This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow P3Rs: View responses
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Woodruff, T. J.
Right arrow Articles by Hurley, B. J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Woodruff, T. J.
Right arrow Articles by Hurley, B. J.
Related Collections
Right arrow Therapeutics & Toxicology
PEDIATRICS Vol. 113 No. 4 April 2004, pp. 1133-1140

SUPPLEMENT ARTICLE

Trends in Environmentally Related Childhood Illnesses

Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, MPH*, Daniel A. Axelrad, MPP{ddagger}, Amy D. Kyle, PhD, MPH§, Onyemaechi Nweke, MPH{ddagger}, Gregory G. Miller, MS{ddagger} and Bradford J. Hurley, BA||

* United States Environmental Protection Agency, San Francisco, California
{ddagger} United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
§ School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California
|| ICF Consulting, Washington, DC

Tracking incidence or prevalence of diseases and using that information to target interventions is a well-established strategy for improving public health. The need to track environmentally mediated chronic diseases is increasingly recognized. Trends in childhood illnesses are 1 element of a framework for children’s environmental health indicators, which also includes trends in contaminants in the environment and in concentrations of contaminants in bodies of children and their mothers. This article presents data on 3 groups of important childhood diseases or disorders that seem to be caused or exacerbated, at least in part, by exposure to environmental agents and for which nationally representative data are available. They are asthma, childhood cancers, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Data were used from the National Health Interview Survey for asthma and neurodevelopmental disorders; the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program for childhood cancer incidence; and the National Vital Statistics System for childhood cancer mortality. The prevalence of children with asthma doubled between 1980 and 1995, from 3.6% in 1980 to 7.5% in 1995. The annual incidence of childhood cancer increased from 1975 until approximately 1990 and seems to have become fairly stable since. Childhood cancer mortality has declined substantially during the past 25 years. Incidence of certain types of cancers has increased since 1974, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, central nervous system tumors, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Approximately 6.7% of children aged 5 to 17 were reported to have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in 1997–2000, and approximately 6 of every 1000 children were reported to have received a diagnosis of mental retardation during the same period.

Key Words: children • environmental health • tracking • surveillance • illness • asthma • cancer

Abbreviations: NHIS, National Health Interview Survey • ADHD, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder • PCB, polychlorinated biphenyl

Received for publication Oct 7, 2003; Accepted Oct 20, 2003.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Toxicol SciHome page
J. Shao, C. C. White, M. J. Dabrowski, T. J. Kavanagh, M. L. Eckert, and E. P. Gallagher
The Role of Mitochondrial and Oxidative Injury in BDE 47 Toxicity to Human Fetal Liver Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Toxicol. Sci., January 1, 2008; 101(1): 81 - 90.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 HypertensionHome page
C. Shibao, S. R. Raj, A. Gamboa, A. Diedrich, L. Choi, B. K. Black, D. Robertson, and I. Biaggioni
Norepinephrine Transporter Blockade With Atomoxetine Induces Hypertension in Patients With Impaired Autonomic Function
Hypertension, July 1, 2007; 50(1): 47 - 53.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Drug Metab. Dispos.Home page
J. Shao, P. L. Stapleton, Y. S. Lin, and E. P. Gallagher
Cytochrome P450 and Glutathione S-Transferase mRNA Expression in Human Fetal Liver Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Drug Metab. Dispos., January 1, 2007; 35(1): 168 - 175.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 TraumatologyHome page
S. Y. Kahana, N. C. Feeny, E. A. Youngstrom, and D. Drotar
Posttraumatic Stress in Youth Experiencing Illnesses and Injuries: An Exploratory Meta-Analysis
Traumatology, June 1, 2006; 12(2): 148 - 161.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 CarcinogenesisHome page
C. G. Moneypenny, J. Shao, Y. Song, and E. P. Gallagher
MLL rearrangements are induced by low doses of etoposide in human fetal hematopoietic stem cells
Carcinogenesis, April 1, 2006; 27(4): 874 - 881.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ChestHome page
L. Cicutto, S. Murphy, D. Coutts, J. O'Rourke, G. Lang, C. Chapman, and P. Coates
Breaking the Access Barrier: Evaluating an Asthma Center's Efforts to Provide Education to Children With Asthma in Schools
Chest, October 1, 2005; 128(4): 1928 - 1935.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Arch Pediatr Adolesc MedHome page
L. J. Chamberlain and L. Bauer
The Crucial Role of the Vanishing School Nurse
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, November 1, 2004; 158(11): 1091 - 1091.
[Full Text] [PDF]

P3Rs:

Read all P3Rs

Question concerning study
Cheri L. Grantz
Pediatrics Online, 6 Apr 2004 [Full text]