Two-thirds of women in their child-bearing years have an increased risk for birth defects due to a lifestyle factor they can change, a new study says. These risk factors — low levels of vitamin B9 (folate), unmanaged diabetes or exposure to tobacco smoke — increase the odds of a serious birth defect in any child they might have, researchers said. Heart defects, cleft palates and defects of the brain and spinal cord are among the problems that could be headed off if women took steps to improve their health prior to pregnancy, researchers reported today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Every growing family hopes for a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby,” said lead researcher Arick Wang, a senior health scientist at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Understanding modifiable risk factors for birth defects helps families, health care providers, and public health professionals make data-informed decisions that can lead to healthier pregnancies and babies,” Wang added in a news release. For the new study, researchers analyzed data for nearly 5,400 women of reproductive age, gathered between 2007 and 2020 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. About 66% had at least one known risk factor for birth defects that could be addressed, results show. These include:  Low folate status: Roughly 4 out of 5 women got less…  read on >  read on >

Two-thirds of women in their child-bearing years have an increased risk for birth defects due to a lifestyle factor they can change, a new study says. These risk factors — low levels of vitamin B9 (folate), unmanaged diabetes or exposure to tobacco smoke — increase the odds of a serious birth defect in any child they might have, researchers said. Heart defects, cleft palates and defects of the brain and spinal cord are among the problems that could be headed off if women took steps to improve their health prior to pregnancy, researchers reported today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Every growing family hopes for a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby,” said lead researcher Arick Wang, a senior health scientist at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Understanding modifiable risk factors for birth defects helps families, health care providers, and public health professionals make data-informed decisions that can lead to healthier pregnancies and babies,” Wang added in a news release. For the new study, researchers analyzed data for nearly 5,400 women of reproductive age, gathered between 2007 and 2020 as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. About 66% had at least one known risk factor for birth defects that could be addressed, results show. These include:  Low folate status: Roughly 4 out of 5 women got less…  read on >  read on >

Pediatricians should screen children annually for mental or developmental issues, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends in a new clinical report. The recommendation comes in response to a mental, emotional and behavioral health crisis that’s been brewing among America’s youth, the AAP says. Up to 1 in 5 children in the U.S., including kids as young as 2, are living with a mental or behavioral health problem like depression, anxiety, ADHD or suicidal thoughts and feelings, according to the report published online today in the journal Pediatrics. And in 2020, suicide became the second-leading cause of death among kids aged 10 to 14 and the third-leading among 15- to 24-year-olds. AAP said the rate increased 41% between 2000 and 2017. The AAP argues that pediatricians are in the best position to spot early concerns and get children the help they need. “Just as a pediatrician checks every child’s physical health and development, they need to feel equipped to identify mental, emotional and behavioral health issues during routine exams,” lead guideline author Dr. Carol Weitzman, co-director of the Autism Spectrum Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, said in a news release. “The pediatrician also takes into context the family’s history and the community environment,” she added. “In fact, screening begins within the first month of life to identify postpartum depression in caregivers.” The new report provides…  read on >  read on >

Pediatricians should screen children annually for mental or developmental issues, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends in a new clinical report. The recommendation comes in response to a mental, emotional and behavioral health crisis that’s been brewing among America’s youth, the AAP says. Up to 1 in 5 children in the U.S., including kids as young as 2, are living with a mental or behavioral health problem like depression, anxiety, ADHD or suicidal thoughts and feelings, according to the report published online today in the journal Pediatrics. And in 2020, suicide became the second-leading cause of death among kids aged 10 to 14 and the third-leading among 15- to 24-year-olds. AAP said the rate increased 41% between 2000 and 2017. The AAP argues that pediatricians are in the best position to spot early concerns and get children the help they need. “Just as a pediatrician checks every child’s physical health and development, they need to feel equipped to identify mental, emotional and behavioral health issues during routine exams,” lead guideline author Dr. Carol Weitzman, co-director of the Autism Spectrum Center at Boston Children’s Hospital, said in a news release. “The pediatrician also takes into context the family’s history and the community environment,” she added. “In fact, screening begins within the first month of life to identify postpartum depression in caregivers.” The new report provides…  read on >  read on >

It’s a simple and common prescription for global warming and fire suppression: Plant more trees. But where they’re planted makes a real difference, new research shows. “Our study found more cooling from planting in warm, wet regions, where trees grow year-round,” study first author James Gomez, a graduate student at UC Riverside, said in a news release. “Tropical trees not only pull carbon dioxide from the air, they also cool while releasing water vapor.” His team recently reported its findings in the journal npj Climate and Atmospheric Science.  They found that trees planted at higher latitudes, like the U.S., could actually have a slight heating effect.  “It’s not that planting [there] doesn’t help — it does,” Gomez said. “But the tropics offer the strongest returns per tree.” The new research echoes an earlier UC Riverside study. It found that planting trees could cool Earth’s surface more than once anticipated. That research weighed the chemical effects of trees interacting with the atmosphere, while the new study focused more on the physical effects of tree planting. Those effects include evapotranspiration — or in simple terms, “tree sweating.”  Roots of trees suck water from the soil. It travels up through the trunk and into leaves, where some evaporates into the air. This cools the tree and the air, as well. “It’s just like the way sweating cools your…  read on >  read on >

It’s a simple and common prescription for global warming and fire suppression: Plant more trees. But where they’re planted makes a real difference, new research shows. “Our study found more cooling from planting in warm, wet regions, where trees grow year-round,” study first author James Gomez, a graduate student at UC Riverside, said in a news release. “Tropical trees not only pull carbon dioxide from the air, they also cool while releasing water vapor.” His team recently reported its findings in the journal npj Climate and Atmospheric Science.  They found that trees planted at higher latitudes, like the U.S., could actually have a slight heating effect.  “It’s not that planting [there] doesn’t help — it does,” Gomez said. “But the tropics offer the strongest returns per tree.” The new research echoes an earlier UC Riverside study. It found that planting trees could cool Earth’s surface more than once anticipated. That research weighed the chemical effects of trees interacting with the atmosphere, while the new study focused more on the physical effects of tree planting. Those effects include evapotranspiration — or in simple terms, “tree sweating.”  Roots of trees suck water from the soil. It travels up through the trunk and into leaves, where some evaporates into the air. This cools the tree and the air, as well. “It’s just like the way sweating cools your…  read on >  read on >

Local parks and neighborhood greenery protected people’s mental health from the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study says. Overall, depression increased nearly two-fold during the pandemic, with both men and women more frequently diagnosed, researchers said. But middle-aged adults and seniors had a reduced risk of depression if they lived in greener neighborhoods, Canadian researchers reported Aug. 20 in the journal PLOS One. What’s more, the greener a person’s neighborhood, the lower their risk for depression, researchers found. “Urban greenery wasn’t just a backdrop — it played a protective mental health role in one of the most stressful global events in recent history,” said lead researcher Paul Villeneuve, a professor of neuroscience at Carleton University in Ottawa. For the study, researchers analyzed mental health data from more than 13,000 urban-dwelling participants in a Canadian study on aging. The team compared that data to the amount of green space located near each participant’s home, based on satellite imagery. The protective effects of green space were particularly pronounced among people with less financial means, researchers found. “Our findings suggest that green spaces may have played a modest, yet meaningful, role in supporting the mental well-being of lower-income Canadians during the pandemic, offering some relief amid deepening socio-economic inequities,” researcher Susanna Abraham Cottagiri, a doctoral candidate at Queen’s University in Ottawa, said in a news release.…  read on >  read on >

Local parks and neighborhood greenery protected people’s mental health from the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new study says. Overall, depression increased nearly two-fold during the pandemic, with both men and women more frequently diagnosed, researchers said. But middle-aged adults and seniors had a reduced risk of depression if they lived in greener neighborhoods, Canadian researchers reported Aug. 20 in the journal PLOS One. What’s more, the greener a person’s neighborhood, the lower their risk for depression, researchers found. “Urban greenery wasn’t just a backdrop — it played a protective mental health role in one of the most stressful global events in recent history,” said lead researcher Paul Villeneuve, a professor of neuroscience at Carleton University in Ottawa. For the study, researchers analyzed mental health data from more than 13,000 urban-dwelling participants in a Canadian study on aging. The team compared that data to the amount of green space located near each participant’s home, based on satellite imagery. The protective effects of green space were particularly pronounced among people with less financial means, researchers found. “Our findings suggest that green spaces may have played a modest, yet meaningful, role in supporting the mental well-being of lower-income Canadians during the pandemic, offering some relief amid deepening socio-economic inequities,” researcher Susanna Abraham Cottagiri, a doctoral candidate at Queen’s University in Ottawa, said in a news release.…  read on >  read on >