Prenatal and childhood environmental exposures are an underrecognized primary cause of intellectual and other developmental disabilities. In addition, individuals with established disabilities are vulnerable to further harm from subsequent environmental exposures. In individuals with communicative impairment or limited ability to independently escape from hazards, these subsequent exposures, too, may occur undetected or untreated. This article […]
Abstract Topics: Environmental Toxins
Environmental Toxins Research: Lead
Blood lead concentrations < 10 microg/d: and child intelligence at 6 years of age. Jusko TA, Henderson CR, Lanphear BP, Cory-Slechta DA, Parsons PJ, Canfield RL. Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Feb;116(2):243-8. Comment in: Environ Health Perspect. 2008 Feb;116(2):A60-1. BACKGROUND: […]
Environmental Toxins Research: Mercury
Applying cost analyses to drive policy that protects children: mercury as a case study. Trasande L, Schechter C, Haynes KA, Landrigan PJ. Center for Children’s Health and the Environment, Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. leo.trasande@mssm.edu Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Sep;1076:911-23. Exposure in […]
Environmental Toxins Research: Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autism and environmental influences: review and commentary. Bello SC. Developmental Pediatrics, PLLC, Latham, New York 12110, USA. Rev Environ Health. 2007 Apr-Jun;22(2):139-56. Progress has been slow in identifying pre- and post-natal environmental exposures that might trigger the features that characterize autism. During the past thirty years, research in the field of autism has been conducted […]
Environmental Toxins Research: Polychlorinated Biphenyls
Cognitive development in preschool children prenatally exposed to PCBs and MeHg. Stewart PW, Reihman J, Lonky EI, Darvill TJ, Pagano J. Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, USA. pstewar1@oswego.edu Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2003 Jan-Feb;25(1):11-22. A number of epidemiological studies have shown predictive relationships between prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls […]
Environmental Toxins Research: Pesticides
The conundrum of unmeasured confounding: Comment on: “Can some of the detrimental neurodevelopmental effects attributed to lead be due to pesticides? by Brian Gulson”. Lanphear BP, Hornung RW, Khoury J, Dietrich KN, Cory-Slechta DA, Canfield RL. Cincinnati Children’s Environmental Health Center, Department of Pediatrics and of Environmental Health, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, The University […]
A dose-effect analysis of children’s exposure to dental amalgam and neuropsychological function: the New England Children’s Amalgam Trial.
BACKGROUND: The New England Children’s Amalgam Trial (NECAT) was a five-year randomized trial of 534 6- to 10-year-old children that compared the neuropsychological outcomes of those whose caries were restored using dental amalgam with the outcomes of those those whose caries were restored using mercury-free resin-based composite. The primary intention-to-treat analyses did not reveal significant […]
Environmental Toxins Research: Childhood Exposure
In-home toxic chemical exposures and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Graff JC, Murphy L, Ekvall S, Gagnon M. Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities, College of Nursing, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, USA. Pediatr Nurs. 2006 Nov-Dec;32(6):596-603. Despite the focus on preventing toxic chemical exposures during pregnancy, the perinatal period, and childhood, health […]
The environment in pediatric practice: a study of New York pediatricians’ attitudes, beliefs, and practices towards children’s environmental health.
Chronic diseases of environmental origin are a significant and increasing public health problem among the children of New York State, yet few resources exist to address this growing burden. To assess New York State pediatricians self-perceived competency in dealing with common environmental exposures and diseases of environmental origin in children, we assessed their attitudes and […]
Development and validation of a test battery to assess subtle neurodevelopmental differences in children.
There is increasing concern over the impact of low-dose exposures to environmental chemicals on children’s neurobehavioral function. To determine subtle alterations in children’s function, it is necessary to move beyond global measures such as IQ and employ tests that can detect small, subtle neurodevelopmental effects across a broad array of behavioral domains. We investigated the […]