Mental Health

Children with autism and autistic traits had higher depressive symptom scores than children without at age 10 years, and the scores remained elevated until age 18 years, longitudinal study findings revealed.

Teens’ depressive symptoms were associated with screen-based activities, including social messaging and web surfing, and were brought about by sleep deprivation and insomnia, according to research presented at SLEEP 2018 in Baltimore.

A home visiting program aimed at low-income families improved the school readiness of preschool aged children, and the benefits were observed up to 4 years after the program ended, according to findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.

High school seniors who used heroin were more likely to use other drugs, and heroin use increased in frequency when they also used other opioids and benzodiazepines recreationally, according to recently published research in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Food allergies were the most common of allergic conditions found in children with autism, according to findings recently published in JAMA Network Open.

The number of United States middle school and high school students who reported using tobacco products decreased from 2011 to 2017, according to survey results released today by the FDA and the CDC.

Exposure to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy was associated with a small, but statistically significant, rise in offspring’s risk for neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorder and ADHD, according to meta-analysis data.

Findings published in JAMA Psychiatry revealed a link between cannabis use frequency and increased psychosis symptoms at the individual level among Canadian adolescents.

Children with preterm birth and low birth weight have lower rates of education and employment and a higher rate of receiving social benefits in adulthood, according to recently published research in Pediatrics.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said today that clinicians should screen pregnant women and adults older than 18 years for alcohol use, and that the evidence is insufficient on screening and counseling for alcohol use in teenagers aged 12 to 17 years.