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FRIDAY, Sept. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Parents of a child with autism might wonder if a pet cat would be a good fit for the family. Now, research suggests both children with autism and cats benefit when a feline joins the household.Gretchen Carlisle, a research scientist at the Missouri University Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction, in Columbia, Mo., and her colleagues studied the pet dynamic from both sides. "It's not only important to examine how families of children with autism may benefit from these wonderful companion animals, but also if the relationship is stressful or burdensome for the shelter cats being adopted into a new, perhaps unpredictable environment," Carlisle said in a university news release. "In our study, we found the cats acclimated well to their new...

FRIDAY, Sept. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Parents: You may think temporary tattoos are harmless for children. But kids who decorate themselves with these transfer tattoos may be disrupting the skin's protective barrier, Spanish researchers report.They looked at the effects on skin of permanent tattoos and temporary transfers. The surprising takeaway: Temporary transfer tattoos do more damage. More moisture was lost in skin with transfer tattoos compared to non-tattooed skin, which can damage the epidermis, the skin's thin protective barrier, the study found. Meanwhile, permanently tattooed skin differs little from untouched skin, researchers added."Skin to which transfer tattoos had been applied presented lower temperatures, poorer hydration of the stratum corneum [epidermis], and...

FRIDAY, Sept. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Black Americans and Mexican Americans typically develop type 2 diabetes up to seven years earlier than their white counterparts, a new study finds.In all, more than 25% of adults in the two groups reported being diagnosed with diabetes before age 40, and 20% didn't know they had the disease.Researchers said the findings highlight the need to address economic and social conditions that underlie health status. They added that further study should consider earlier screening for at-risk groups."The earlier you can screen, the better, but the biggest barrier to screening is the trade-off for cost and benefit," said study co-author Dr. Sadiya Khan, an assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "Screening...

FRIDAY, Sept. 10, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- New glasses are helping kids in Baltimore see more success in school.A three-year clinical study found that students who got new eyeglasses through a school-based program had higher reading and math test scores."The glasses offered the biggest benefit to the very kids who needed it the most – the ones who were really struggling in school," said Dr. Megan Collins, a pediatric ophthalmologist who is co-director of the Johns Hopkins Consortium for School-Based Health Solutions, in Baltimore.Collins said her team "rigorously demonstrated" that giving kids the glasses they need helps them succeed in school."This collaborative project with Johns Hopkins, Baltimore City and its partners has major implications for advancing health and educational...