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Children's Health


Description

Children's HealthChildren’s health includes the study of possible environmental causes of children’s illnesses and disorders, as well as the prevention and treatment of environmentally mediated diseases in children and infants. Children are highly vulnerable to the negative health consequences associated with many environmental exposures. Children receive proportionately larger doses of environmental toxicants than adults, and the fact that their organs and tissues are rapidly developing makes them particularly susceptible to chemical insults. Research in children’s health looks at the effects of air pollution on respiratory diseases such as allergies and asthma, the impact of lead, mercury, and other environmental contaminants on cognitive development and behavior, and the influence of prenatal and early life exposures on growth and development. The NIEHS has launched the Fetal Basis of Adult Disease Program to support research on the role of prenatal exposures in altering a child’s susceptibility to disease later in life.

Health Studies & Clinical Trials

What NIEHS is Doing for Children’s Health

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General Information

For Educators

Related Topics

  • Asthma(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/asthma/index.cfm)
  • Autism(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/autism/index.cfm)
  • Consumer Health Links: General Health(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/library/consumer/gen_health.cfm)
  • Lung Disease(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/lung-disease/index.cfm)
  • Mold(http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/mold/index.cfm)

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USA.gov Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health
This page URL: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/population/children/index.cfm
NIEHS website: http://www.niehs.nih.gov/
Email the Web Manager at webmanager@niehs.nih.gov
Last Reviewed: September 03, 2008