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Wallace ER, Buth E, Szpiro AA, Ni Y, Loftus CT, Masterson E, Day DB, Sun BZ, Sullivan A, Barrett E, Nguyen RH, Robinson M, Kannan K, Mason A, Sathyanarayana S, LeWinn KZ, Bush NR, Karr CJ. Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is not associated with behavior problems in preschool and early school-aged children: A prospective multi-cohort study. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 216:114759. [PMID: 36370819 PMCID: PMC9817935 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/05/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epidemiological study findings are inconsistent regarding associations between prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposures and childhood behavior. This study examined associations of prenatal PAH exposure with behavior at age 4-6 years in a large, diverse, multi-region prospective cohort. Secondary aims included examination of PAH mixtures and effect modification by child sex, breastfeeding, and child neighborhood opportunity. METHODS The ECHO PATHWAYS Consortium pooled 1118 mother-child dyads from three prospective pregnancy cohorts in six U.S. cities. Seven PAH metabolites were measured in prenatal urine. Child behavior was assessed at age 4-6 using the Total Problems score from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Neighborhood opportunity was assessed using the socioeconomic and educational scales of the Child Opportunity Index. Multivariable linear regression was used to estimate associations per 2-fold increase in each PAH metabolite, adjusted for demographic, prenatal, and maternal factors and using interaction terms for effect modifiers. Associations with PAH mixtures were estimated using Weighted Quantile Sum Regression (WQSR). RESULTS The sample was racially and sociodemographically diverse (38% Black, 49% White, 7% Other; household-adjusted income range $2651-$221,102). In fully adjusted models, each 2-fold increase in 2-hydroxynaphthalene was associated with a lower Total Problems score, contrary to hypotheses (b = -0.80, 95% CI = -1.51, -0.08). Associations were notable in boys (b = -1.10, 95% CI = -2.11, -0.08) and among children breastfed 6+ months (b = -1.31, 95% CI = -2.25, -0.37), although there was no statistically significant evidence for interaction by child sex, breastfeeding, or neighborhood child opportunity. Associations were null for other PAH metabolites; there was no evidence of associations with PAH mixtures from WQSR. CONCLUSION In this large, well-characterized, prospective study of mother-child pairs, prenatal PAH exposure was not associated with child behavior problems. Future studies characterizing the magnitude of prenatal PAH exposure and studies in older childhood are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin R Wallace
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | - Erin Buth
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Adam A Szpiro
- Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Yu Ni
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Christine T Loftus
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Erin Masterson
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Drew B Day
- Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Bob Z Sun
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Alexis Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Emily Barrett
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, School of Public Health, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Ruby Hn Nguyen
- Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Morgan Robinson
- Department of Pediatrics and Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Kurunthachalam Kannan
- Department of Pediatrics and Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Alex Mason
- Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Sheela Sathyanarayana
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kaja Z LeWinn
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Nicole R Bush
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Catherine J Karr
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Engelhardt LE, Church JA, Paige Harden K, Tucker-Drob EM. Accounting for the shared environment in cognitive abilities and academic achievement with measured socioecological contexts. Dev Sci 2018; 22:e12699. [PMID: 30113118 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral and molecular genetic research has established that child cognitive ability and academic performance are substantially heritable, but genetic variation does not account for all of the stratification of cognitive and academic outcomes across families. Which specific contexts and experiences contribute to these shared environmental influences on cognitive ability and academic achievement? Using an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of N = 1728 twins ages 7-20 from the Texas Twin Project, we identified specific measured family, school, and neighborhood socioecological contexts that statistically accounted for latent shared environmental variance in cognitive abilities and academic skills. Composite measures of parent socioeconomic status (SES), school demographic composition, and neighborhood SES accounted for moderate proportions of variation in IQ and achievement. Total variance explained by the multilevel contexts ranged from 15% to 22%. The influence of family SES on IQ and achievement overlapped substantially with the influence of school and neighborhood predictors. Together with race, the measured socioecological contexts explained 100% of shared environmental influences on IQ and approximately 79% of shared environmental influences on both verbal comprehension and reading ability. In contrast, nontrivial proportions of shared environmental variation in math performance were left unexplained. We highlight the potential utility of constructing "polyenvironmental risk scores" in an effort to better predict developmental outcomes and to quantify children's and adolescents' interrelated networks of experiences. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/77E_DctFsr0.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - K Paige Harden
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Texas.,Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Texas
| | - Elliot M Tucker-Drob
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, Texas.,Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Texas
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Callinan S, Theiler S, Cunningham E. Identifying learning disabilities through a cognitive deficit framework: can verbal memory deficits explain similarities between learning disabled and low achieving students? JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES 2015; 48:271-280. [PMID: 23886581 DOI: 10.1177/0022219413497587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Traditionally, students with learning disabilities (LD) have been identified using an aptitude-achievement discrepancy or response to intervention approach. As profiles of the cognitive deficits of discrepancy-defined students with LD have already been developed using these approaches, these deficits can in turn be used to identify LD using the discrepancy approach as a benchmark for convergent validity. Australian Grade 3 (N = 172) students were administered cognitive processing tests to ascertain whether scores in these tests could accurately allocate students into discrepancy-defined groups using discriminant function analysis. Results showed that 77% to 82% of students could be correctly allocated into LD, low achievement, and regular achievement groups using only measures of phonological processing, rapid naming, and verbal memory. Furthermore, verbal memory deficits were found, along with phonological processing and rapid naming deficits, in students that would be designated as low achieving by the discrepancy method. Because a significant discrepancy or lack of response to intervention is a result of cognitive deficits rather than the other way around, it is argued that LD should be identified via cognitive deficits.
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Fiscella K, Kitzman H. Disparities in academic achievement and health: the intersection of child education and health policy. Pediatrics 2009; 123:1073-80. [PMID: 19255042 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2008-0533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent data suggest that that the United States is failing to make significant progress toward the Healthy People 2010 goal of eliminating health disparities. One missing element from the US strategy for achieving this goal is a focus on gaps in child development and achievement. Academic achievement and education seem to be critical determinants of health across the life span and disparities in one contribute to disparities in the other. Despite these linkages, national policy treats child education and health as separate. Landmark education legislation, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, is due for Congressional reauthorization. It seeks to eliminate gaps in academic child achievement by 2014. It does so by introducing accountability for states, school districts, and schools. In this special article, we review health disparities and contributors to child achievement gaps. We review changes in achievement gaps over time and potential contributors to the limited success of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, including its unfunded mandates and unfounded assumptions. We conclude with key reforms, which include addressing gaps in child school readiness through adequate investment in child health and early education and reductions in child poverty; closing the gap in child achievement by ensuring equity in school accountability standards; and, importantly, ensuring equity in school funding so that resources are allocated on the basis of the needs of the students. This will ensure that schools, particularly those serving large numbers of poor and minority children, have the resources necessary to promote optimal learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Fiscella
- University of Rochester, 1381 South Ave, Rochester, NY 14620, USA.
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Roth J, Figlio DN, Chen Y, Ariet M, Carter RL, Resnick MB, Morse SB. Maternal and infant factors associated with excess kindergarten costs. Pediatrics 2004; 114:720-8. [PMID: 15342845 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2003-1028-l] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To estimate the excess educational costs at kindergarten from infant and maternal factors that are reported routinely at birth. METHODS Birth and school records were analyzed for all children who were born in Florida between September 1, 1990, and August 31, 1991, and entered kindergarten from 1996 through 1999 (N = 120,554). Outcome measure was cost to state, derived from base allocation for students in regular classrooms plus multiplier weights for those who were assigned to 8 mutually exclusive special education categories or who repeated kindergarten. RESULTS More than one quarter of the study cohort was found to be assigned to special education classes at kindergarten. Regression model estimates indicated that children who were born at <1000 g (n = 380) generated 71% higher costs in kindergarten than children who were born at >or=2500 g. Children who were born at 1000 to 1499 g (n = 839) generated 49% higher costs. Other birth conditions, independent of birth weight, were associated with higher kindergarten costs: family poverty (31%), congenital anomalies (29%), maternal education less than high school (20%), and no prenatal care (14%). Because of their prevalence, family poverty and low maternal education accounted for >75% of excess kindergarten costs. If 9% of infants who weighed between 1500 and 2499 g (n = 1027) could be delivered at 2500 g, then the state of Florida potentially could save 1 million dollars in kindergarten costs. Savings of a similar magnitude might be achieved if 3% of mothers who left school without a diploma (n = 1528) were to graduate. CONCLUSIONS Any policy recommendation aimed at reducing education costs in kindergarten must take into consideration 3 factors: the prevalence of risk conditions whose amelioration is desired, the potential cost savings associated with reducing those conditions, and the costs of amelioration. Projecting these costs from information that is available at birth can assist school districts and state agencies in allocating resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Roth
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, PO Box 100296, Gainesville, FL 32610-0296, USA
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Certain LK, Kahn RS. Prevalence, correlates, and trajectory of television viewing among infants and toddlers. Pediatrics 2002; 109:634-42. [PMID: 11927708 DOI: 10.1542/peds.109.4.634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 217] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Recognizing the negative effects of television on children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children 2 years and older watch <2 hours of television per day and that children younger than 2 years watch no television. However, relatively little is known about the amount of television viewed by infants and toddlers. The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence and correlates of television viewing that exceeds the AAP guidelines for 0- to 35-month-olds and to examine the trajectory of a child's viewing over time. METHODS Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1990 to 1998, were used to analyze reported television viewing at 0 to 35 months of age and to follow the trajectory of a child's viewing from infancy through age 6. Logistic regression models were used to determine risk factors associated with greater television viewing at 0 to 35 months and the association of early viewing habits with school-age viewing. RESULTS Seventeen percent of 0- to 11-month-olds, 48% of 12- to 23-month-olds, and 41% of 24- to 35-month-olds were reported to watch more television than the AAP recommends. Compared with college graduates, less-educated women were more likely to report that their children watched more television than recommended. Children who watched >2 hours per day at age 2 were more likely to watch >2 hours per day at age 6 (odds ratio: 2.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.8-3.9), controlling for maternal education, race, marital status and employment, household income, and birth order. CONCLUSIONS A substantial number of children begin watching television at an earlier age and in greater amounts than the AAP recommends. Furthermore, these early viewing patterns persist into childhood. Preventive intervention research on television viewing should consider targeting infants and toddlers and their families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura K Certain
- Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA
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