Relationships of video assessments of touching and mouthing behaviors during outdoor play in urban residential yards to parental perceptions of child behaviors and blood lead levels

Abstract

Childrens' touching and mouthing behaviors during outdoor play in urban residential yards were measured using video observations. Descriptions were made of childrens' outdoor residential play environments. Behaviors assessed were used to examine (1) validity of parental responses to questions on childrens' oral behaviors and outdoor play and (2) relationships of mouthing behaviors to blood lead levels (BLLs). Thirty-seven children aged 1-5 years were recruited for 2 h of video recording in their yard and blood lead measurement. Video assessments included hourly rates of hand touches to ground/ walking-level surfaces (cement/stone/steel, porch floor/steps, grass, and bare soil) and oral behaviors. Parental questionnaires assessed their child's outdoor activities, behaviors, and home environment. The children were: mean 39 months; 51% male; 89% Hispanic; and 78% Medicaid or uninsured. Twenty-two children had a blood lead measured (mean 6 mg/dl). During taping, all children had access to cement, 92% to grass, 73% to bare soil, and 59% to an open porch. Children had frequent touching and mouthing behaviors observed (median touches/h: touches to surfaces 81; hand-to-mouth area (with and without food) 26; hand-in-mouth 7; and object-in-mouth 17). Blood lead was directly correlated with log-transformed rates of hand-in-mouth (Pearson's correlation, r ¼ 0.564, n ¼ 22, P ¼ 0.006) and object-in-mouth (Pearson's correlation, r ¼ 0.482, n ¼ 22, P ¼ 0.023) behaviors. Parental questionnaire responses did not accurately reflect childrens' observed oral behaviors, play habits, or play environment. These data confirm the direct relationship between hand-to-mouth activities and BLLs and fail to validate parental perceptions of their child's mouthing behaviors or outdoor play environment.

Where Children Play: Young Child Exposure to Environmental Hazards during Play in Public Areas in a Transitioning Internally Displaced Persons Community in Haiti

“…However, when children do engage in touching soil our contact rate is comparable to rates reported by Ko et al (2006) [53] and Reed et al (1999) [54]. Our estimated geophagia rate of 0.9/h for children who engage in the behavior falls between Kwong et al (2016) estimates for soil ingestion ranging from 0.1–0.3/h for children 3 to 18 months [21] and Ngure et al (2013) estimates ranging from 1.7–2/h for children 3 to 18 months [25].…”

The Prevalence of Antibiotic-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Carriage among Industrial Hog Operation Workers, Community Residents, and Children Living in Their Households: North Carolina, USA

“…MRSA CC398 has been detected in swine and swine workers in the Midwestern United States (Smith et al 2009) and North Carolina (Nadimpalli et al 2015; Rinsky et al 2013), but little is known about S. aureus exposure dynamics between swine workers and their children. Filling this knowledge gap is critical because children’s (particularly young children’s and infants’) frequent mouthing and fomite touching behaviors (Ko et al 2007; Mattioli et al 2015) and developing immune systems (Goenka and Kollmann 2015) may enhance their susceptibility to S. aureus exposure and infection (Chen et al 2009; Fridkin et al 2005; Graber et al 2011). Moreover, the proportion of children colonized with community-associated (CA-) MRSA strains in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) appears to be increasing over time, increasing from 6.7% in 2001 to 36.1% in 2009 in one PICU (Hermos et al 2013).…”

Surveillance of childhood blood lead levels in Chengdu, China in 2010–2011

“…This fi nding, although not observed in our previous study, (20) is consistent with many other studies. (3,(25)(26)(27) Frequent consumption of Chinese medical herbs and puffed foods as well as the use of breast milk substitutes were found to be risk factors for elevated BLL in both our previous study (20) and the present study. Elevated BLL is a known multi-target toxicant, with effects on the haematopoietic, nervous, immune and gastrointestinal systems.…”