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Lung FW, Chiang TL, Lin SJ, Shu BC. Incinerator pollution and child development in the taiwan birth cohort study. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2013; 10:2241-57. [PMID: 23727903 PMCID: PMC3717734 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph10062241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2012] [Revised: 04/22/2013] [Accepted: 05/24/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the direct and indirect effects of environmental pollutants on child development and parental concerns. It focused on the pathway relationships among the following factors: living within three kilometers of an incinerator, breastfeeding, place of residence, parental concerns about development, and parent-perceived child development. The Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS) dataset includes randomized community data on 21,248 children at six, 18, and 36 months of age. The Parental Concern Checklist and the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study-Developmental Instrument were used to measure parental concern and parent-perceived child development. Living within three kilometers of an incinerator increased the risk of children showing delayed development in the gross motor domain at six and 36 months. Although breastfeeding is a protective factor against uneven/delayed developmental disability (U/DDD), children living near an incinerator who were breastfed had an increased risk of U/DDD compared with those who did not live near incinerators. The presence of a local incinerator affected parent-perceived child development directly and indirectly through the mediating factor of breastfeeding. Further follow-up of these children to investigate the long-term effects of specific toxins on their development and later diagnostic categorization is necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- For-Wey Lung
- Taipei City Hospital, Songde Branch, Taipei 110, Taiwan; E-Mail:
- Department of Psychiatry, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 114, Taiwan
| | - Tung-Liang Chiang
- Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan; E-Mail:
| | - Shio-Jean Lin
- Department of Pediatrics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan; E-Mail:
| | - Bih-Ching Shu
- Institute of Allied Health Sciences and Department of Nursing, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mails: ; ; Tel.: +886-6-235-3535 (ext. 5822); Fax: +886-6-237-7550
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Rundle A, Rauh VA, Quinn J, Lovasi G, Trasande L, Susser E, Andrews HF. Use of community-level data in the National Children's Study to establish the representativeness of segment selection in the Queens Vanguard Site. Int J Health Geogr 2012; 11:18. [PMID: 22668454 PMCID: PMC3464806 DOI: 10.1186/1476-072x-11-18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2011] [Accepted: 06/05/2012] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The WHO Multiple Exposures Multiple Effects (MEME) framework identifies community contextual variables as central to the study of childhood health. Here we identify multiple domains of neighborhood context, and key variables describing the dimensions of these domains, for use in the National Children's Study (NCS) site in Queens. We test whether the neighborhoods selected for NCS recruitment, are representative of the whole of Queens County, and whether there is sufficient variability across neighborhoods for meaningful studies of contextual variables. METHODS Nine domains (demographic, socioeconomic, households, birth rated, transit, playground/greenspace, safety and social disorder, land use, and pollution sources) and 53 indicator measures of the domains were identified. Geographic information systems were used to create community-level indicators for US Census tracts containing the 18 study neighborhoods in Queens selected for recruitment, using US Census, New York City Vital Statistics, and other sources of community-level information. Mean and inter-quartile range values for each indicator were compared for Tracts in recruitment and non-recruitment neighborhoods in Queens. RESULTS Across the nine domains, except in a very few instances, the NCS segment-containing tracts (N=43) were not statistically different from those 597 populated tracts in Queens not containing portions of NCS segments; variability in most indicators was comparable in tracts containing and not containing segments. CONCLUSIONS In a diverse urban setting, the NCS segment selection process succeeded in identifying recruitment areas that are, as a whole, representative of Queens County, for a broad range of community-level variables.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Rundle
- Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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Trasande L, Andrews HF, Goranson C, Li W, Barrow EC, VanderBeek SB, McCrary B, Allen SB, Gallagher KD, Rundle A, Quinn J, Brenner B. Early experiences and predictors of recruitment success for the National Children's Study. Pediatrics 2011; 127:261-8. [PMID: 21262893 PMCID: PMC3025422 DOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-2334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We aimed to describe 17 months of experience with household recruitment of live births for the National Children's Study in Queens, a highly urban, diverse borough of New York City (NYC), and to assess predictors of recruitment success. METHODS Recruitment data (enumeration, pregnancy screening of age-eligible women, identification of pregnancies, and consent) for the period of January 2009 through May 2010 were calculated. Geographic information systems were used to create 11 community-level variables for each of the 18 study segments where recruitment occurred, using US Census, NYC Office of Vital Statistics, NYC Department of City Planning, and NYC Police Department data. Recruitment yields were analyzed with respect to these variables at the segment level. RESULTS Enumeration identified 4889 eligible women, of whom 4333 (88.6%) completed the pregnancy screener. At least 115 births were lost because of an inability of the pregnancy screener to identify pregnant women, whereas another 115 could be expected to be lost because of missed enumerations and pregnancy screeners. The consent rate was 60.3%. Segments with higher percentages of low birth weight had higher enumeration, pregnancy screening, and consent rates. CONCLUSIONS In a highly immigrant, urban setting, households could be approached for recruitment of women to participate in the National Children's Study with consent rates equal to those experienced in clinical settings. Refinement of the pregnancy screener and other recruitment materials presents an opportunity to optimize recruitment, improve the representativeness of study participants, and improve the cost-effectiveness of study execution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Trasande
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029, USA.
| | | | - Christopher Goranson
- Division of Epidemiology, Bureau of Vital Statistics, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York; and
| | - Wenhui Li
- Division of Epidemiology, Bureau of Vital Statistics, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York; and
| | | | - Suzette B. VanderBeek
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
| | | | | | | | | | - James Quinn
- Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, Columbia University, New York, New York
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Landrigan PJ, Rauh VA, Galvez MP. Environmental justice and the health of children. THE MOUNT SINAI JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, NEW YORK 2010; 77:178-87. [PMID: 20309928 PMCID: PMC6042867 DOI: 10.1002/msj.20173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Environmental injustice is the inequitable and disproportionately heavy exposure of poor, minority, and disenfranchised populations to toxic chemicals and other environmental hazards. Environmental injustice contributes to disparities in health status across populations of differing ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status. Infants and children, because of their unique biological vulnerabilities and age-related patterns of exposure, are especially vulnerable to the health impacts of environmental injustice. These impacts are illustrated by sharp disparities across children of different racial and ethnic backgrounds in the prevalence of 3 common diseases caused in part by environmental factors: asthma, lead poisoning, and obesity. Documentation of linkages between health disparities and environmental injustice is an important step toward achieving environmental justice.
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Lioy PJ, Isukapalli SS, Trasande L, Thorpe L, Dellarco M, Weisel C, Georgopoulos PG, Yung C, Alimokhtari S, Brown M, Landrigan PJ. Using national and local extant data to characterize environmental exposures in the national children's study: Queens County, New York. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2009; 117:1494-504. [PMID: 20019897 PMCID: PMC2790501 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.0900623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2009] [Accepted: 06/15/2009] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The National Children's Study is a long-term epidemiologic study of 100,000 children from 105 locations across the United States. It will require information on a large number of environmental variables to address its core hypotheses. The resources available to collect actual home and personal exposure samples are limited, with most of the home sampling completed on periodic visits and the personal sampling generally limited to biomonitoring. To fill major data gaps, extant data will be required for each study location. The Queens Vanguard Center has examined the extent of those needs and the types of data that are generally and possibly locally available. DATA In this review we identify three levels of data--national, state and county--and local data and information sets (levels 1-3, respectively), each with different degrees of availability and completeness, that can be used as a starting point for the extant data collection in each study location over time. We present an example on the use of this tiered approach, to tailor the data needs for Queens County and to provide general guidance for application to other NCS locations. CONCLUSIONS Preexisting and continually evolving databases are available for use in the NCS to characterize exposure. The three levels of data we identified will be used to test a method for developing exposure indices for segments and homes during the pilot phase of NCS, as outlined in this article.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Lioy
- Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, University of Medicine and Dentistry, New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
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Kim BM, Ha M, Park HS, Lee BE, Kim YJ, Hong YC, Kim Y, Chang N, Roh YM, Kim BN, Oh SY, Ha EH. The Mothers and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study. Eur J Epidemiol 2009; 24:573-83. [PMID: 19629723 PMCID: PMC2744774 DOI: 10.1007/s10654-009-9370-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2009] [Accepted: 07/07/2009] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
The MOCEH study is a prospective hospital- and community-based cohort study designed to collect information related to environmental exposures (chemical, biological, nutritional, physical, and psychosocial) during pregnancy and childhood and to examine how exposure to environmental pollutants affects growth, development, and disease. The MOCEH network includes one coordinating center, four local centers responsible for recruiting pregnant women, and four evaluation centers (a nutrition center, bio-repository center, neurocognitive development center, and environment assessment center). At the local centers, trained nurses interview the participants to gather information regarding their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, complications related to the current gestation period, health behaviors and environmental factors. These centers also collect samples of blood, placenta, urine, and breast milk. Environmental hygienists measure each participant's level of exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutants during the pre- and postnatal periods. The participants are followed up through delivery and until the child is 5 years of age. The MOCEH study plans to recruit 1,500 pregnant women between 2006 and 2010 and to perform follow-up studies on their children. We expect this study to provide evidence to support the hypothesis that the gestational environment has an effect on the development of diseases during adulthood. We also expect the study results to enable evaluation of latency and age-specific susceptibility to exposure to hazardous environmental pollutants, evaluation of growth retardation focused on environmental and genetic risk factors, selection of target environmental diseases in children, development of an environmental health index, and establishment of a national policy for improving the health of pregnant women and their children.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byung-Mi Kim
- Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Ewha Medical Research Center, Ewha Womans University, 911-1 Mok 6-dong, Yangcheon-Gu, Seoul, Korea
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Trasande L, Cronk C, Durkin M, Weiss M, Schoeller DA, Gall EA, Hewitt JB, Carrel AL, Landrigan PJ, Gillman MW. Environment and obesity in the National Children's Study. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2009; 117:159-66. [PMID: 19270782 PMCID: PMC2649214 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.11839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2008] [Accepted: 09/11/2008] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In this review we describe the approach taken by the National Children's Study (NCS), a 21-year prospective study of 100,000 American children, to understanding the role of environmental factors in the development of obesity. DATA SOURCES AND EXTRACTION We review the literature with regard to the two core hypotheses in the NCS that relate to environmental origins of obesity and describe strategies that will be used to test each hypothesis. DATA SYNTHESIS Although it is clear that obesity in an individual results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, control of the obesity epidemic will require understanding of factors in the modern built environment and chemical exposures that may have the capacity to disrupt the link between energy intake and expenditure. The NCS is the largest prospective birth cohort study ever undertaken in the United States that is explicitly designed to seek information on the environmental causes of pediatric disease. CONCLUSIONS Through its embrace of the life-course approach to epidemiology, the NCS will be able to study the origins of obesity from preconception through late adolescence, including factors ranging from genetic inheritance to individual behaviors to the social, built, and natural environment and chemical exposures. It will have sufficient statistical power to examine interactions among these multiple influences, including gene-environment and gene-obesity interactions. A major secondary benefit will derive from the banking of specimens for future analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Trasande
- Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1043, New York, NY 10029 USA.
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McElroy JA. Environmental Exposures and Child Health: What we Might Learn in the 21st Century from the National Children's Study? ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INSIGHTS 2008; 2:105-9. [PMID: 21572836 PMCID: PMC3091343 DOI: 10.4137/ehi.s1061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jane A. McElroy
- Correspondence: Jane A. McElroy, Ph.D., University of Missouri, MA306 Medical Science Building, 1 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO 53212. Tel: 1-573-882-4993; Fax: 1-573-884-6172;
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Landrigan PJ. Children's health and the environment: a transatlantic dialogue. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2005; 113:A646-7. [PMID: 16203219 PMCID: PMC1281297 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.113-1281297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Philip J. Landrigan
- Department of Community & Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, E-mail:
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Trasande L, Landrigan PJ, Schechter C. Public health and economic consequences of methyl mercury toxicity to the developing brain. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2005; 113:590-6. [PMID: 15866768 PMCID: PMC1257552 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.7743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 229] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Methyl mercury is a developmental neurotoxicant. Exposure results principally from consumption by pregnant women of seafood contaminated by mercury from anthropogenic (70%) and natural (30%) sources. Throughout the 1990s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made steady progress in reducing mercury emissions from anthropogenic sources, especially from power plants, which account for 41% of anthropogenic emissions. However, the U.S. EPA recently proposed to slow this progress, citing high costs of pollution abatement. To put into perspective the costs of controlling emissions from American power plants, we have estimated the economic costs of methyl mercury toxicity attributable to mercury from these plants. We used an environmentally attributable fraction model and limited our analysis to the neurodevelopmental impacts--specifically loss of intelligence. Using national blood mercury prevalence data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we found that between 316,588 and 637,233 children each year have cord blood mercury levels > 5.8 microg/L, a level associated with loss of IQ. The resulting loss of intelligence causes diminished economic productivity that persists over the entire lifetime of these children. This lost productivity is the major cost of methyl mercury toxicity, and it amounts to $8.7 billion annually (range, $2.2-43.8 billion; all costs are in 2000 US$). Of this total, $1.3 billion (range, $0.1-6.5 billion) each year is attributable to mercury emissions from American power plants. This significant toll threatens the economic health and security of the United States and should be considered in the debate on mercury pollution controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Trasande
- Center for Children's Health and the Environment, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY 10029, USA.
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