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The birth rate for U.S. teenagers hit an all-time low in 2015, the seventh straight year a new record has been set. Overall, there were 22.3 births for every 1,000 young women between 15 and 19, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents an 8% drop in just one year. (Kaplan, 9/28)

Increasing numbers of children have high blood pressure, largely as a consequence of their obesity. A growing body of evidence suggests that high blood pressure may impair children’s cognitive skills, reducing their ability to remember, pay attention and organize facts. (Saint Louis, 9/29)

UCLA geneticist Steve Horvath led a team of 65 scientists in seven countries to record age-related changes to human DNA, calculate biological age and estimate a person’s lifespan. A higher biological age — regardless of chronological age — consistently predicted an earlier death. The findings are published in today’s edition of the journal Aging. (Goldberg, 9/28)

Aside from pesky side effects like nausea and headaches, hormonal contraceptives are generally considered quite safe and effective. But researchers Wednesday identified a heightened risk of an unintended consequence: depression. A study published in JAMA Psychiatry found women using hormonal contraception faced a higher rate of developing depression and using antidepressants than women who did not use the drugs. Oral contraceptives that combine two key hormones, a type widely used by Americans, increased women’s rate of taking antidepressants by 23 percent. Among teens using these contraceptives, the rate nearly doubled. (Heredia Rodriguez, 9/28)