WASHINGTON (AP) — The more time that children spent in child care, the more likely their sixth-grade teachers were to report problem behavior.

Also, children who got good quality child care before entering kindergarten had better vocabulary scores in the fifth grade than did youngsters who received lower quality care.

The findings come from the largest study of child care and development conducted in the United States. The 1,364 children in the analysis had been tracked since birth as part of a study by the National Institutes of Health.

In the study’s latest installment, released Monday, researchers evaluated whether characteristics observed between kindergarten and third grade were still present in fifth grade or sixth grade. The researchers found that the vocabulary and behavior patterns did continue, though many other characteristics did dissipate.

The researchers said that the increase in vocabulary and problem behaviors was small, and that parenting quality was a much more important predictor of child development.

Continue reading " Child Care Linked to Later Behavioral Issues "

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Manufacturers of attention deficit drugs should alert patients to possible cardiovascular and psychiatric risks from the medicines, health officials said Wednesday.

The Food and Drug Administration said it told the drugmakers to develop patient-friendly guides that explain the risks and hand them out with the medicines.

“Medicines approved for the treatment of ADHD have real benefits for many patients but they may have serious risks as well,” Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement.

Attention deficit drugmakers include Novartis’ Ritalin, Shire’s Adderall, Eli Lilly’s Strattera and Johnson & Johnson’s Concerta.

“An FDA review of reports of serious cardiovascular adverse events in patients taking usual doses of ADHD products revealed reports of sudden death in patients with underlying serious heart problems or defects, and reports of stroke and heart attack in adults with certain risk factors,” an agency statement said.

Continue reading " ADHD Drugmakers Told to Explain Risks "

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a child’s buffet of food commercials, more than 40 percent of the dishes are candy, snacks and fast food. Nowhere to be found: fresh fruit, vegetables, poultry or seafood.

For years, health officials have warned that kids were being inundated with commercials about not-so-healthy foods. Now, researchers have put numbers to those warnings in the largest-ever study of commercials aimed at children.

“The vast majority of the foods that kids see advertised on television today are for products that nutritionists would tell us they need to be eating less of, not more of, if we’re going to get a handle on childhood obesity,” said Vicki Rideout of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which conducts health research.

Overall, the foundation’s researchers monitored 13 television networks. The viewing took place primarily between late May and early September 2005. They saw 2,613 ads featuring food and drinks that targeted children and teens. (Health.com: Some healthy fast-food choices )

Continue reading " Study: Kids Get Steady Diet of Junk Food Ads "