A descriptive examination of rurality in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Cohort: Implications, illustrations, and future directions.

Purpose: The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort has enrolled over 60,000 children to examine how early environmental factors (broadly defined) are associated with key child health outcomes. The ECHO Cohort may be well-positioned to contribute to our understanding of rural environments and contexts, which has implications for rural health disparities research. The present study examined the outcome of child obesity to not only illustrate the suitability of ECHO Cohort data for these purposes but also determine how various definitions of rural and urban populations impact the presentation of findings and their interpretation.

Prenatal ozone exposure and child lung function: Exploring effect modification by oxidative balance score.

Background: Prenatal exposures to ozone (O) may impact child lung function, including through oxidative stress pathways, contributing to lifelong morbidity. Diet, reflected in oxidative balance scores (OBS), may modify these pathways and is a potential target for interventions to mitigate O effects.

Methods: We examined associations between prenatal exposure to O and child lung function at age 8-9 years via spirometry in the CANDLE cohort within the ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium.

Environmental and dietary factors associated with urinary OH-PAHs in mid-pregnancy in a large multi-site study.

Background: PAH exposure is associated with adverse health outcomes, but exposure sources in pregnancy are not well-understood.

Objectives: We examined associations between urinary OH-PAHs during pregnancy and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and short-term ambient air pollution exposure. Participants included 1603 pregnant non-smokers in three cohorts from 7 sites across the USA.

Urinary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolite concentrations in three pregnancy cohorts from 7 U.S. study sites.

Objective: Prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is associated with adverse birth and developmental outcomes in children. We aimed to describe prenatal PAH exposures in a large, multisite U.S.

Ambient Air Pollution Exposures and Child Executive Function: A US Multicohort Study.

Background: Executive function, which develops rapidly in childhood, enables problem-solving, focused attention, and planning. Animal models describe executive function decrements associated with ambient air pollution exposure, but epidemiologic studies are limited.

Methods: We examined associations between early childhood air pollution exposure and school-aged executive function in 1235 children from three US pregnancy cohorts in the ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium.

Associations of prenatal ambient air pollution exposures with asthma in middle childhood.

We examined associations between prenatal fine particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO), and ozone (O) exposures and child respiratory outcomes through age 8-9 years in 1279 ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium mother-child dyads. We averaged spatiotemporally modeled air pollutant exposures during four fetal lung development phases: pseudoglandular (5-16 weeks), canalicular (16-24 weeks), saccular (24-36 weeks), and alveolar (36+ weeks). We estimated adjusted relative risks (RR) for current asthma at age 8-9 and asthma with recent exacerbation or atopic disease, and odds ratios (OR) for wheezing trajectories using modified Poisson and multinomial logistic regression, respectively.

Sex-specific associations between placental corticotropin releasing hormone and problem behaviors in childhood.

Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (pCRH) is a neuroactive peptide produced in high concentrations in mid-late pregnancy, during key periods of fetal brain development. Some evidence suggests that higher pCRH exposure during gestation is associated with adverse neurodevelopment, particularly in female offspring. In 858 mother-child dyads from the sociodemographically diverse CANDLE cohort (Memphis, TN), we examined: (1) the slope of pCRH rise in mid-late pregnancy and (2) estimated pCRH at delivery as a measure of cumulative prenatal exposure.

Associations of residential green space with internalizing and externalizing behavior in early childhood.

Background: Green space exposures may promote child mental health and well-being across multiple domains and stages of development. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between residential green space exposures and child mental and behavioral health at age 4-6 years.

Methods: Children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors in the Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE) cohort in Shelby County, Tennessee, were parent-reported on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).

Association between maternal occupational exposure to cleaning chemicals during pregnancy and childhood wheeze and asthma.

Background: Asthma is a leading cause of childhood morbidity in the U.S. and a significant public health concern.

Prenatal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure and asthma at age 8-9 years in a multi-site longitudinal study.

Background And Aim: Studies suggest prenatal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may influence wheezing or asthma in preschool-aged children. However, the impact of prenatal PAH exposure on asthma and wheeze in middle childhood remain unclear. We investigated these associations in diverse participants from the ECHO PATHWAYS multi-cohort consortium.

Associations of prenatal exposure to NO and near roadway residence with placental gene expression.

Introduction: Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP), a common exposure, potentially impacts pregnancy through altered placental function. We investigated associations between prenatal TRAP exposure and placental gene expression.

Methods: Whole transcriptome sequencing was performed on placental samples from CANDLE (Memphis, TN) (n = 776) and GAPPS (Seattle and Yakima, WA) (n = 205), cohorts of the ECHO-PATHWAYS Consortium.

Role of Air Pollution in the Development of Asthma Among Children with a History of Bronchiolitis in Infancy.

Background: Infants experiencing bronchiolitis are at increased risk for asthma, but few studies have identified modifiable risk factors. We assessed whether early life air pollution influenced child asthma and wheeze at age 4-6 years among children with a history of bronchiolitis in the first postnatal year.

Methods: Children with caregiver-reported physician-diagnosed bronchiolitis were drawn from ECHO-PATHWAYS, a pooled longitudinal cohort from six US cities.

Intergenerational transmission of stress: Multi-domain stressors from maternal childhood and pregnancy predict children's mental health in a racially and socioeconomically diverse, multi-site cohort.

Purpose: Despite growing recognition that unfortunately common maternal stress exposures in childhood and pregnancy may have intergenerational impacts on children's psychiatric health, studies rarely take a life course approach. With child psychopathology on the rise, the identification of modifiable risk factors is needed to promote maternal and child well-being. In this study, we examined associations of maternal exposure to childhood traumatic events (CTE) and pregnancy stressful life events (PSLE) with child mental health problems in a large, sociodemographically diverse sample.