Children's Health (21) Flashcards
**1904, Queensland Australia
lead poisoning in young children exposed to lead-based paint
**Herbert Needleman:
identified subclinical effects of lead associated with low environmental exposures including loss of intelligence and disruptive behavior
**What event established that infants and fetuses are more susceptible than adults to radiation-induced leukemia?
Leukemia among young children exposed to ionizing radiation in the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
**Chemical involved in Minamata, the results of exposure to it, and what type of exposure led to the most severe effects:
methylmercury
cerebral palsy, mental retardation, convulsions
in utero exposure
result of thalidomide (anti-nausea drug) ingestion during early pregnancy
phocomelia (limb malformation)
result of women exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol to prevent premature labor
vaginal adenocarcinoma
**NRC 1993 Report:
“Diets of Infants and Children”
**Act passed in 1996:
Food Quality Protection Act
**National Children’s Study in 1997:
Executive Order on Children’s Health and the Environment
**Act passed in 2008:
Consumer Product Improvement Act
**Number of chemicals produced since the 1950s
nearly 80,000
Number of synthetic chemicals classified as high production volume (HPV)
2800
Percentage of HPV synthetic chemicals tested for toxicity, developmental toxicity
43%, 28%
What does IRIS stand for?
Integrated Risk Information System
% of DALYS attributed to the environment for children (0-14) vs overall
36% children to 24% overall
**Major issue in developed countries:
chronic diseases (e.g. asthma, developmental disorders, childhood leukemia, brain cancer
It is hypothesized that how much of childhood disease is due to environmental influence?
the majority
Estimated cost due to lead poisoning, asthma, cancer, and neurobehavioral disorders: (dollars and percentage of total annual illness cost)
$54.9 billion dollars
2.8% of total annual illness cost
**Primary issue in developing countries, and why:
poverty
due to environmental injustice, more risky behaviors (e.g. smoking, diet), poor access to services
**Major threats in developing countries (5):
- perinatal diseases
- respiratory diseases
- diarrheal diseases
- insect-borne diseases
- physical injuries
Why time in DALYs is so large for children?
The issues happen so much earlier in life.
**Health problems associated with lead poisoning in kids (6):
- decreased bone and muscle growth
- poor muscle coordination
- damage to the nervous system, kidneys, and/or hearing
- speech and language problems
- developmental delay
- seizures and unconsciousness (in extreme cases)
Lead is what type of toxicant?
Neurotoxicant
**Observed effects of pesticides on children?
- multiple organ effects (incl. CNS, lungs, kidneys, digestive, immune)
- cancer (incl. brain, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia)
- from in utero exposure: limb reduction, undescended testes, neural tube defects, heart problems, impaired fetal growth