state, particularly for children from families that don't receive federal housing subsidies, she and her co-author, Colleen F. Moore, Ph.D., a professor of psychology, explain. Compliance with federal rules for blood lead screening of
Medicaid-eligible toddlers also varies widely by state. Existing efforts to get tenants to control lead exposure by frequently cleaning and washing their children's hands are only "marginally effective" at reducing lead poisoning in homes with lead hazards, they note.
Additionally, the researchers write, children of migrant farm workers who live near conventional agricultural areas have many times the exposure to pesticides of other children, exposure that sometimes exceeds federal pesticide safety guidelines.
"Many pesticides have the potential to disrupt brain development because they are neurotoxins," explains Dr. Dilworth-Bart. "The federal
'Worker Protection Standards (WPS)' are intended to reduce the exposure of farm workers to pesticides while at work and, indirectly, reduce the pesticides they track home to their children. However, research shows poor compliance with the WPS--work settings sometimes lack fundamentals such as soap, water and towels for proper hand washing."
Social inequities also exist for exposure to other environmental pollutants, the authors note, including noise, air pollution, methylmercury from fish, industrial waste and PCBs, although it's not known how these pollutants might act together with other influences on development. Such research, note the authors, "has the potential to revise the way socio-demographic variables are viewed as influencing development."
'"/>
Contact: Andrea Browning
abrowning@srcd.org
202-336-5926
Society for Research in Child Development
22-Mar-2006
Page: 1 2 Related medicine news :1.
Gender, ethnic differences may hamper eating disorder diagnosis2.
Erectile dysfunction influenced by race and ethnicity3.
Novel brain areas associated with the recognition of gender, ethnicity and the identity of faces4.
Rochester study shows ethnic disparities in medicare claims5.
$36.4 billion a year: Cost of HIV/AIDS highlights racial and ethnic disparities6.
New way to assess risk of heart disease in ethnic groups7.
Students feel safer in ethnically diverse schools, UCLA psychologists report8.
Some ethnic groups more susceptible to adverse drug reactions9.
Study shows racial/ethnic disparities in medical/oral health status and care for minority children10.
Mammography screenings for breast cancer show racial and ethnic disparities11.
Dramatic rise in ethnic plastic surgery in 2005