JAMA Pediatrics

08/25/2026

Children aged 2 to 5 years who received influenza vaccination at fall well-child visits had lower rates of diagnosed each season than those with summer birthdays.

This cross-sectional study examines national insurance claims data to examine the efficacy of influenza vaccination in US children aged 2 to 5 years.

08/24/2026

Replacing universal hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination with a targeted approach increased neonatal and chronic HBV infections, requiring intensive screening efforts to offset excess cases.

This modeling study estimates the impact of replacing universal hepatitis B virus birth-dose vaccination with a targeted recommendation on neonatal and subsequent chronic hepatitis B virus infections in the US.

08/23/2026

Adolescents in a national cohort used smartphones an average of 50 minutes on school nights, mostly for social media, with about half using devices during midnight hours, raising concerns for sleep disruption.

This cross-sectional study uses passive smartphone sensing data to characterize school night smartphone use by app category among adolescents and to examine sociodemographic correlates of nighttime use in a national sample.

08/22/2026

Nearly 1 in 5 US adolescents and young adults used chatbots for mental health advice in 2025, with most users not disclosing their engagement to family, friends, or clinicians.

This survey study evaluates the percentage of US adolescents and young adults who used artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots for mental health advice as of 2025 and to what extent they told others.

08/21/2026

National survey estimates indicate the prevalence of diagnosed among US children and adolescents has risen, with disparities based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

This cross-sectional study discusses the prevalence of parent-reported physician-diagnosed type 2 diabetes in youths aged 10 to 17 years participating in the 2022 to 2024 National Survey of Children’s Health.

08/20/2026

💬 Editorial: Mortality among children with receiving antiretroviral therapy decreases with greater maternal education, increased vaccine coverage, and access to clean water, supporting targeted resource investment in low-income settings.

“Children [and adolescents] are the living messages we send to a time we will not see,”1 but for the millions of children and adolescents with HIV, research and innovation are core to bringing this notion to reality through policy and public health practice. HIV is now a treatable chronic diseas...

08/19/2026

Among infants hospitalized with acute respiratory illness in Australia, maternal vaccination during pregnancy was associated with lower risk of hospitalization for respiratory syncytial virus lower respiratory tract disease through 6 months of age. Protection was highest in the earliest months of life and was also observed for severe disease, supporting maternal immunization as a year-round strategy to reduce infant hospitalization.

This case-control study with a test-negative design estimates effectiveness of maternal vaccination with bivalent respiratory syncytial virus prefusion F protein–based vaccine (RSVpreF) during pregnancy against infant RSV hospitalization in Australia.

08/19/2026

A cross-sectional study found that implementation of the Rx Kids universal perinatal cash transfer program in Flint, Michigan was associated with a significant reduction in investigated infant maltreatment allegations within the first 6 months of life. Compared with similar cities, the introduction of unconditional cash support coincided with a 7–percentage-point (32%) decline in investigations, narrowing disparities between Flint and state averages. Secondary outcomes such as neglect-related and substantiated allegations also decreased but were not statistically significant, supporting the potential for economic interventions to reduce early child welfare system involvement.

08/18/2026

Loss or persistent lack of high pediatric readiness was associated with excess deaths among children receiving emergency care. Loss or persistent lack of pediatric was also independently associated with excess mortality, indicating that both emergency and inpatient pediatric capacity are associated with child survival.

This cohort study examines 10 years of data from hospitals in 11 US states to evaluate pediatric mortality associated with changes to emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness and pediatric inpatient services.

08/18/2026

💬 Editorial: Children with chronic health needs or social needs showed higher rates of health-related school absenteeism; targeted, multidisciplinary interventions are needed to improve attendance and outcomes.

Chronic school absenteeism, defined as missing at least 10% or 18 days of school per year, is negatively associated with lifelong academic, health, and economic outcomes.1 Over the past 20 years, a robust body of literature has investigated the consequences and drivers of chronic absenteeism to...