News

Pay-for-performance programs benefit from use of exclusion reporting, whereby certain patients are excluded from quality calculations, and the practice of excluding patients to disguise missed targets, known as gaming, is rare, according to study findings published in the July 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Medical schools must adapt their admission requirements and curricula to changes in scientific theory, and are also facing a challenge to the traditional definition of who is suited to the study of medicine, according to two articles published in the July 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

More than 80 percent of breech infants in the United States are born by Caesarean section, although rates vary widely by state, researchers report in the July issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The United States must focus on effective delivery if adolescents are going to benefit from the development of recent vaccines, according to two articles published in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Menthol content in cigarettes is one of the ways in which tobacco companies manipulate the sensory characteristics of cigarettes to appeal to adolescents and young adults, according to the results of a study published online July 16 in the American Journal of Public Health.

Children whose mothers ate nuts on a daily basis during pregnancy may be at increased risk of asthma, according to the results of a study published in the July 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Decreased gestational age at birth was associated with a higher risk of severe medical disabilities in adulthood, as well as a lower likelihood of reaching several educational milestones or having a high income, according to research published in the July 17 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Young adolescents who believe that they have easy access to cigarettes are more likely to become regular smokers, especially if they have friends who smoke, according to study findings published in the July/August issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Background television may have a disruptive influence on the behavior of children ages 12 to 36 months, as reported in the July/August Child Development.

Between the ages of 9 and 15, physical activity fell steeply for American boys and girls in a geographically diverse sample, according to research published in the July 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The use of simvastatin was not associated with cognitive improvements in children with neurofibromatosis type 1, contrary to findings in mouse models suggesting efficacy of this treatment, according to research published in the July 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

From the post-Civil War years to the civil rights era a century later, the American Medical Association (AMA) made decisions that helped support a division between white and black Americans in the field of medicine in the United States, according to an article in the July 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In North Carolina, an innovative community care program improves quality and reduces costs and may be a model for other states to follow, according to an article published in the July/August issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.

Exposure to violence makes a direct contribution to health inequalities by restricting people's ability to exercise outdoors and inhibiting delivery of health-related services, according to a report published online July 15 in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Abatacept, a drug effective for adults with rheumatoid arthritis, is also effective compared with placebo in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis who had already shown an initial response to the drug and failed other treatments, according to an article published online July 15 in The Lancet.

The incidence of invasive cutaneous melanoma among white men and women aged 15 to 39 has significantly increased since 1973, and has more than doubled among younger women, according to a letter published online July 10 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

The introduction of shoulder dystocia training for all hospital maternity staff can significantly improve management of the complication as well as neonatal outcomes, according to research published in the July issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

An office-based intervention by primary care physicians can contribute to violence-prevention efforts by reducing children's media exposure and improving safe storage of firearms, researchers report in the July issue of Pediatrics.

Baltimore's John Hopkins may have the best overall hospital in the country according to US News and World Reports, but when it comes to kids, Philly has it beat.

Children with normal computed tomography (CT) findings perform better in multiple cognitive domains one year after mild traumatic brain injury than children with CT evidence of intracranial pathology, according to an article published in the June issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.

Parents who take part in a workplace-based education program aimed at helping them communicate with their adolescent children about sex are more likely to broach new topics, teach their children how to use a condom and report better lines of communication about sexual health, according to research published July 10 in BMJ Online First.

The AAP drew heavy criticism from pediatricians and the media for its recent statement that certain children eight and up could receive cholesterol-fighting statins.

Administering a one-time vitamin A supplement to newborns in Bangladesh within a few days of birth was associated with a lower risk of mortality through six months, according to research published in the July issue of Pediatrics.

Nearly half of all college-age students have experienced relationship violence at some point in their lives, according to an article published in the July issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Young adults who were born at extremely low birth weights may be more cautious, shy, risk aversive and introverted than their normal birth weight peers, traits that could increase their risk for future psychiatric and emotional problems, according to study findings published in the July issue of Pediatrics.

Compared to not washing their hands, maternal and birth attendant handwashing prior to handling neonates significantly lowers neonatal death, according to an article published in the July issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.