Online Exclusives

The April 2013 issue of Consultant For Pediatricians is now available.  View the full table of contents here. 

In utero exposure to the anticonvulsant valproate was associated with a 5-fold elevated risk of developing autism and a 3-fold elevated risk of developing autism spectrum disorder, according to a Danish population based study. 

Many adolescents in the United States fall short of the American Heart Association’s standards for cardiovascular health, a new study found, suggesting a possible increase in the prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and dysglycemia in the future.

Increased exposure to vaccines during the first 2 years of life is not associated with the development of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), despite that 33% of parents fear such a correlation, , according to a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The March 2013 issue of Consultant For Pediatricians is now available.  View the full table of contents here. 

The percentage of children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 17 years diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increased from 1.16% in 2007 to 2% in 2011, with most of the increase attributed to the diagnoses of children with previously unrecognized ASD, according to a survey conducted by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.

The number of parents refusing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for their adolescent daughters is growing, despite increased clinician recommendations, greatly due to concerns about the safety of the vaccination, researchers reported.

By age 30 years, more than half of participants with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in a study at Boston Children’s Hospital had at least 1 other psychiatric disorder, with ADHD carrying over to adulthood in 29% of cases.

A combination of metformin and lifestyle changes should be used to treat children and teens with type 2 diabetes, much the same way that adults are treated, stated a new guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Due to the growing complexity of vaccination schedules, the 2013 childhood and adolescent schedules have been merged, covering all children up through age 18 years.

A new strain of norovirus has reached the United States after moving between Australia and the United Kingdom, the CDC reported, accounting for 53% of norovirus outbreaks in the US in the last 4 months of 2012.

The rates of undervaccination have increased over time, according to a new study, and children who miss scheduled vaccination had higher rates of hospitalization compared with up-to-date children.

While higher consumption of milk was linked with higher levels of vitamin D in children, it is also associated with a decrease in iron levels, an observational study showed.