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Kids and glass tables don't mix
How adult television content influences behavior
Poor children fare worse after heart transplant
Discrimination and mental health issues
Many peoples' homes harbor a threat that safety regulations have overlooked: glass tables, which aren't mandated to contain safety glass. "Huge shards of glass are basically like knives. If they sever an artery, the injury can be fatal," says Amir Kimia, MD, in Children's Hospital Boston's Division of Emergency Medicine. Kimia and colleagues undertook a systematic study of glass table injuries seen in Children's Emergency Department. On reviewing the patients' charts, he concluded that of the 174 injuries logged between 1995 and 2007, half would have been preventable or less severe with safety glass, which breaks into uniform, harmless fragments. Kimia is now investigating two similar safety threats: glass thermometers and Christmas ornaments.
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A new study by Children's researchers found that the earlier children are exposed to content in television and movies that is intended for adults, the earlier they become sexually active during adolescence. "Television and movies are among the leading sources of information about sex and relationships for adolescents," says Hernan Delgado, MD, fellow in the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine at Children's and lead author of the study. The researchers encourage parents to follow American Academy of Pediatrics television viewing guidelines for their children and have an open dialogue about its content. (Also read "Media myth-busters.")
Children from lower socioeconomic neighborhoods who had a heart transplant were more likely than those from higher socioeconomic areas to die or need another heart transplant, according to new research. "This is the first time that low socioeconomic position has been associated with a higher risk of graft failure," says Tajinder Singh, MD, lead author of the study and a transplant cardiologist at Children's. Although all patients had health insurance and access to care and medications, children from low socioeconomic neighborhoods were 2.4 times more likely to have graft failure after transplant when compared to the controls, and minority children were 2.7 times more likely to suffer graft failure when compared to white children. "Improving the outcomes of heart transplantation in the lower socioeconomic status children requires new strategies and interventions for patients, families and the medical system," says Singh.
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Perceived racial or ethnic discrimination is not an uncommon experience among fifth-grade students, and it may have a negative effect on their mental health, found a new study. Fifteen percent of children in the study reported experiencing discrimination, and those children were more likely to have symptoms of depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder. "It's concerning that children this young are already reporting that they have faced racial or ethnic discrimination," says author Mark Schuster, MD, PhD, chief of Children's Division of General Pediatrics. "We need to examine what they are experiencing and how to address this issue."
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