Growth and development topics

News

Vaping is not a ‘safer option’ for pregnant women

According to the first known study into the effects of prenatal nicotine exposure on babies, e-cigarettes might not be a safer alternative to smoking during pregnancy.

Health and wellbeing, Growth and development
News

Self-harm risk is higher in early pubescents

Those who experience puberty earlier than their peers have a higher risk of self-harm in adolescence, reveals research published in Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences.

Mental Health, Growth and development
News

Possible risk of neurological harm to young people from air pollution

Researchers found markers of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease in the brainstems of 186 young Mexico City residents aged 11 months to 27 years.

Health and wellbeing, Growth and development
News

Sporty young girls show fewer signs of ADHD later on

Girls who play regular extracurricular sports between six and 10 show fewer symptoms of ADHD aged 12 than girls who don’t play, a study has found.

Behaviour, Growth and development
News

England: children and adults with learning disabilities still dying prematurely

People with learning disabilities in England are not only dying prematurely, but from treatable causes of death, reveals the latest annual report from the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) programme.

Vulnerability, Growth and development
News

Signs of possible diabetes can be seen decades earlier in childhood

Early signs of being more susceptible to type 2 diabetes as an adult can be seen in children as young as eight years, research has found.

Health and wellbeing, Growth and development
News

Adolescents from deprived communities show gene regulation differences

Young adults raised in communities marked by more economic deprivation, physical dilapidation, social disconnection and danger display differences in the epigenome – the proteins and chemical compounds 
that regulate the activity of their genes.

Vulnerability, Growth and development
Features

Is mental health the new pandemic?

Covid-19 has put unprecedented pressures on the mental health of millions of people in the UK – including young people, new mothers and healthcare professionals. Journalist Jo Waters looks at the impact, now and moving forward, plus what’s needed to help.

Mental Health, Growth and development
Features

More than words

Nurturing language development in children should start from an early age, experts agree. But how can you support today’s parents to promote effective communication from the outset? Journalist Helen Bird reports.

Education, Growth and development
News

Mobile devices may blunt children’s self-regulation

Children who begin using mobile and screen media devices earlier in life have lower self-regulation skills, those needed to plan, control, and monitor their thoughts, feelings and behaviours, says a study.

Growth and development
News

Intensive care babies have greater risk of mental health problems

Children who spend time in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at birth have a higher risk of mental health issues later, regardless of birthweight.

Mental Health, Growth and development
Features

Childminding initiative: room to breathe

Health visitor Jo-Anne Linnane encourages local parents to take up the two-year-old childcare offer, which provides 570 hours of free childminding a year.

Growth and development
News

Heavy screen use may make pre-school children less physically active

Two- and three-year-olds who spend more than three hours a day on screens are less physically active at age five than those who watch for less than an hour.

Health and wellbeing, Growth and development
News

One in four primary school children lack movement skills

A quarter of primary school children in Ireland cannot run properly and lack basic movement skills, according to a new study of more than 2000 five- to 12-year-olds.

Health and wellbeing, Growth and development
News

Premature babies at higher risk of diabetes

Babies born before 37 weeks are at an increased risk of developing type 1 and type 2 diabetes, a study says.

Health and wellbeing, Growth and development
News

Living near a busy road can stunt children’s lung growth

If you live within 50 metres of a major road, your risk of developing lung cancer may increase by up to 10%.

Health and wellbeing, Growth and development
News

Are C-section babies really more likely to grow up obese?

Women who have caesarean sections are no more likely to have children who develop obesity than women who give birth naturally, a large study has found.

Health and wellbeing, Growth and development
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