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Childhood Vaccine Uptake Continues to Decline While Exemptions Reach Record High
Routine childhood vaccine uptake among U.S. kindergarteners in public and private schools declined to less than 93% in the 2023-24 school year, down from 95% in 2019-20 and 93% in 2022-23. At the same time, exemptions rose to a record 3.3%, up from 3.0% and 2.6%, respectively.
The findings, published today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, come from data from 49 states and Washington, D.C., reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Vaccination was considered a complete regimen of the measles, mumps, and rubella; diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis; poliovirus; and varicella vaccines.
“These results could indicate changes in attitudes toward routine vaccination transferring from hesitancy about COVID-19 vaccination, or toward any vaccine requirements arising from objections to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, as well as a potential for larger decreases in coverage or increases in exemptions,” the CDC researchers wrote.
Good Physical Fitness From Childhood Protects Mental Health
In a study by the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä and the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland, the physical fitness of 241 adolescents was followed from childhood to adolescence for eight years.
The study showed that better cardiorespiratory fitness and improvements in it from childhood to adolescence were associated with fewer stress and depressive symptoms in adolescence.
Additionally, the study found that better motor fitness from childhood to adolescence was associated with better cognitive function and fewer stress and depressive symptoms.
However, the association between motor fitness and depressive symptoms was weaker than the one between cardiorespiratory fitness and depressive symptoms.
Screen time measured in adolescence partly explained the associations of cardiorespiratory fitness and motor fitness with mental health. These findings advocate for investment in physical fitness early in life as a potential strategy for mitigating mental health and cognitive issues in adolescence.
In Utero Exposure to COVID-19 Not Tied to Later Neurodevelopmental Issues
Exposure to maternal COVID-19 is not associated with abnormal neurodevelopmental screening results through 24 months postpartum, according to a study published online Oct. 16 in JAMA Network Open.
Eleni G. Jaswa, M.D., from University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues assessed whether in utero exposure to maternal COVID-19 is associated with abnormal neurodevelopmental scores among children ages 12, 18, and 24 months. The analysis included 2,003 pregnant individuals and neurodevelopmental outcomes from 1,757 children at 12 months, 1,522 at 18 months, and 1,523 at 24 months.
No differential risk was seen based on trimester of infection, presence versus absence of fever, or breakthrough infection following vaccination versus primary infection.
“These findings suggest that individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy can be reassured that there is no association with abnormal neurodevelopmental scores in children through age 24 months,” the authors write.
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Pandemic Babies Not More Likely to Test for Autism, Study Finds
Children born during the pandemic are not more likely to show signs of autism, according to a study released last month in JAMA.
Additionally, the study found that “opposite to our hypothesis” the children of mothers infected with COVID-19 were less likely to show traits of autism.
Study authors Morgan Firestein, Angela Manessis and Jennifer Warmingham, psychologists at Columbia University, examined 2,000 children total who received care at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York.
They distinguished between children born in 2018 and 2019, or before the pandemic, and those birthed during COVID-19.
Increased Autism Risk Linked to Y Chromosome, Study Finds
Increased risk for autism appears to be linked to the Y chromosome, a Geisinger Health System study has found, offering a new explanation for the greater prevalence of autism in males. The results are published in Nature Communications.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests and activities. ASD is nearly four times more prevalent among males than females, but the reason for this disparity is not well understood.
One common hypothesis involves the difference in sex chromosomes between males and females — typical females have two X chromosomes, while typical males have one X and one Y chromosome.
“A leading theory in the field is that protective factors of the X chromosome lower autism risk in females,” said Matthew Oetjens, Ph.D., assistant professor at Geisinger’s Autism & Developmental Medicine Institute.
Raising Happy Eaters: Unlocking the Secrets of Childhood Appetite
The foundation for healthy eating behavior starts in infancy. Young children learn to regulate their appetite through a combination of biological, psychological, and sociological factors. In a new paper, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign propose a model that explores these factors and their interactions, providing guidelines for better understanding childhood appetite self-regulation. The study is published in the journal Social Science & Medicine.
“When we talk about obesity, the common advice is often to just eat less and exercise more. That’s a simplistic recommendation, which almost makes it seem like an individual’s willpower solely determines their approach to food,” said lead author Sehyun Ju, a doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois.
U.S. Teen Tobacco Use Hits 25-Year Low, Driven by Sharp Decline in Vaping
Teen tobacco use in the U.S. hit a 25-year low, driven by a sharp decline in vaping, a new analysis by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.
Almost all tobacco product use starts during adolescence, according to the CDC. While teen tobacco use is declining, health officials warned that their work is not done.
The estimated number of middle and high school students who used at least one tobacco product, including cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches, currently (in the past 30 days) went from 2.8 million in 2023 to 2.25 million this year, according to an analysis published Thursday by the CDC.
The CDC and the FDA analyzed data from the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which was collected from Jan. 22 to May 22, and included responses from 29,861 middle and high school students at 283 schools.
The record-low numbers are largely driven by the drop in high school vaping, according to the CDC. From 2023 to 2024, vaping in high schools went down from 10% to 7.8%.
