Newsroom

Linking Maternal Diabetes and Obesity to Increasing the Likelihood of Having a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder
A recent publication from researchers at the UC Davis EPA/NIEHS Children’s Center in the journal Pediatrics found strong links between maternal diabetes and obesity, and the likelihood of having a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other developmental disorders.  Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by impairments in social interaction, communication deficits and repetitive behaviors and often is accompanied by intellectual disability.
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Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Centers (with NIEHS)
EPA and NIEHS have issued a joint solicitation under their Children's Environmental Health Research program for: (1) the expanded use of epidemiological and clinical data from studies of prospective parents, pregnant women and children; (2)the application of novel findings and approaches in areas of basic or mechanistic research e.g., imaging, epigenetics and comparative biology to developmental human studies; (3) development and use of new or improved biomarkers, environmental measurements (indoors and outdoors) and exposure factors and models to best characterize exposure, potential health effects at various lifestages, and predict longer-term clinical consequences; (4) the training of new investigators to address emerging issues in children's environmental health with state of the art tools and methodologies; and (5) the active participation of identified stakeholders and the broader community in the research process and translation and application of research findings.
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Prenatal Exposure to Combustion-Related Pollutants Linked to Symptoms of Anxiety, Depression, and Attention Problems in Young Children
STAR researchers at  Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health have published results which associate prenatal exposure to air pollutants called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) with  behavioral problems in children.
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Food Products Containing Organic Brown Rice Syrup may be an Unsuspected Source of Dietary Arsenic
Researchers at the EPA/NIEHS Dartmouth Children's Center have found that rice-related ingredients such as organic brown rice syrup in food products are a potential source of arsenic in diets.
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PFCs May Cause Lowered Immune Response
EPA STAR researcher Philippe Grandjean (and others) have published a paper in JAMA which shows evidence that suggests that  children’s exposure to perflourinated compunds can lower the effectiveness of childhood vaccines by lowering their ability to make antibodies for tetanus and diptheria later in life. (CFDA: 66.509)
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STAR Researchers Find Phthalate Exposure Related to Obesity
Mt Sinai researchers have published a paper in the journal Environmental Research called Associations between phthalate metabolite urinary concentrations and body size measures in New York City children.
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