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WEDNESDAY, Dec. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- While climate change calls to mind extreme weather and melting polar ice caps, government officials' inaction to stop it is also affecting the mental health of young people, new research reveals."This study paints a horrific picture of widespread climate anxiety in our children and young people. It suggests for the first time that high levels of psychological distress in youth is linked to government inaction," study author Caroline Hickman, of the Climate Psychology Alliance at the University of Bath in England, said in a university news release.The researchers surveyed 10,000 young people between 16 and 25 years of age in 10 countries. Forty-five percent said climate anxiety and distress affects their daily lives, and 75% called the future...

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- A program meant to encourage the use of a drug that can help people overcome opioid addiction led to dramatic increases in its use in emergency rooms, researchers report.Buprenorphine is a medication that stabilizes opioid withdrawal and soothes cravings. Using it can help people with opioid use disorder stay engaged with care, while reducing overdose deaths and other complications of drug use.The program designed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania worked both to give doctors incentives to train to treat opioid use disorder, as well as to develop and improve the connection between patients and peer recovery specialists. Designed to increase initiation of the use of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder in emergency...

TUESDAY, Dec. 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Every year in the United States, a few hundred children die suddenly and without explanation. Now researchers have found gene variants that may contribute to some of those tragic deaths.The hope, experts said, is that understanding the underlying mechanisms will eventually lead to ways to save lives.Since the 1990s, the term SIDS -- short for sudden infant death syndrome -- has been imprinted on the public mind, with the help of campaigns from the federal government and medical organizations. Parents were urged to put their infants to sleep on their backs, among other safety measures, to reduce the risk of SIDS.As a result, the national rate of those deaths dropped substantially.Much less attention has gone to what's called "sudden unexplained...

TUESDAY, Dec. 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Child hospitalizations for COVID-19 jumped 30% this past week as the Omicron variant spread like wildfire throughout the United States.By Dec. 28, the country had an average of 260 pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations each day, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In New York City alone, child hospitalizations are up fivefold since early December, nearly all among unvaccinated kids, CBS News reported.Parents should take the Omicron variant seriously, Dr. Sallie Permar told the news outlet. She is pediatrician-in-chief at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City."The vaccine is so much safer than getting the virus itself," Permar said. "And, so, giving your child the...