This study found significant global decreases in all-cause child and adolescent mortality from 1990 to 2015, but with increasing global inequality. In countries with a low Socio-demographic Index (SDI), mortality is the primary driver of health loss in children and adolescents, largely owing to infectious, nutritional, maternal, and neonatal causes, while nonfatal health loss prevails in locations with a higher SDI.

Original Source

Although it has been previously reported that the transition of extremely low-birth-weight survivors (≤1000 g) in their mid-20s was similar to that of normal-birth-weight controls (>2500g), there was uncertainty as to whether this positive pattern would persist. The objective of the study was to compare the social functioning of low-birth-weight prematurely born adults aged 29 to 36 years with that of normal-birth-weight term controls.

Children living in poverty generally perform poorly in school, with markedly lower standardized test scores and lower educational attainment. The longer children live in poverty, the greater their academic deficits. These patterns persist to adulthood, contributing to lifetime-reduced occupational attainment. The objective is to determine whether atypical patterns of structural brain development mediate the relationship between household poverty and impaired academic performance.

The ongoing measles outbreak linked to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, shines a glaring spotlight on our nation’s growing antivaccination movement and the prevalence of vaccination-hesitant parents. Although the index case has not yet been identified, the outbreak likely started sometime between December 17 and 20, 2014.1,2 Rapid growth of cases across the United States indicates that a substantial percentage of the exposed population may be susceptible to infection due to lack of, or incomplete, vaccination.

Bisphenol A (BPA), a prevalent endocrine-disrupting chemical, has been associated with wheezing in children, but few studies have examined its effect on lung function or wheeze in older children. The objective of the study was to test whether BPA exposure is associated with lung function, with wheeze, and with pattern of wheeze in children during their first 5 years.