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The National Children's Study (NCS): the Impact of Environment on Children's Health and Development
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| Objective/Intended Use: |
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The National Children's Study is a longitudinal cohort study designed to "investigate basic mechanisms of developmental disorders and environmental factors, both risk and protective, that influence health and developmental processes" (Children's Health Act, 2000). In this context, "environment" is broadly defined to include chemical, physical, and social/behavioral influences on children. The National Children's Study was initiated by the President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. The Study is an interagency effort sponsored by the Deparment of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and EPA. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is the lead agency. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NICHD), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and EPA are working jointly with NICHD to plan and conduct the study.
EPA's role in this effort is to support the planning and implementation of the interagency National Children's Study effort by contributing funding and staffing of planning activities, and by conducting methods development and pilot projects to prepare for study implementation. In addition, EPA scientists are developing information on environmental factors to include in the study that are helpful, harmful, or harmless to children's health, as well as exposure-outcome links and gene-environment interactions to be studied that can be useful in improving risk assessment. |
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| Abstract: |
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Compared to adults, children are at increased risk from environmental influences because of vulnerable developing systems and enhanced exposure to many agents. Observed effects from low level toxic agents or from other influences raise similar concerns for the many unexamined environmental exposures. New methods and technologies permit the measurement of low level and chronic exposures and the study of gene-environment interaction. Because of these facts, in 1998, the President's Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children proposed a longitudinal cohort study of the environmental effects on children's growth and development. In October, 2000, the Children's Health Act identified the National Children's Study as an important effort in furthering our understanding of environmental risks to children's health.
EPA serves a critical role in the interagency planning of this effort with its "environmental perspective." EPA representatives to the Interagency Coordinating Committee are Carole Kimmel (NCEA-W), Pauline Mendola (NHEERL), James Quackenboss (NERL), and Sherry Selevan (NCEA-W). Since 2000, ORD has been funding and conducting a number of methods development projects that will provide important information for the design and conduct of the study. These include development of new methods for exposure assessment, best technological approaches for collecting and processing data for the study, biomarkers of exposure and outcomes, validation of methods for extracting DNA and RNA and linking changes to health outcomes and exposures, critical study design components for the National Children's Study, e.g., recruitment and retention, particularly of minority, poor, and under-served populations, and community outreach and involvement in the study. |
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| Project Start Date: |
10/01/1999 |
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| Web Site Address: |
http://www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov
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| Science Contact: |
Carole A. Kimmel |
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Phone Number: |
202-564-3307 |
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Email Address: |
kimmel.carole@epa.gov |
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Organization: |
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Assessment
Washington Office
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