenting: Disrupted sleep patterns—either insomnia or excessive sleeping—along with chronic tiredness are common symptoms in dads . Avoiding time with the kids: Pulling away from family activities or physical presence, even when home, may indicate emotional overload. Verbalizing feelings of failure or hopelessness: Expressions of feeling 'empty,' 'worthless,' or consumed by self-doubt are important cues. If you notice these signs in a partner, start with a compassionate conversation. Let them know you see them—and that getting help isn't about being broken. It's about being supported. Meeting with a therapist or primary care provider can help dads access tools to manage their mental load. 'The association between paternal mental illness and poorer child development was robust,' researchers concluded, highlighting the importance of early intervention. Related: The 'mental health walk' that wasn't: this mom's viral tiktok is our collective parenting nightmare These trusted resources are a good place to start: Postpartum Support International offers a dedicated helpline for dads. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has support groups and local resources. Pediatricians and family doctors can also provide referrals for mental health screenings and therapy. When we support dads in the first two years, we're investing in the emotional well-being of the entire family. Because no parent should be expected to show up fully for their child while silently struggling. The more we normalize emotional transparency and shared mental load, the stronger our families become. Sources: 'Father's Mental Health in First Two Years May Influence Child Development, Study Finds.' June 2025. JAMA Pediatrics. Father's Mental Health in First Two Years May Influence Child Development, Study Finds. 'Men and Mental Health.' 2024. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Men and Mental Health. 'Male depression: Understand the signs.' 2024. Mayo Clinic. Male depression: Understand the signs. 'Fathers and Families.' 2025. Fathers Mental Health Alliance. Fathers and Families. 'Help for Dads.' 2025. Postpartum Support International. Help for Dads.
Medscape
25-06-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Fathers' Mental Health May Predict Poor Child Development
When fathers struggle with mental health at the time their children are born, their offspring experience developmental challenges throughout life, according to a new meta-analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics . Researchers said the findings should be a call to better support fathers as they transition into parenthood. 'Becoming a parent is a significant life transition for men, whether it be the experience of having a baby for the first time, or welcoming additional children into one's family. It can be a time of great joy and happiness, as well as one of increased stress and emotional ups and downs, as families adapt to significant changes,' said Delyse Hutchinson, MClinPsych, PhD, associate professor at the SEED Lifespan Research Centre in the School of Psychology at Deakin University in Burwood, Australia, and lead author of the study. The Findings The researchers conducted the systematic review and meta-analysis by searching several databases for studies published up to November 2024. Data from 9572 studies in 21 countries were included. Hutchinson and her team pulled information on depression, anxiety, and stress of fathers. Data of their offsprings' global, social-emotional, adaptive, cognitive, language, physical, and motor development from infancy through adolescence was also analyzed. During pregnancy and after birth, 8% of men experienced clinical depression, 11% experienced anxiety, and 6%-9% experienced elevated stress. Hutchinson said rates may be higher due to underreporting. Paternal perinatal mental distress was associated with poorer (correlation coefficient [r], −0.12; 95% CI, −0.22 to −0.01), social-emotional (r, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.07-0.11), cognitive (r, −0.07; 95% CI, −0.13 to −0.01), language (r, −0.15; 95% CI, −0.25 to −0.05), and physical development (r, 0.04; 95% CI, 0.00-0.08) in offspring. While previous studies have focused on the effects of mental stress among those who are pregnant, in the past decade more focus has gone toward the role of fathers in shaping the development of children, Hutchinson said. A 2024 study found that a subgroup of fathers were more susceptible to psychological distress during pregnancy and postpartum. Another found that children of fathers who had postpartum depression were more likely to experience adverse childhood experiences. 'Children of fathers who experience distress in the perinatal period are at greater risk of poor mental health themselves, as well as behavioral and social difficulties. Unfortunately, these challenges among children often persist into adulthood — a trajectory which, once established, is difficult to change,' said Karen Wynter, MD, senior research fellow of Perinatal Mental Health in the Department of Psychiatry at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. In an editorial accompanying the paper, Craig Garfield, MD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, and coauthors wrote, 'The timing of this review is excellent, as fathers spend more time than ever on childcare and are increasingly recognized as important contributors to family health and well-being.' Hutchinson said the results underscore the need for increased emotional support for fathers, such as mental health screening before, during, and after a child's birth. 'Fathers want to be involved in parenting their infants. Society no longer regards them as only 'breadwinners' or 'supporters.' They are nurturing, caring parents who, like mothers, may experience emotional difficulties in the transition to parenthood, and there should be no shame or judgment if they seek help,' Wynter said. This study was funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). Hutchinson, Samantha J. Teague, and Craig were supported by NHMRC Research Fellowships (APP1197488, APP2025839, and APP1021480). Spry is supported by an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at Deakin University, Australia. Wynter reported coconvening the Australian Fatherhood Research Symposium with Macdonald, one of the study authors.
