News

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.

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.

NIH has awarded one-year supplemental grants to five institutions to explore potential links between COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual changes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality in the United States may be larger than previously reported, suggests an NICHD-funded study.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Sleep disturbances, common in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), do not appear to hinder conception and live birth rates for women undergoing treatment for infertility, suggests a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the researchers found that for women with PCOS, insulin resistance—a risk factor for type 2 diabetes—was associated with lower conception and live birth rates.

Among 6- and 7-year-olds who were born extremely preterm—before the 28th week of pregnancy—those who had more than two hours of screen time a day were more likely to have deficits in overall IQ, executive functioning (problem solving skills), impulse control and attention, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

A data resource established with NICHD funding is helping advance research to understand and improve health outcomes for babies with rare genetic diseases identified by newborn screening.

A program providing new parents with one to three home visits from a nurse soon after the birth of a child was associated with 39% fewer child protective service investigations for maltreatment through age five, compared to parents who received usual newborn services, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. Families receiving the visits also had 33% fewer emergency department visits.

The National Institutes of Health is funding five additional projects to identify ways of safely returning students and staff to in-person school in areas with vulnerable and underserved populations. The awards are the second installment of the Safe Return to School Diagnostic Testing Initiative, launched earlier this year as part of the NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program. The new awards will provide up to $15 million over two years for five projects in California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nebraska and Florida. The 8 initial awards, totaling $33 million over two years, were made in April 2021.