Have we caused diseases in children that are preventable? That’s what a study comprised of tens of thousands of kids hopes to determine. There currently exists more than 80,000 synthetic chemicals, most of them developed since 1950. From fuels to plastics, a 21 year study conducted by Frederica Perera (Columbia University) and colleagues will track the impact of industry on children’s health. Illnesses in youngsters that have become more prominent over the last century include pre-mature births, luekemias, ADHD and obesity.
Results released this week in the journal Pediatrics from Perera’s group provide data that shows IQs were lower in children growing up amidst air contaminated with automobile exhaust.
Nature vs. nuture has long been a controversial topic although children are especially vulnerable to environmental toxins. Their higher metabolisms and rapidly dividing cells require a greater pound for pound intake of food, water and air. Exposure to harmful molecules has long been identified and quantified in the lab through biomarkers (biologically altered DNA/proteins in blood). Perera is a star in the Molecular Epidemiology scene. I will be looking for more data coming from her lab with great interest.
