The association of overweight/obesity, and central obesity with thiocyanate (SCN), perchlorate (CIO), and nitrate (NO) in childhood and adolescence is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to explore this association in 4447 participants comprising children and adolescents (aged 6-19 years) using data from the United States National Health and…

It is important for children to learn safety skills, especially involving dangerous stimuli such as medicine that can be found in almost every household. This study examined a generalization-enhanced behavioral skills training package to teach children with autism poison safety skills. Three children ages 4- to 10-years-old received generalization…

Genetics, environment, and their interactions impact autism spectrum disorder etiology. Smoking is a suspected autism spectrum disorder risk factor due to biological plausibility and high prevalence. Using two large epidemiological samples, we examined whether autism spectrum disorder was associated with prenatal paternal smoking in a Discovery…

Human cognition is influenced by natural selection which results in better information retention related to survival and faster visual recognition of potential threat. Plants are excellent models for studying human preferences because of the long evolutionary connectedness of humans with plants as food sources, although research in this field is…

UNICEF Innocenti's Report Card 17 explores how the 43 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and/or the European Union (EU) countries are faring in providing healthy environments for children. Do children have clean water to drink? Do they have good-quality air to breathe? Are their homes free of lead and mould? How many…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with poorly understood etiology. Many maternal exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding potentially interfere with neurodevelopment. Using data from two age- and sex-matched case-control studies in Jamaica (n = 298 pairs), results of conditional logistic regression…

The Roma people are the largest stateless population in Central and Eastern (CEE) Europe and face a disproportionate amount of environmental health disparities likely due to a long history of discrimination and stigmatization. Using qualitative research methodology and community-based participatory research methods, we aimed to gain a more nuanced…

Exposure to environmental chemicals may precipitate autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in genetically susceptible children. Differences in the efficiency of the glucuronidation process may substantially modulate substrate concentrations and effects. To determine whether the efficiency of this pathway is compromised in children with ASD, we measured…

Many factors have been implicated in autism onset, including excess or deficiency in toxic or essential metals and impaired antioxidant systems. Protection towards the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is afforded by antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD, catalase, CAT, glutathione peroxidase, GPx), and non-enzymatic…

Appropriate reactions to potentially hazardous situations may help prevent children from incurring injury or abduction. However, children with autism and other developmental disorders may not develop safety skills without explicit intervention. This study used a simple behavioral skills training package for teaching children with autism to respond…

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe malicious nonpharmaceutical exposures in children reported to US poison centers. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of all nonpharmaceutical exposures involving children 7 years old reported to the US National Poison Data System (NPDS) from 2000 to 2008 for which the reason for…

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been shown to affect brain and behavior in rodents and nonhuman primates, but there are few studies focusing on its relationship to human neurobehavior. We aimed to investigate the relationship between environmental exposure to BPA and childhood neurobehavior. Methods: Urinary BPA concentrations and behavioral and learning…

Childhood exposure to even low levels of lead can adversely affect neurodevelopment, behavior, and cognitive performance. This paper investigates the link between lead exposure and student achievement in Massachusetts. Panel data analysis is conducted at the school-cohort level for children born between 1991 and 2000 and attending 3rd and 4th…

This paper describes the methodological changes that occurred across cycles of the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (CIS), specifically outlining the rationale for tracking investigations of families with children at risk of maltreatment in the CIS-2008 cycle. This paper also presents analysis of data from the CIS-2008…

A university course project was developed and implemented in a biology course, focusing on environmental problems, to assess community awareness of childhood lead poisoning. A set of 385 questionnaires was generated and distributed in an urban community in North Carolina, USA. The completed questionnaires were sorted first into yes and no sets…