Of more than 33 million international child migrants, most are from Africa and Asia, according to UNICEF estimates. Many carry the scarring trauma of war, gun violence, poverty and human trafficking. Some travel with their parents, some alone. But not much is known about how these children fare once displaced. As a result, their physical…
An increase in child marriages, unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions and sexual violence is likely to be seen for years in low-and middle-income countries as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a University of Alberta nursing researcher who is leading an international study to address the problem. “In many countries all the health services…
Type of cholesterol produced as food consumed a strong predictor of future health risk
University of Alberta researchers have found a new, more effective way to measure future heart disease and diabetes risk in youth. By testing the blood for remnant cholesterol (RC), made by the body during the day as food is consumed, researchers were able to show that this non-fasting type of cholesterol is a strong predictor…Children are disproportionately affected as genetic diseases typically manifest during childhood
A new pilot program aims to find answers and better treatments for children living with rare genetic conditions. The Undiagnosed Disease Program, launched in January, is a collaboration between the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) and University of Alberta researchers from medical genetics and pediatric neurology to provide a diagnosis to patients in the…
New findings an important step toward developing potential new treatments for mental health disorders
A groundbreaking new study has shown that traumatic or stressful events in childhood may lead to tiny changes in key brain structures that can now be identified decades later. The study is the first to show that trauma or maltreatment during a child’s early years – a well-known risk factor for developing mental health conditions such as…
Federal Child Support Guidelines biased against men and need to be overhauled
If Christopher Sarlo is right, Canada’s Federal Child Support Guidelines are wrong. The economics professor at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ont., made an in-depth analysis of the guidelines and found them wanting. A 100-page examination leads him to one conclusion: the guidelines are biased against men and deserve an overhaul. Fights over money are…
When University of Alberta pediatric cardiologist Lori West was put in charge of the transplant program at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children in 1994, the situation was dire for newborns with bad hearts. Up until the first infant heart transplant in 1986, children born with certain kinds of heart malformations had a 100 per cent…
Follow the evidence - and science
Timothy Caulfield suggests trying the following thought experiment. It’s far-fetched to be sure, but to test the “stranger danger” hypothesis – known to cause considerable anxiety among today’s parents – imagine placing your child alone on the street as bait for some shady character in a white van. How long would it take for that child…
We’re in the midst of both a COVID-19 pandemic and a childhood physical inactivity epidemic. That creates a dilemma for young athletes and their parents: Is the risk of playing organized sports during the pandemic greater than the risk of the negative physical and mental impacts of not playing? Young people need to move their…
Some of the earliest signs apparent quite early in life – for many children even by the first birthday
Medical researchers reliably predicted autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a large sample of at-risk children by identifying and tracking early behavioural signs at 12 months of age, according to study findings published Dec. 25 in Child Development. “This research really reinforces what parents have been telling us for so many years,” said principal investigator Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, pediatrician…