N.C. Receives "A" for Children's Environmental Health:

What Does this Mean?

Source: http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice/clinical-zones/asthma/child-asthma-pumps-questioned/5007101.article

 

 

Not to downplay improvements and positive news, but before we put any concerns to rest on children's environmental health, it is important to dig a little deeper and understand the full scope of this report.

 

The North Carolina Institute of Medicine and Action for Children released their annual Child Health Report Card on Monday. The report shows improvement in some areas for North Carolina's 2.3  million children and a downward trend in others. It analyzes 15 areas of child health including heath insurance coverage, children in poverty, childhood mortality, tobacco and substance abuse and others. The lowest ratings were in percentage of children in poverty, childhood obesity, and alcohol and substance abuse that all received D's. In better news, North Carolina received an A rating for environmental health of children and the trend is shown to be improving in that area. After seeing this report in the news, it warranted further inspection as to what exactly is environmental health.

 

The report measured environmental health on two fronts, lead levels in blood testing and percent of children diagnosed with asthma. While it is worth celebrating that less than 0.4% of children have elevated levels of lead in their blood, this is the national trend given that it has been phased out of gasoline since 1995 and banned in household paint since 1978. On the asthma front, the report shows that 17.5% of children have ever been diagnosed and the number of hospitalizations due to asthma is on the decline. Asthma has been very directly linked to air pollution, especially particulates due to the burning of fossil fuels and household mold due to poor air circulation. This makes asthma a good indicator of environmental health. The report does not describe how the grade marking is determined for each category of health. It is worth noting that 17% is nearly one in every five children and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as well as a study issued by the National Institute of Health state that North Carolina is in the midst of an asthma epidemic.

 

While the North Carolina report used two indicators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designates four areas for environmental health measures in children. The four areas are asthma, lead, childhood cancer, and developmental disabilities, many of which are linked to environmental health. In the case of cancer, it is hard to measure in children because many of the effects of exposure to hazardous substances don't show up until later in life. The EPA identifies the following environmental hazards to children's health: arsenic, asbestos, asthma triggers, benzine, carbon monoxide, diesel, dioxins, drinking water contaminants, endocrine disruptors, formaldehyde, household chemicals, lead, mercury, molds, nitrogen oxides, ozone, particulate matter, pesticides, plastics, PBDEs, PCBs, radon, second hand smoke, sulfur dioxide, UV radiation and volatile organic compounds. Out of this long list of hazards, only a few of them are linked to the two environmental health indicators that were measured in the N.C. Child Health Report Card. Information on all of these hazards and measures you can take to protect your children can be found here.

 

Developmental disabilities are also hard to directly link to environmental health, but there is a growing body of research. For instance, a report that just came out from researchers at the University of Southern California showed that children living in homes with high levels of air pollution from car exhaust fumes were three times more likely to develop autism. Socioeconomic factors and other variables were taken into account in the analysis of data. This study and others like it suggest the need to develop a fuller understanding of how pollution affects the developing fetus. Source:  http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-autism-traffic-pollution-20121126,0,970458.story

 

The issue of environmental health and developmental disabilities is further highlighted in pregnancy guidelines from the Mayo Clinic, National Institute of Health, and others, that recommend limits on seafood consumption due to mercury exposure and the danger to fetuses.

 

While it is great that we received an A on environmental health for children and improvements are being made, it is important to realize that this doesn't necessarily tell the full story. For more information on children's environmental health and a more comprehensive look at environmental hazards, visit the EPA's web page http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/homepage.htm

 

The full Child Health Report Card can be found here: http://riversdeveloper.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/2012_CHRC-112812.pdf