Integrated assessment of environment and health: America's children and the environment

Abstract

There is a need for systematic approaches to assessment of environmental factors most relevant to health, health outcomes most influenced by the environment, and relationships between them, as well as for approaches to representing results of such assessments in policy deliberations. As a step in the development of such methods, we used findings and data from environmental protection and public health sectors to develop a set of measures representing topics relevant to children's environmental health. We used a definition of the environment that emphasized contaminants and a process that involved both analytic and deliberative elements. The steps in this process were to: a) develop a conceptual framework to depict relationships between environment and health with relevant types of data and information, b) select topic areas of significance for children, c) identify best available data sources and devise measures, d) assess possible surrogate data sources and measures when needed, e) design and implement metrics for computation of measures; f) select graphical representations of measures, g) identify related measures, and h) identify data gaps. Representatives of policy and stakeholder audiences participated in this process.

Environmental Pollutants and Neurodevelopment: Review of Benefits From Closure of a Coal-Burning Power Plant in Tongliang, China

“…Scientists have come to agree that genetic factors alone explain only a modest proportion of neurodevelopmental disorders; the majority arise from an interaction between genetic predisposition, environmental factors, and psychosocial adversity. 9,10 The need to understand the preventable causes of neurodevelopmental disorders is urgent. Their prevalence has increased, with approximately 15% of children in the United States between ages 3 and 17 affected by attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, autism, seizures, and other neurodevelopmental deficits.…”

“…Their prevalence has increased, with approximately 15% of children in the United States between ages 3 and 17 affected by attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, autism, seizures, and other neurodevelopmental deficits. 9 It is estimated that more than 200 million children under 5 years of age in developing countries are not fulfilling their developmental potential. 11 Since human potential is determined by neuronal and cognitive capacity, a reduced capacity translates to loss in economic productivity and decreased human contribution to societal welfare.…”