Children who were given juice before they were 6 months old drank more juice and soda, and less water, by early and mid-childhood, on average, than children first given juice at or after 12 months, according to a study conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health. The findings support a theory that giving children sweet foods and drinks at an early age fosters a preference for sweet tastes that persists into childhood, increasing the risk for childhood weight gain and tooth cavities.
News
NICHD issues News Releases and Media Advisories to the news media. Spotlight and Research Feature articles explain NICHD research findings and public health issues to the general public. An Item of Interest is a short announcement of relevant information, such as a notable staff change.
Science Update: Weekly COVID-19 testing helps reduce transmission in schools for children with disabilities
Findings from NICHD-supported study may aid special education classes across the country.
Science Update: No serious adverse events from COVID-19 vaccine in breastfeeding women or their children, NIH-funded study suggests
No serious adverse events were reported by 180 breastfeeding women receiving either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, either among themselves or in their infants, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. For the mothers, adverse events included muscle and body aches, fever and vomiting, pain, redness, swelling, or itching at the injection site.
Spotlight: Developing Mobile Health Solutions for Women in Guatemala
NIH-supported program reduces maternal deaths, complications in rural Guatemalan communities.
Director's Corner: Menstrual Cycles as a Fifth Vital Sign
NICHD Director Dr. Diana W. Bianchi explains how menstruation provides insights into overall health status and encourages clinical researchers to routinely collect menstrual cycle data.
Science Update: Newborn genome sequencing information does not contribute to family distress, NIH-funded study suggests
Receiving detailed genomic information on their newborn’s potential risks for childhood and adult diseases does not appear to cause distress or anxiety among parents, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings could help to allay concerns that routinely sequencing newborn genomes to obtain information about their long-term health prospects may be too stressful for families.
Science Update: Pandemic changes in screen time, physical activity may increase kids’ obesity risk, NIH-funded study suggests
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, American children may have adopted a range of behaviors that increase their risk for obesity, an NIH-funded study suggests. Compared to before the pandemic, children 7- to 12-years old increased their sedentary behavior, screen time, and food intake, while reducing their level of physical activity and adopting a later sleep schedule—all behaviors that increase obesity risk.
Item of Interest: NIH funds studies to assess potential effects of COVID-19 vaccination on menstruation
NIH has awarded one-year supplemental grants to five institutions to explore potential links between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual changes.
Science Update: Foreign-born Minnesotans more likely to die of COVID-19 at a younger age than U.S.-born residents, NIH-funded study suggests
Working-age immigrant men—particularly Latinos—were more likely to die of COVID-19 than their native-born counterparts, according to a study of Minnesota death records funded by the National Institutes of Health. Because COVID-19 data on immigration status is not collected on a national level, the findings provide insights into how COVID-19 mortality trends differ between U.S.- and foreign-born residents.
Science Update: NIH research illuminates factor affecting the COVID-19 virus’ ability to infect cells
NICHD-led research illuminates a factor affecting the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect human cells. The findings suggest a potential strategy for developing COVID-19 treatments.
Science Update: Maternal antibody treatment fails to reduce infant cytomegalovirus infection, NIH-funded study suggests
An antibody treatment in early pregnancy for women infected with cytomegalovirus does not appear to reduce the risk of infection or death among their newborns, an NIH-funded study suggests. The findings contradict several smaller studies on the treatment, known as hyperimmune globulin, that suggested the treatment was effective.
Media Advisory: Drinking and smoking during pregnancy linked with stillbirth, NIH-funded study suggests
Drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco cigarettes throughout the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with nearly three times the risk of late stillbirth (at 28 or more weeks), compared to women who neither drink nor smoke during pregnancy or quit both before the end of the first trimester, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Director's Corner: Going Back to School Safely
NICHD Director Dr. Diana W. Bianchi discusses NIH efforts to generate robust scientific data to inform policies to return children to the classroom safely and equitably during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Release: NIH-funded study highlights stark racial disparities in maternal deaths
Racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality in the United States may be larger than previously reported, suggests an NICHD-funded study.
The Science of Sleep: NIH Facebook Live series starts Aug. 10
A three-part Science of Sleep Series, co-sponsored by NICHD; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and the National Institute on Aging, will feature researchers discussing how children and adults can put the latest sleep science into practice to support optimal health outcomes throughout the lifespan.
Media Advisory: NIH-convened expert panel proposes standardized definition of placental SARS-CoV-2 infection
A panel of experts convened by NICHD has recommended standardized criteria to define infection of the placenta with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Their recommendations aim to help streamline research on SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy and ultimately optimize clinical care.
Media Advisory: NIH-funded study discovers gene involved in male infertility
Mutation in a single gene appears to account for a form of male infertility in which men fail to produce sperm, according to an international study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. Males with the condition, known as non-obstructive azoospermia, fail to produce any sperm, even though they do not have any obstruction in the ducts through which sperm are released.
Release: NIH-funded study identifies benefits, risks of treatments for pregnancy of unknown location
Preemptive treatment for a nonviable pregnancy of unknown location resolves the condition more rapidly than treating symptoms as they arise, suggests an NICHD-supported study. However, both treatment approaches convey similar risks of adverse events.
Science Update: Lab-grown placental stem cells may yield insights into preeclampsia, NIH-funded study suggests
Preeclampsia—a life-threatening hypertensive disorder of pregnancy—may begin with a failure of the outermost cells of the early placenta to sufficiently invade the uterine wall, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Researchers generated these outermost cells—known as trophoblasts—from stem cells taken from placentas of women who had preeclampsia during pregnancy.
Science Update: Fibroid risk associated with ancestry among Black and white women, NIH-funded study suggests
Among American Black and white women, the risk and extent of fibroids—benign tumors of the uterus—are associated with ancestry to distinct regions and populations, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study provides information that may lead to insights on the origins and treatments for these common tumors.