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THURSDAY, Dec. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Autism may be more prevalent among American children than believed, a new U.S. government study shows.One in 44 children at age 8 in the United States have been diagnosed with the developmental disorder, a jump from the previous estimate of 1 in 54 children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found.But a second study offered more heartening news: After looking at 4-year-old children in the same 11 communities analyzed in the first report, researchers found there was progress in the early identification of children with autism. These children were 50% more likely to receive an autism diagnosis or special education classification by age 4 when compared to the 8-year-olds."The substantial progress in early identification...

THURSDAY, Dec. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Children and teenagers vaccinated against the mumps virus have accounted for one-third of infections in recent years, a new U.S. government study finds.The reasons are unclear, and experts stressed that routine childhood vaccination remains the best weapon against mumps -- a contagious infection that is usually mild, but can cause serious complications.After the mumps vaccine was introduced in the United States in 1967, cases of the infection plummeted by 99%. Since 2006, however, there has been an uptick in yearly cases -- often among college-age adults who were vaccinated as children.That led to speculation that waning immunity was to blame.But the new study shows that vaccinated children and teens have also accounted for a significant share...

THURSDAY, Dec. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- College students are not bouncing back from the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, a troubling new study finds.Researchers were surprised to find that one year after the start of the pandemic, college students were still less active and more at risk for depression even as social restrictions were lifted and many were vaccinated.While the new study focused on the experiences of college students in spring 2021, preliminary results from continued research suggest those trends carried on into early fall."The surprising fact is that despite the lifting of many restrictions and in light of the vaccine, still the students reported very high rates of mental distress," said study author Osea Giuntella. He is an assistant professor in the...

THURSDAY, Dec. 2, 2021 (American Heart Association News) -- To occupy his mind during long-distance trail runs, Philip Stark started noticing the variety of plants in the fields around him, then the way they changed with the seasons. As the plants bloomed and thrived over time, he began to wonder, "Can I eat that?"So Stark, a professor of statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, challenged himself to identify a new edible plant every week and to have something foraged in his diet every day."Once your brain regains the hunter-gatherer mode of operation that we've all evolved to have, you start seeing the plants everywhere – and not just in what we normally consider 'nature,'" Stark said. "As I started to notice these plants growing in urban ecosystems, the obvious...