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Chinese children are exposed to broad environmental risks ranging from well-known hazards, such as pesticides and heavy metals, to emerging threats including many new man-made chemicals. Although anecdotal evidence suggests that the exposure levels in Chinese children are substantially higher than those of children in developed countries, a systematic assessment is lacking. Further, while these exposures have been linked to a variety of childhood diseases, such as respiratory, endocrine, neurological, behavioral, and malignant disorders, the magnitude of the associations is often unclear. This review provides a current epidemiologic overview of commonly reported environmental contaminants and their potential impact on children's health in China. We found that despite a large volume of studies on various topics, there is a need for more high-quality research and better-coordinated regional and national data collection. Moreover, prevention of such diseases will depend not only on training of environmental health professionals and enhanced research programs, but also on public education, legislation, and networking., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Childhood atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory skin disease which sometimes predisposes to allergies. Environmental factors (low humidity, irritants, etc.) are prominent causative triggers of AD., Objectives: This study aims to explore the effects of both meteorological factors and air pollutants on childhood AD, and the modification effects by season in Shanghai, China., Methods: Quasi-Poisson generalized linear regression model, combined with a distributed lag nonlinear model was used to examine the nonlinear and lagged effects of environmental factors on childhood AD from 2009 to 2017 in Shanghai. We also performed a season-stratified analysis to determine the modification effects of environmental exposure by season on childhood AD., Results: There were 1,043,240 outpatient visits for childhood AD in total, at 3 major pediatric hospitals. Low temperature and relative humidity (RH), and high daily temperature difference (DTD) and air pollutants (i.e., NO2) increased the relative risks (RRs) of outpatient visits for childhood AD in the whole year. In the cold season, an increased risk of outpatient visits for childhood AD was associated with low RH (RR 2.26, 95% CI 1.69-3.02) and high NO2 (1.11, 95% CI 1.06-1.17). In the warm season, outpatient visits for childhood AD were associated with low temperature (3.49, 95% CI 3.22-3.77), low RH (1.89, 95% CI 1.74-2.06), high DTD (1.41, 95% CI 1.31-1.53), and high NO2 (1.05, 95% CI 1.03-1.06)., Conclusions: This study suggests that environmental exposure may be a key trigger for outpatient visits for childhood AD with apparent seasonal effects. Tailored preventive strategies to avoid environmental triggers of childhood AD should be developed., (© 2021 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objective: This study aimed to report three representative childhood lead poisoning cases in China from domestic products exposure and to highlight their critical implications for practice, education, and policy in prevention and treatment of childhood lead poisoning by health care providers, especially public health nurses., Design and Sample: Three representative childhood lead poisoning cases occurring in 2017 were collected and analyzed., Results: The lead exposure sources of three cases were evaluated by experts in the field and determined to be tin pots, home factories for tinfoil, and contamination of folk medicine, respectively. These cases demonstrated that the lack of lead exposure risk assessment, insufficient knowledge of potential lead exposure sources, underdeveloped policy, and regulations were areas for improvement., Conclusions: The best strategies for preventing lead poisoning include an appropriate risk assessment of lead exposure, implementation of comprehensive parental health education, conduction of further research by public health providers, and the application of policy strategies by the government. It was determined that public health nurses are at the frontline of prevention of lead poisoning in children., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Childhood lead (Pb) poisoning remains a global issue, especially in industrial areas. In this study, 115 children with average age 5.7 years were recruited as either patient diagnosed with Pb poisoning or controls at Xinhua Hospital in China. The subjects' bone Pb was measured with a K-shell X-ray fluorescence (KXRF) and a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) system. A significant correlation between KXRF bone Pb and blood Pb and portable XRF and KXRF measurements were observed. The half-life of blood-lead was calculated to be 9.96 ± 3.92 d. Our results indicate that bone is a useful biomarker for Pb in children.

The China Jintan Child Cohort study began in 2004 with 1656 pre-school participants and a research focus on studying the impact of environmental exposures, such as lead, on children's neurobehavioural outcomes. This population cohort now includes around 1000 of the original participants, who have been assessed three times over a period of 10 years. Since the original IJE cohort profile publication in 2010, participants have experienced a critical developmental transition from pre-school to school age and then adolescence. The study has also witnessed an increase in breadth and depth of data collection from the original aim of risk assessment. This cohort has added new directions to investigate the mechanisms and protective factors for the relationship between early health factors and child physical and mental health outcomes, with an emphasis on neurobehavioural consequences. The study now encompasses 11 domains, composed of repeated measures of the original variables and new domains of biomarkers, sleep, psychophysiology, neurocognition, personality, peer relationship, mindfulness and family dynamics. Depth of evaluation has increased from parent/teacher report to self/peer report and intergenerational family report. Consequently, the cohort has additional directions to include: (i) classmates of the original cohort participants for peer relationship assessment; and (ii) parental and grandparental measures to assess personality and dynamics within families. We welcome interest in our study and ask investigators to contact the corresponding author for additional information on data acquisition., (© The Author 2015; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.)

Objective: To determine blood lead levels and to identify related risk factors among children in Shanghai; to explore the lead change trend of children after industrial transformation and to provide data for policy development to control environmental lead pollution in Shanghai., Methods: A stratified-clustered-random sampling method was used. A tungsten atomizer absorption spectrophotometer was employed to determine blood lead levels., Results: The arithmetic mean, geometric mean and median of blood lead levels of 0- to 6-year-old children from Shanghai were 22.49 µg/L, 19.65 µg/L and 19.5 µg/L, including 0.26% (6/2291) with concentrations ≥100 µg/L and 2.7% (61/2291) with concentrations ≥50 µg/L. Boys' levels (23.57 µg/L) were greater than those of girls (21.2 µg/L). The blood lead levels increased with age. This survey showed that the Chongming district was the highest and Yangpu district was the lowest, this result is completely opposite with the earlier survey in Shanghai. Risk factors for lead contamination included housing environment, parents' education levels, social status, hobbies, and children's nutritional status., Conclusions: The blood lead levels of children in Shanghai were lower than the earlier data of Shanghai and those of published studies in China, but higher than the blood lead levels of developed countries. The blood lead levels of urban districts are higher than the central districts with the industrial transformation. Society and the government should take an active interest in childhood lead poisoning of urban areas.

Aim: The average mercury load in children under 7-years old was determined in a populated but not overly industrial coastal area in China., Methods: 395 blood samples, 1072 urine samples, and 581 hair samples were collected from 1076 children, aged 0 to 6 years, from eight representative communities of Xiamen, China. Mercury levels in the samples were surveyed., Results: The 95% upper limits of mercury in blood, urine, and hair for the children were 2.30, 1.50 and 2100.00 μg/kg, respectively. Levels tended to increase with age. Correlation analyses showed that mercury levels in blood and urine correlated with those in hair (n = 132), r = 0.49, p < 0.0001 and r = 0.20, p = 0.0008; however, blood mercury levels did not correlate with urine levels (n = 284), r = 0.07, p = 0.35., Conclusions: Surveying the average mercury load in children 0 to 6 years, and the 95% upper limit value of mercury in their blood, urine, and hair should help guide risk assessment and health management for children.

Lead pollution is a very serious problem in China with the rapid economic development. A large amount of lead has been released into the environment due to mineral processing activities and has impacted water resources, soils, vegetables, and crops. The gasoline with lead has been banned in China since July 1, 2000. Though a noticeable decrease of lead poisoning rates has been evidenced, the children's blood lead levels are still significantly higher than those in developed countries. Therefore, lowering the lead exposure in childhood continues to be an important public health objective in China. There is also a lot that remains to be done to reduce children's exposure to lead. In this section, five scientists from China presented latest research results regarding the current situation of lead poisoning in China, the mechanisms involved in lead-induced neurotoxicity, and the new advances related to the potential therapy methods. Their researches may pave new way not only for the prevention of lead poisoning but also for the treatment of affected children in China and other countries., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Children are especially vulnerable to lead toxicity, and exposure to lead has been linked to poor school performance and delinquency in children and adolescents. Even low-level lead exposure [blood lead level (BLL) <10 µg/dL] can cause intellectual deficit. In China, BLLs in children decreased slightly after the phasing out of lead in gasoline, but few studies have examined the sociodemographic factors associated with BLL above 10 µg/dL. In this study, we sought to examine the hypothesis that sociodemographic factors predict BLLs. We measured BLLs of 1344 preschool children (3-5 years old) from the China Jintan Child Cohort Study. Children's sociodemographic and health statuses, as well as parental sociodemographic data, were collected using questionnaires. Regression models were used to explore the association between sociodemographic factors and log-transformed BLLs as well as the relationship between sociodemographic factors and the risk of BLL ≥10 µg/dL. We found the median BLL to be 6.2 µg/dL (range: 1.8-32.0 µg/dL); 8% of children had BLLs ≥10 µg/dL. Boys had a higher median BLL (6.4 µg/dL) than girls and were more likely to have BLL ≥10 µg/dL [odds ratio = 1.77, 95% confidence interval 1.14, 2.74]. BLLs increased as children aged, with a median BLL of 6.6 µg/dL among 5-year-old children. Children with siblings had a higher average BLL and greater prevalence of a BLL ≥10 µg/dL than those without siblings. Living in a crowded neighbourhood was also associated with increased BLLs. Mother's lower education, father's occupation (as professional worker) and parental smoking at home were associated with increased BLLs. This study shows that children in this area still have relatively high BLLs even after the phasing out of leaded gasoline. Both children's and parental factors and community condition are associated with increased BLLs. Future efforts are needed to identify other sources of exposure and develop targeted prevention strategies., (© 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Background: Habitual snoring, a prominent symptom of sleep-disordered breathing, is an important indicator for a number of health problems in children. Compared to adults, large epidemiological studies on childhood habitual snoring and associated predisposing factors are extremely scarce. The present study aimed to assess the prevalence and associated factors of habitual snoring among Chinese school-aged children., Methods: A random sample of 20,152 children aged 5.08 to 11.99 years old participated in a cross-sectional survey, which was conducted in eight cities of China. Parent-administrated questionnaires were used to collect information on children's snoring frequency and the possible correlates., Results: The prevalence of habitual snoring was 12.0% (14.5% for boys vs. 9.5% for girls) in our sampled children. Following factors were associated with an increased risk for habitual snoring: lower family income (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.46), lower father's education (OR = 1.38 and 1.14 for middle school or under and high school of educational level, respectively), breastfeeding duration < 6 months (OR = 1.17), pregnancy maternal smoking (OR = 1.51), obesity (OR = 1.50), overweight (OR = 1.35), several respiratory problems associated with atopy and infection, such as chronic/allergic rhinitis (OR = 1.94), asthma (OR = 1.43), adenotonsillar hypertrophy (OR = 2.17), and chronic otitis media (OR = 1.31), and family history of habitual snoring (OR = 1.70)., Conclusion: The prevalence of habitual snoring in Chinese children was similar to that observed in other countries. The potential predisposing factors covered socioeconomic characteristics, environmental exposures, chronic health problems, and family susceptibility. Compared to socioeconomic status and family susceptibility, environmental exposures and chronic health problems had greater impact, indicating childhood habitual snoring could be partly prevented by health promotion and environmental intervention.

A case-only study was conducted in 123 patients with sporadic acute leukemia (AL). The locations of electric transformers and power lines were noted in each area, and their distances from the houses of the study patients were measured. The intensities of magnetic fields (B) were measured in 66 cases. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was performed adjusting for age, gender, parental education and occupation, indoor and outdoor pesticides use, presence of television sets, refrigerators and microwave ovens in children's rooms and the presence of chemical factories or telecommunication transmitters within 500 m of the houses. The results of the gene-environment analyses revealed that an interaction existed between the XRCC1 Ex9+16 A allele and the presence of electric transformers and power lines within 100 m (Mean B=0.14 microTeslas, microT) of the houses (interaction odds ratio, COR=4.31, 95%CI: 1.54-12.08). The COR for the interaction of XRCC1 Ex9+16A and the presence of these installations within 50 m (Mean B=0.18 microT) of the houses was 4.39 (95%CI: 1.42-13.54). Our results suggest a possible association between electric transformers and power lines and the XRCC1 Ex9+16A allele in patients with childhood AL.

The China Jintan Child Cohort study began in 2004 with 1656 pre-school participants and a research focus on studying the impact of environmental exposures, such as lead, on children's neurobehavioural outcomes. This population cohort now includes around 1000 of the original participants, who have been assessed three times over a period of 10 years. Since the original IJE cohort profile publication in 2010, participants have experienced a critical developmental transition from pre-school to school age and then adolescence. The study has also witnessed an increase in breadth and depth of data collection from the original aim of risk assessment. This cohort has added new directions to investigate the mechanisms and protective factors for the relationship between early health factors and child physical and mental health outcomes, with an emphasis on neurobehavioural consequences. The study now encompasses 11 domains, composed of repeated measures of the original variables and new domains of biomarkers, sleep, psychophysiology, neurocognition, personality, peer relationship, mindfulness and family dynamics. Depth of evaluation has increased from parent/teacher report to self/peer report and intergenerational family report. Consequently, the cohort has additional directions to include: (i) classmates of the original cohort participants for peer relationship assessment; and (ii) parental and grandparental measures to assess personality and dynamics within families. We welcome interest in our study and ask investigators to contact the corresponding author for additional information on data acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]