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Case Studies in Environmental Medicine (CSEM) 

Pediatric Environmental Health
Differences in Children and Adults

Table 3. Differences in Children and Adults

  Infants Children Teens Adults Reference
Surface area: body mass ratio (m2/kg)* Newborn 0.067 Young child 0.047 Older child 0.033 Adult 0.025 Silvaggio and Mattison (1993)
Respiratory ventilation rates Infant - - Adult Silvaggio and Mattison (1993)
Respiratory volume (mL/kg/breath) 10 - - 2

Alveolar surface area (m2)

3 - - 10  
Respiration rate (breaths/min)§ 40 - - 75  
Respiratory minute ventilation rate 133   - 2  
Drinking water (tap) <1 year 1-10 years 11-19 years 20-64 years Snodgrass (1992)
Mean intake (mL/kg/day)** 43.5 35.5 18.2 19.9
Fruit consumption (g/kg/day)†† <1 year 3-5 years 12-19 years 40-69 years U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1997a)
Citrus fruits 1.9 2.6 1.1 0.9
Other fruits (including apples) 12.9 5.8 1.1 1.3
Apples 5.0 3.0 0.4 0.4
Soil ingestion (mg/day)‡‡ - 5,000§§ - Adult U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1997b)
Pica child - 2.5 years - -
Outdoor - 50 - 20¶¶
Indoor - 60 - 0.4
Differences in gastrointestinal absorption of lead 0-2 years 2-6 years - Adult U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1997c)
42%-53% 30%-40% - 7%-15%
  6-7 years 18%-24%    
Adapted from Selevan et al. (2000).
*Square meters per kilogram.
Milliliters per kilogram per breath.
Per square meter.
§Breaths per minute.
Milliliters per kilogram body weight per square meter lung surface area per minute.
**Milliliters per kilogram per day.
††Grams per kilogram per day.
‡‡Milligrams per day.
§§ATSDR (2001a).
¶¶Gardening for adults.

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Revised 2002-07-30.