Children's Health
Description
Children’s health includes the study of possible environmental causes of children’s illnesses and disorders, as well as the prevention and treatment of environmentally mediated diseases in children and infants. Children are highly vulnerable to the negative health consequences associated with many environmental exposures. Children receive proportionately larger doses of environmental toxicants than adults, and the fact that their organs and tissues are rapidly developing makes them particularly susceptible to chemical insults. Research in children’s health looks at the effects of air pollution on respiratory diseases such as allergies and asthma, the impact of lead, mercury, and other environmental contaminants on cognitive development and behavior, and the influence of prenatal and early life exposures on growth and development. The NIEHS has launched the Fetal Basis of Adult Disease Program to support research on the role of prenatal exposures in altering a child’s susceptibility to disease later in life.
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Health Studies & Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov listing of NIEHS Children's Health studies
- CHARGE: A Study to Understand the Causes of Autism and Other Developmental Disorders (English) (1MB)
- CHARGE: A Study to Understand the Causes of Autism and Other Developmental Disorders (Spanish) (614KB)
What NIEHS is Doing on Children's Health
- A Human Health Perspective on Climate Change (Full Report) (4MB)
- Addressing New Challenges in Children’s Environmental Health (314KB)
- ARRA Investments in Autism
- Bisphenol A (BPA) (455KB)
- Bisphenol A linked to lower thyroid hormone levels in newborn boys (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/11/science-bpa/index.htm)
- Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research
- Child Development and Environmental Toxins (633KB)
- Children Exposed to Cadmium May Be at Higher Risk for Learning Disabilities (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/3/science-cadmium/index.htm)
- Cystic Fibrosis
- Centers for Disease Control
- Early-life exposure to secondhand smoke affects girls more than boys (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/5/science-earlylife/index.htm)
- Environment and the Developing Brain (582KB)
- Environmental Public Health: The Power of Partnerships (2MB)
- Expert Panel Evaluation of Soy Infant Formula (51KB)
- Exploratory study first to quantify TCE in breast milk (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/10/science-tce/index.htm)
- Fire Retardant Study Named Paper of the Year by ES&T (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/4/science-fireretardant/index.htm)
- Formaldehyde (373KB)
- Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves
- Guttmacher Shares Vision for Future of NICHD (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/9/spotlight-guttmacher/index.htm)
- Household contaminants associated with childhood respiratory problems (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/11/science-householdcontaminants/index.htm)
- Infants Exposed to Specific Molds have Higher Asthma Risk (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/9/science-molds/index.htm)
- National Children's Study
- New Directions in Children's Environmental Health Research (2MB)
- New Studies Offer Insight into Effects of Air Pollution on Children (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/5/science-airpollution/index.htm)
- NIEHS/EPA Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers: Protecting Children's Health for a Lifetime (1MB)
- NIEHS and EPA Convene Leaders in Children’s Environmental Health Research (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/4/spotlight-niehsepa/index.htm)
- NIEHS and EPA Launch 2012 Webinar Series (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/3/spotlight-webinar/index.htm)
- NIMH Teams Up to Study ASD Rates in Somali-American Children: Members of a Federal Advisory Group on Autism Mobilize in Response to a Mother¿s Plea
- North Carolina Now Asthma Segment
- Possible Mechanism Between Maternal Smoking and Childhood Illness Found (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/9/science-mechanism/index.htm)
- Prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure alters brain structure, affects IQ in children (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/7/science-prenatal/index.htm).
- Programs and Initiatives: Climate Change and Human Health
- Reduced Vaccine Effectiveness Tied to PFC Exposure (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/4/science-vaccine/index.htm)
- Report on Carcinogens - 12th Edition, The (243KB)
- Researchers Report Lessons Learned from Katrina (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/9/science-katrina/index.htm)
- SRP: Outreach - Children's Environmental Health Network
- Studies Find Arsenic in Food Adds Up (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/3/science-arsenic/index.htm)
- Study finds that dad’s job can influence birth defects (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/10/science-dadsjob/index.htm)
- Study Finds Traffic Pollution Leading to Asthma Has Huge Economic Costs (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/3/science-traffic-pollution/index.htm)
- Study links house dust with high risk of exposure to flame retardant chemicals (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2012/7/scienc-housedust/index.htm)
- Study links prenatal exposure to PM with low birth weight (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2013/3/science-weight/index.htm)
- Styrene (248KB)
- UC Grantees’ Lab-on-a-Chip Detects Toxic Heavy Metals in Humans (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsletter/2011/september/science-chip/index.cfm)
- Understanding the Effects of Environmental Exposures on Child Health
Back to topMinority
- Minority Women's Health - Part of the National Women's Health Information Center Web site. Discusses health problems particular to various ethnic groups (African-American, Hispanic/Latina, American Indian and Asian American).
- Office of Minority Health - Offers an extensive list of health links, data, statistics and links to federal publications related to the topic.
General Information
- America's Children and the Environment - US EPA site devoted to assembling quantitative information from a variety of sources that show trends in levels of environmental contaminants in air, water, food and soil; concentrations of contaminants measured in the bodies of mothers and children; and childhood diseases that may be influenced by environmental factors.
- Bisphenol A (BPA) Information for Parents
- Center for Medicare and Medicaid: Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns Initiative
- Children's Environmental Health Network - A national, multi-disciplinary organization whose mission is to protect the fetus and child from environmental health hazards and promote a healthy environment. The CEHN Resource Guide includes a directory of organizations active in children's environmental health issues and a compendium of statistical data sources.
- Children's Environmental Health Worldwide Web Resource Sampler - Provides links to governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in research on children's environmental health issues.
- Environmental Diseases: Environmental Diseases From A to Z (English) (4MB)
- Environmental Health Perspectives, Environews by Topic: Children's Health
- FDA - Bisphenol A (BPA)
- Infant Health
- Lactmed - Lactmed, a recent addition to the Toxnet system, is a peer-reviewed and fully referenced database of drugs to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. Among the data included are maternal and infant levels of drugs, possible effects on breastfed infants and on lactation, and alternate drugs to consider.
- Linking Early Environmental Exposures to Adult Diseases (1014KB)
- National Institute of Child Health and Human Development: Media Smart Youth
- National Children's Study - The National Children's Study will examine the effects of environmental influences (biological, chemical, genetic, man-made, social, and others) on the health and development of more than 100,000 children across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21. The site provides information on how to participate in the study's development and keep current on events.
- Since You Asked - Soy Infant Formula
- Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms: Autism
- Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms: Birth Defect
- Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms: Birth Defect
- Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms: Family History
- The Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Health (1MB)
- World Health Organization's Children's Environmental Health - A World Health Organization site which includes national profiles, environmental health indicators, guidelines, statistics, and reports as related the children's environmental health.
- Mold (1MB)
For Educators
- A Breath of Air: What Pollution Is Doing to Our Children: New Video Available on Children and Air Pollution (124KB)
- EHP Student Edition Lesson: Echinachea No Cure-all for Kids (573KB)
- EHP Student Edition Lesson: Mapping Solutions for Obesity (154KB)
- EHP Student Edition Lesson: What's in a Picture? (236KB)
- EHP Student Edition Lesson: Is Organic Food Worth the Cost? (228KB)
- EHP Student Edition Lesson: Mother's Milk - Unleaded Please (177KB)
- EHP Student Edition Lesson: Tracing the Origins of Autism: A Spectrum of New Studies (158KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Heavy Metals - 2001 (188KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Pest Control (English) (310KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Pest Control (Spanish) (337KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Pest Control (Arabic) (352KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Indoor Air (358KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Indoor Air (Spanish) (301KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Indoor Air (Arabic) (361KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Indoor Water (English) (269KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Indoor Water (Spanish) (249KB)
- Healthy Homes = Healthy Kids: Indoor Water (Arabic) (639KB)
- Highlights of Asthma Basics: Education Points for Families (95KB)
- Indoor Air Quality - Is it a Problem at Your Child's School? (English) (81KB)
- Indoor Air Quality - Is it a Problem at Your Child's School? (Spanish) (80KB)
