The research from Mattel Children’s Hospital University of California, Los Angeles, and of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA was based on a review of data gathered on more than 120,000 kids from 1997 to 2006, according to a UPI news report.

Researchers looked at how many of the children had three or more ear infections in a year and compared it to statistics on how many had respiratory allergies. The results were then cross-referenced to air-quality data from the Environmental Protection Agency, which measures pollutants including carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide, and tiny particulate matter.

They found that as overall air quality has improved across the U.S., the number of ear infections in children has significantly decreased.

“We believe these findings, which demonstrate a direct correlation between air quality and ear infections, have both medical and political significance,” the researchers said in a statement, according to UPI.

The research findings are published in Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, UPI reports.

A new study conducted by the Archives of Internal Medicine followed 1,506 female soccer players aged 16 to 19 for nine months while they participated in a training program or a control group. The training group concentrated on motor skills and body control, as a means to prepare the young women for sports-specific stresses. Sessions consisted of warm-up, balance, muscle activation, strength and core stability. The other group did its training and warm-up routine as usual.

Among the players who took part in the special training program, three sustained injuries. Although the injuries were serious, all three returned to the field within six months of being hurt. Thirteen players in the control group had knee injuries, most of which were severe. Only four returned to full activity within six months.

The researchers concluded that the training program was linked to a 77% lower frequency of any knee injury, and a 90% lower rate of non-contact knee injuries. Study authors emphasized that the program requires no special equipment and is easy to incorporate into regular sports practices.

Mothers-to-be who allow oral bacteria to go unchecked can cause their babies to be born with low birth weight or prematurely, a new study finds. In one case, bacteria from a mother’s gums led to an infection in a full-term baby that was stillborn, according to an MSNBC.com report.

The dangers of gum disease bacteria to unborn babies have been reported before, but the new study from researchers at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio is the first to connect a mother’s gum infection to a stillborn birth, officials said.

Earlier studies of the oral bacteria Fusobacterium nucleatum in mice found the bacteria could spread from the bloodstream to the placenta. The university study was designed to determine whether the same was possible in people.

The researchers said bacteria from a mother’s mouth can easily enter her bloodstream once her gums are open and bleeding. From there, the bacteria can be quickly passed to the fetus through the placenta.

The California woman whose baby was stillborn reportedly experienced heavy bleeding from her gums associated with gum disease during her pregnancy. About 75 percent of pregnant women develop the condition due to normal hormonal changes and mild gum disease can be treated simply by brushing and flossing more often, researchers said. However, more serious cases of bloody gums during pregnancy may require dental surgery.

While the study’s findings and the report of the stillborn baby may scare many expectant mothers and drive them to obsessively brush and floss, physicians caution against feeling overly alarmed, MSNBC.com reports.

“This is just one case,” said Dr. Richard H. Beigi, an obstetric infectious disease specialist and an assistant professor of reproductive science at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Most pregnant women have bleeding gums and most don’t have dead babies. This can happen, but it’s rare. And this finding doesn’t mean that it’s increasing.”

Caramia Furniture and Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard of Ontario, Canada distributed the cribs, which were manufactured in Slovenia. The company received 18 reports of slats detaching from the rails of the crib, although no injuries were reported. The recalled cribs were sold at children’s product and mass merchandise stores from September 2002 through December 2005.

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled Diane crib and contact Caramia furniture to receive a replacement drop side. The free replacement will be available starting in March 2010.

Hardware on cribs should be tightened regularly to ensure that the crib is sturdy. When using a drop side crib, make sure that the drop side or other moving parts operate correctly.

With so many restrictions on the use of lead – another type of toxic metal linked to neurological problems and other health problems – many toy and children’s products manufacturers are using cadmium, a soft metal also used in pigments, plastics, and electroplating. The metal is used to make plastic jewelry shiny.

A recent investigation conducted by the Associated Press found cadmium in bracelet charms, necklaces, and other children’s jewelry in dangerously high levels. Cadmium is particularly dangerous for children because their growing bodies readily absorb substances, allowing cadmium to build up in the kidneys for many years, officials said.

“Just small amounts of chemicals may radically alter development,” said Harvard University Dr. Robert O. Wright, according to the AP. “I can’t even fathom why anyone would allow for even a small amount to be accessible.”

Some researchers have said cadmium lowers IQ even more than lead, even though people are exposed to far less cadmium than lead.

CPSC said in a news release that the one piece metal bars supporting the floorboard of the bassinet attachment could come out of the fabric sleeves and create an uneven sleeping surface. This could result in positional asphyxiation or suffocation. Safety First Disney Care Center and Eddie Bauer Complete Care Yard are included in the recall.

The play yards were distributed at Babie “R” Us, Kmart, Sears, Target and Walmart from January 2007 through October 2009 for between $100 and $130. The CPSC is warning consumers to immediately stop using the bassinet attachment in the play yard and contact Dorel Juvenile Group for a free repair kit including replacement bassinet fabric, bassinet bars and installment instructions. No injuries have been reported.

Many American women choose to have so-called C-sections instead of vaginal births, but the procedures are still major surgeries which increase the risks of infection, bleeding, blood clots, and injuries to organs, the researchers said.

The Minnesota researchers say most mothers should wait for spontaneous labor and C-sections should be reserved for cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, where the baby or mother are in danger, or where the mother is at least 10 days past her due date, according to a Reuters news report.

The university team examined birth certificates for about 38,000 women from 13 New York State hospitals from January 2004 to March 2008. They excluded women who had scheduled or previous cesarean deliveries and those who had come to the hospital with ruptured membranes.

They found that all groups of women who had induced labor faced increased risk for C-section, except for women who were delivering after 39 weeks, according to Reuters. The study’s findings are published in the January 2010 issue of the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The study is an important finding because millions of women take folic acid tablets or multivitamins containing the ingredient just before conception through the first trimester. However, the study’s findings apply only to taking folic acid later in pregnancy and the recommendation to take 400 micrograms of folic acid per day earlier in pregnancy still stands, according to a Reuters news report.

For the study, researchers examined asthma rates among more than 400 children and found just under 12 percent of the children had developed asthma by age 3, and the same percentage had the lung disease at age 5.

Overall, the study found children whose mothers took folic acid in late pregnancy — from the 30th week on — were 25 percent more likely to have asthma at age 3 compared with children whose mothers did not take folic acid at that point in pregnancy.

The children also were more likely to have persistent asthma symptoms from the age of 3 through age 5, the study found.

The study’s authors said they are not sure why folic acid supplements in late pregnancy appear to increase asthma risks in some children. However, animal studies suggest that folate can alter the activity of immune-system-regulating genes in the lung tissue, potentially making it more susceptible to allergic reactions, Reuters reports.

BPA exposure has long been linked to reproductive damage and other harmful effects in humans. The study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences Journal found BPA also damages the intestines.

For the study, laboratory rats were exposed to doses of BPA that was 10 times the amount considered safe. The animals developed damage to the lining of the intestines, a condition called poor intestinal permeability or leaky gut syndrome, the French study found.

The damage to the intestines makes it harder for water and other nutrients to be absorbed by the body, the study found. Also, younger rats exposed to BPA while in the uterus or through feeding after birth were at greater risks of suffering intestinal inflammation later in life. Inflammation of the intestines can increase the chances of bacteria and other harmful materials entering the intestines.

Widely Used Chemical Linked to Injuries

BPA is used to make hard plastics like infant bottles and sippy cups as well as the linings of food containers and soda cans. While low levels of the chemical are found in nearly everyone and believed to be safe, people – especially young developing children — who are exposed to higher amounts of BPA may be at risk of developing serious health complications.

Researchers suspect BPA acts like the hormone estrogen inside the body, causing complications with reproductive and neural development, among other problems.

Most cold remedies or other liquid medications come with their own plastic cup marked with the proper measurements to make it easier to deliver the proper dose. However, many people still reach into the kitchen drawer for a spoon to dispense liquid medications, which can lead to dangerous overdoses or underdoses of drugs.

Cornell University researchers found participants in a new study were more than eight percent more likely to underdose when using medium-sized spoons and more than 11 percent more likely to underdose when using larger spoons.

Still, most participants had above-average confidence that they had poured the proper dose in the spoons, the study found.

Because overdoses of medication can cause severe complications and underdoses can allow sickness to linger longer, the Food and Drug Administration advises against using spoons or other kitchen utensils to dose liquid medicines. Patients who are sick and taking cold medicine or other drugs every four to eight hours for several days are most at risk of dangerous overdoses.

For the study, 195 university students who were recent patients of the university health clinic during cold and flu season were asked to pour a one-teaspoon (5 mL) dose of cold medicine into various sizes of kitchen spoons.

The students were first given a full bottle of cold medicine and made to pour a 5 mL dose into a 5 mL teaspoon. They were then asked to pour the same amount of dose into spoons of varying sizes and asked how confident they felt in whether they had poured the proper dose.

Teens who went to bed after midnight were 24 percent more likely to be depressed and 20 percent more likely to have contemplated suicide than peers who hit the hay at or before 10 p.m. The researchers recommended that parents set earlier bedtimes as a protective measure.

The study is the first to show that sleep deprivation may cause depression in young adults. Although previous research has made the connection, the link wasn’t clear because insomnia is a symptom of depression.

The researchers studied data from 15,659 U.S. students who were in grades seven to 12 between 1994 and 1996, and their parents. Seven percent of the teens were discovered to have depression, while 13 percent said they seriously considered suicide during the preceding 12 months. The association was stronger for girls and older children, researchers reported.

The recall affects Vicks Dayquil Cold & Flu 24-Count Bonus Pack Liquicaps with the UPC number 3 23900 01087 1. The medicine was sold between September 2008 and December 2009.

Packaging that is not child-resistant should include the statement: “This package for households without young children.” If a child swallows several of the pills, it could cause serious injury or death. The product is not intended for use in children aged 12 years old or younger. No injuries have been reported.

Other risky Santa behaviors included frequent cookie snacks, occasional cigars and the refusal to wear a helmet during “extreme sports like roof surfing and chimney jumping.” And sitting on Santa’s lap? Not unless you want to catch the flu, Grills warned. “Unsuspecting little Johnny gets to sit on Santa’s lap, but as well as his present, he gets H1N1 influenza,” he wrote.

Grills acknowledged that the study was written in spoof and to spread some holiday cheer. The article states that there was no peer review of it—in a peer-reviewed journal. Take it with a grain of salt, but consider putting out carrots instead of cookies.

Teachers appear to be at the lowest risk of birth defects, but the news is not as positive for women who work as janitors, scientists, and operators of electronic equipment. Women in those jobs were at “significantly” higher risk of having a child with birth defects, according to a report on BusinessWeek.com.

The new study focused on nearly 9,000 children born with one or more birth defects of the ear, eye, mouth, face, or gastrointestinal tract. Another 3,400 children born without birth defects also were studied. All the children in the study were born between October 1997 and December 2003.

The researchers looked for a link between the occupation of the mother and the risks of birth defects. More than 75 percent of women in the study worked at paid jobs during the study period when they ranged from one month of pregnancy through the first trimester.

As for the reason why women who worked as janitors and cleaners had much higher risks of birth defects, the researchers said it is likely that exposure to chemicals used in that line of work contributed to the increased risks. The number of hours worked in the various jobs also may have been a contributing factor to the birth-defect risks.

The study was published Dec. 22 online in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

The new data represents a 50% increase from two years ago, when the CDC estimated that 1 in 150 children are affected by autism spectrum disorder. The study focused on children who were 8 years old in 2006, because research shows that most cases of autism spectrum disorder are diagnosed at that age. The research group did not investigate causes, although other CDC studies are.

Boys were about 4.5% more likely than girls to be diagnosed with the disorder, which matches well with studies that show that about 80% of sufferers are male. The average age of diagnosis was found to be 4.5, which was about five months earlier than had been the case in 2002.