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Exposure to ‘Safer’ Plastic Additive During Pregnancy Linked to Smaller Birth Size
A chemical used to make plastic more flexible, once introduced as a safer substitute for older additives now known to be harmful, may itself also be harmful, slowing babies’ growth in the womb, a new study shows.
A growing body of evidence has tied phthalates — substances used to make everyday products such as food packaging, medical devices, and toys — to increased risk of premature birth, infertility, and other health concerns. In response, plastics manufacturers have begun replacing phthalates with newer chemicals, including diisononyl cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate (DINCH).
Led by NYU Langone Health researchers, the analysis of 6,617 pregnancies linked higher levels of DINCH in the urine of pregnant women to lighter and smaller newborns. Every tenfold increase in exposure to DINCH resulted in a 27-gram reduction in newborn birth weight.
Does Lithium in Drinking Water Cause a Rare Heart Condition?
Children living in areas with higher levels of lithium in drinking water were more likely to be diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a rare heart condition that can cause a dangerously fast heartbeat, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco researchers.
The findings, which were published online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, are based on health and water-quality data for more than 2.3 million children in California and were also observed among nearly 2 million children in New York. Children in California counties with lithium levels in the highest 25% had 71% greater odds of a Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) diagnosis than those living in counties with lower levels.
Lithium occurs naturally in groundwater, and concentrations vary widely by location. Although the research focused on California and New York, lithium is found in groundwater used for drinking water across the United States and elsewhere, raising questions about the potential broader public health significance of the findings.
1 in 6 Teens Report Anxiety Symptoms and Many Go Without Help. What Parents Need to Know
An estimated one in six teenagers in the United States have moderate to severe anxiety symptoms, according to a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics on Monday.
Nearly two-thirds of adolescents who reported severe anxiety symptoms also met criteria for severe depression, nearly half reported suicidal thoughts, and nearly one-third reported substance abuse, the study found.
Researchers at the University of Connecticut analyzed a subset of data from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health that included self-reported anxiety symptoms from more than 15,000 teenagers aged 12-20 years old.
Stress During Pregnancy May Change Placental Signals Linked to Fetal Brain Development
About 1 in 5 U.S. women experience maternal mental health conditions, and chronic stress during pregnancy can increase the risk of both maternal and child health challenges.
While researchers know this stress can increase the risk of brain and mental health disorders in children, they have not fully understood the biological mechanism involved.
Now research at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has found a biological link with the placenta, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to the fetus and removes waste and carbon dioxide.
Researchers found that chronic stress during pregnancy changed how the placenta communicates with the developing fetus and may affect early brain development.
We Think a Baby’s Gut Microbiome Could Be Key to Lifelong Brain Health
Picture a baby sleeping in a crib. Every second, her brain is forming more than a million new neural connections. The scaffolding for language, memory, attention, and thought is going up in real time, wire by wire. We don’t yet know who she will become; yet much of her future self depends on what reaches her now, in the earliest months of her life.
We accept that the brain is shaped by developmental plasticity, developing and adapting in response to experience and environment. Yet medicine tends to frame conditions affecting the brain across the lifespan, from autism and ADHD to Alzheimer’s disease, as primarily genetic or social in origin.
Toddler EEG Study Shows Why Story Time and Playtime Really Matter
The everyday moments parents spend reading books, solving puzzles and playing with their toddlers may do more than create memories. New research shows these simple interactions engage young brains in ways that screen time cannot.
For the first time, Northwestern University researchers show how toddlers’ brains respond during natural moments of play with their parent or caregiver using child-friendly electroencephalography (EEG).
Comparing those moments with periods spent watching a movie together, the study found that those playful, interactive moments are associated with increased brain activity linked to attention, learning and social processing.
