Mental Health

Boston Children’s Hospital, once again, has claimed the top spot in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings for Best Children’s Hospital.

A free video game titled Shadow’s Edge helps players cope with the isolation, desolation and fear caused by stressors like COVID-19, the game’s developer told Healio Primary Care.

The AAP recommended that parents proactively engage with children about racism, noting that even “vicarious” racism — like that experienced through social media, conversations and media images — could harm children’s health.

Less than one-third of parents accurately reported how much their child used a mobile device — most either overestimated or underestimated usage, according to findings from a longitudinal cohort study.

The AAP issued a revised policy statement regarding resistance training, saying children of all ages can benefit from it under the proper supervision.

Gina Sequeira, MD, MS, is worried that an increasing number of states are proposing legislation that would ban access to gender-affirming health care for minors, even when they have parental consent.

The use of stimulant medications has been an integral aspect for the pharmacotherapy of ADHD for more than 50 years. Numerous published studies have documented their efficacy to reduce symptoms of ADHD in children older than age 4 years. As with any medication, however, adverse effects occur, and these adverse effects must be balanced against the medication’s benefit for each individual patient. The potential for a negative adverse effect on growth from stimulant medications has been discussed in the literature for years.

From 2009 to 2017, the proportion of teens who identified as a sexual minority nearly doubled to more than 14%, according to researchers, who found that these teens are still more than three times as likely to attempt suicide compared with heterosexual youths.

From 2007 to 2016, pediatric ED visits for all mental health disorders increased by 60% in the United States, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

A secondary analysis of survey data showed a small but not clinically relevant association between early exposure to video games and a higher BMI score in later years, which could be explained by irregularity of bedtime and a high consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, researchers reported.