Toxocara canis infection in preschool age children: risk factors and the cognitive development of preschool children.

Risk factors for Toxocara canis (T. canis) infection were evaluated in a prospective study of disadvantaged preschool children. In addition, the hypothesis that T.

Neonatal diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome: not necessarily a hopeless prognosis.

A neonatal examination for fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) should promote the guidance of parents, the planning of remediation for affected children, and the collection of prevalence data. A blinded examination of FAS characteristics conducted as part of a large prospective study of disadvantaged alcohol-exposed infants identified eight neonates who met the published criteria for FAS. These children were followed through the preschool years with a blinded assessment protocol.

Dentine lead and intelligence prior to school entry: a statistical sensitivity analysis.

The relationship between circumpulpal dentine lead and IQ at age 4 years 10 months was examined in 164 urban children. Negative correlations were observed between dentine lead and IQ scores, but were reduced in magnitude after adjustment for social covariates. Analyses using errors-in-variables regression models indicated that the degree of this reduction depended on difficult-to-verify assumptions regarding the magnitudes of (i) measurement error in the lead variable and the covariates, and (ii) possible changes in the caretaking environment resulting from conjectured effect of lead on the child's cognitive and behavioral development.

On being a whistleblower: the Needleman case.

We believe that members of the scientific community have a primary obligation to promote integrity in research and that this obligation includes a duty to report observations that suggest misconduct to agencies that are empowered to examine and evaluate such evidence. Consonant with this responsibility, we became whistleblowers in the case of Herbert Needleman. His 1979 study (Needleman et al.

Of whistleblowers, investigators, and judges.

Deliberate misrepresentation continues. Needleman attacks the whistleblowers, the NIH, and his own University to deflect attention from the indications of misconduct in his research. Federal agencies base policies on his research and on his assertions regarding the purported effects of low-level lead exposure on children.

Contributions of risk factors to elevated blood and dentine lead levels in preschool children.

The relationship between blood lead level (PbB) and an array of socio-demographic, behavioral, caregiving and environmental risk factors was investigated in a cohort of socioeconomically disadvantaged urban children at ages 2, 3 and 4 years and 10 months. The risk factors were also related to dentine lead level (PbD) from shed deciduous teeth. Strong persistent pairwise relationships with PbB and PbD were observed for maternal IQ, parental education, examiner ratings of the condition and cleanliness of the physical environment, and the HOME scale, which assesses the quality of the caretaking environment.

Postpartum changes in maternal blood lead concentrations.

Studies of lead concentrations in blood during pregnancy are of interest because of the possibility of adverse effects on the fetus. One report of a single case suggested that blood lead concentrations are raised during pregnancy. This is consistent with the hypothesis of a pregnancy induced mobilisation of lead from bone.

Prenatal alcohol exposure and preschool physical growth: a longitudinal analysis.

This report examines the effects of fetal alcohol exposure on size and growth in an urban cohort followed prospectively through early childhood. Indices of prenatal drinking were related to measurements of weight, stature (length), and head circumference obtained at birth and during five subsequent in-home assessments. Small but statistically significant relationships were detected between short-term recall estimates of drinking during pregnancy and weight and length at birth.

Adjustment for cofactors in pediatric research.

Behavioral and developmental pediatric research often seeks to form causal inferences from associations between variables obtained in nonrandomized studies. To do this it is necessary to distinguish the effects of the independent variable of interest from other factors with which it is correlated. We review statistical adjustment procedures for assessing the effects of the independent variable after controlling for other variables, called cofactors.

Prenatal and preschool age lead exposure: relationship with size.

This report examines possible adverse effects on size and growth associated with subclinical prenatal and preschool age lead exposure in an urban cohort followed prospectively from birth through early childhood. Measurements of weight, stature (length), and head circumference were obtained at birth and during five subsequent in-home assessments. Prenatal lead exposure was assessed by cord (n = 185) and maternal (n = 162) blood lead levels at delivery.

Prenatal alcohol exposure and cognitive development in the preschool years.

The teratogenic effects of drinking during pregnancy on cognitive development were investigated in a cohort of disadvantaged mother-infant pairs. Three indices associated with maternal alcohol use were related to comprehensive cognitive measures obtained during five in-home assessments through age four years, ten months. Birth weight and a tally of craniofacial anomalies were also evaluated as early indicators of fetal alcohol damage.