Birth Cohorts in Highly Contaminated Sites: A Tool for Monitoring the Relationships Between Environmental Pollutants and Children's Health

The Neonatal Environment and Health Outcomes (NEHO) Birth Cohort Study: Behavioral and Socioeconomic Characteristics and Drop-Out Rate from a Longitudinal Birth Cohort in Three Industrially Contaminated Sites in Southern Italy

“…Pregnant women living in highly contaminated sites can be exposed through different pathways, and children's health may be affected by a wide range of chemicals [23,24]. Thus, the study of fetal growth and birth outcomes has become an important emerging field of environmental epidemiology, and birth cohorts provide an excellent opportunity to investigate the associations between early-life environmental exposures and children's health in people living in ICSs [25].…”

Measuring Risk Perception in Pregnant Women in Heavily Polluted Areas: A New Methodological Approach from the NEHO Birth Cohort

“…Between January 2018 and January 2020, the NEHO cohort enrolled, on a voluntary basis, 845 pregnant women living in the 3 NPCSs of Crotone, Priolo, and Milazzo in the Mediterranean area of Southern Italy, along with pregnant women living in surrounding areas (local reference areas, LRAs), outside the perimeter of the NPCSs but presenting similar geographic and socio-demographic characteristics [25]. Women living in LRAs represent the control group.…”

“…This work investigates the RP of the mothers in the Neonatal Environment and Health Outcomes (NEHO) birth cohort [23,24], related to environmental and health issues, examining the influences of various factors such as measured exposure to hazards, educational level, and perception of personal conditions during pregnancy. Mother-child cohort studies are a suitable tool, and likely the most advanced type we can use at present for identifying both maternal and child exposure in early life and possible long-term health outcomes in highly contaminated sites [25].…”

Editorial: Environment and Health

“…The scientific community is urged to provide valuable knowledge about the dynamics of pollutants in the environment but also to offer solutions at short to mid-term to improve environmental quality and ecosystem and human health. In this view, Drago et al (2020) reported preliminary results from a new birth cohort in highly contaminates sites in southern Italy. The approach offered an unprecedented opportunity to monitor effects of integrated environmental effects on the health of mother-son couples in the short-to long-term period.…”