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Kids and Teens Who Sleep Less and Use Screens More May Face Higher Heart Risks: Study
Kids and teens who spend more time on screens and get less sleep may have higher risks for future heart and metabolic problems such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol levels and excess belly fat, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
The study collected data on self-reported or parent-reported screen time and sleep hours for over 1,000 kids and teenagers living in Denmark. Screen time included either watching TV or using electronic devices. Cardiometabolic health data measured cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, waist measurements, blood pressure and insulin resistance.
Each additional hour of screen time was associated with higher cardiometabolic risk for both kids and teenagers. Teenagers with excess screen time were especially at risk. Additionally, the risk was heightened for kids and teenagers reporting fewer hours of sleep.
A Buried Threat: Thousands in CT Might Still Be Drinking Water From Lead Pipes
The Connecticut Mirror reported:
When Jarvis Parker was looking to buy a house in Waterbury in late 2019, he had several basic criteria. He wanted to avoid properties with leaking roofs and flooded basements. And he needed a place with enough space for himself, his daughter and his now 4-year-old grandson.
The modest two-bedroom home that Parker eventually purchased in Waterbury’s East End checked all of those boxes.
Five years later, however, he’s confronting a problem he never saw coming: a potentially toxic water line. Parker was informed this year that a small pipe known as a service line, which connects his house to the larger water main that runs under the street, could be made of lead.
Pritzker Signs Legislation to Implement Universal Mental Health Screenings in Illinois Schools
Students in third to 12th grade in Illinois will be able to take annual mental health screenings starting in the 2027-2028 school year, under a bill Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law Thursday. “(Screenings) provide early identification and intervention, so that those who are struggling get the help that they need as soon as possible,” Pritzker said. “They improve academic and social outcomes. They help us break down the stigma that, too often, is a barrier to seeking help.”
The mental health screenings would be self-assessed, with students being able to take the screening on a tablet or a form, according to Dana Weiner, chief officer for the Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative under the governor’s office, and who was credited for laying the foundation for the piece of legislation. Parents can opt their students out of mental health screenings if they wish, Weiner added.
“We’ve got children in third grade who are struggling, and we need to be able to reach these kids, and now, they will have access to that age-appropriate and confidential mental health screening,” Fine said. “The screenings will be designed to catch the early signs of anxiety, depression or trauma before it becomes a crisis or, in some cases, sometimes too late.”
Families Sue Cleveland School District Over Claims of Dangerous Mold Exposure
Several families have filed a lawsuit against the Cleveland Metropolitan School District alleging that unaddressed mold at Newton D. Baker School of Arts endangered their children’s health.
The complaint, filed Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, says that since at least spring 2020, the West Side school’s leaky roof, poor building maintenance and inadequate remediation of water damage and mold growth, have led to health issues and the school’s closure.
Janice Edwards, a spokesperson for the school district, said the filing has been forwarded to legal counsel for review. “We will respond to it at an appropriate time,” she said in an email. Edwards said the school board voted in April to close the school due to a progressively leaking roof.
According to the lawsuit, flooding from heavy rain in early 2025 made the problem impossible to ignore, with photographs showing large trash bins catching water in hallways, stained ceiling tiles and visible mold throughout the school.
Verbally Abused Children More Likely to Have Poor Mental Health as Adults, Study Finds
Parents who ridicule, threaten or humiliate their children risk leaving them with a 64% higher chance of having poor mental health as an adult, a study has found. The research also found physical abuse experienced among the research participants reduced over time, while verbal abuse increased.
Published in BMJ Open, the study gathered data of 20,687 adults from seven studies published between 2012 and 2024. The studies used all involved questions on childhood physical and verbal abuse using the validated Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACE, tool and the Warwick-Edinburgh mental wellbeing scale to measure individual and combined components of adult mental wellbeing.
Participants were asked over a two-week period about their mental wellbeing, with responses given a score to determine whether the participant had a low or high sense of mental wellbeing.
Obesity Can Be Passed From Parents to Children. But Do Mothers’ or Fathers’ Genes Matter More?
Children with obese parents are more likely to be obese themselves — but their mothers’ genes appear to be particularly important in determining their weight, a new study has found. Obesity is thought to be caused by a combination of hereditary and environmental factors. Genes passed from parents to children affect people’s appetite, sense of fullness, metabolism, food cravings, body fat distribution, and more.
The study, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, indicates that while children get half of their DNA from each parent, it’s the mother’s genetics that matter more when it comes to body mass index, or BMI.
“Mothers’ genetics appear to play an important role in influencing her child’s weight over and above the child’s genetics,” Liam Wright, the study’s lead author and a researcher at University College London, said in a statement.
