Prenatal exposure to PBDEs and neurodevelopment.

Background: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are widely used flame retardant compounds that are persistent and bioaccumulative and therefore have become ubiquitous environment contaminants. Animal studies suggest that prenatal PBDE exposure may result in adverse neurodevelopmental effects.

Objective: In a longitudinal cohort initiated after 11 September 2001, including 329 mothers who delivered in one of three hospitals in lower Manhattan, New York, we examined prenatal PBDE exposure and neurodevelopment when their children were 12-48 and 72 months of age.

Lifelong course of positive and negative symptoms in chronically institutionalized patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Despite widespread policies of deinstitutionalization, a substantial number of patients with schizophrenia require continuous custodial care. The hospital records of such patients provide contemporaneous documentation of symptoms throughout the illness, permitting a longitudinal study of the course of symptoms. We sought to describe this course, and to determine the influences of sex, age of onset, and treatment on its evolution.

The epidemiology and causes of injuries resulting in hospitalization in New York City: 1990-1992.

The purpose of this study is to present data on the distribution and etiology of nonfatal injuries resulting in hospital discharges in New York City (NYC). Records of all NYC residents discharged for injuries from acute stay hospitals 1990-1992 were tabulated. Injuries from surgical and medical procedures, adverse effects of drugs in therapeutic use, and late effects of injury were excluded.

Comparison of injury during cadet basic training by gender.

Objectives: To describe the rate and distribution of injuries during basic training in male and female cadets and to assess the contribution of pretraining conditioning and height to the male-female differential in injuries.

Design: Cohort study.

Setting: The US Military Academy, West Point, NY.

Parental alcohol use, problem drinking, and children's injuries.

Objective: Millions of US children are exposed to parents who are problem drinkers, yet there is little evidence about the effect of parental alcohol consumption on children's health. The aim of this study was to assess the association between children's injuries and parental drinking.

Design: Survey of a nationally representative sample of the US population by household interview.

Parent-adolescent conflict and adolescent injuries.

Several studies have linked cumulative measures of stress to injuries, however none have examined the relationship between a prevalent stressor in adolescence, conflict between the parent and adolescent, and injuries. Data for this study came from 8231 British adolescents born one week in 1958 who had information on injuries between ages 15 and 17 available. A conflict scale was devised by summing mothers' assessments of the frequency of arguments with their 16-year-old offspring about eight problem areas.

Relationship between infant feeding and infectious illness: a prospective study of infants during the first year of life.

Prior studies investigating the relationship between infant feeding and infectious illnesses in developed countries have provided conflicting data about whether breast-feeding protects against common infectious illnesses early in life. These conflicts may in part be due to the failure to consider the following methodologic issues: (1) collecting data prospectively at frequent intervals for active surveillance of the detection of infections and of feeding practices, (2) specifying what is meant by infectious illnesses and breast-feeding, (3) controlling for confounding variables such as social class or presence of siblings in the household, and (4) applying appropriate analytical strategies to a population in which both feeding and exposure to illness change over time. A total of 500 infants born consecutively in a university-affiliated community hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, were studied prospectively for the first 12 months of life by means of a detailed, monthly, mailed questionnaire that focused on feeding practices and illnesses (overall response rate, 73%).

Parental smoking and post-infancy wheezing in children: a prospective cohort study.

The contribution of parental smoking to wheezing in children was studied in a subset of all British births between April 5 and 11, 1970 (N = 9,670). Children of smoking mothers had an 18.0 per cent cumulative incidence of post-infancy wheezing through 10 years of age, compared with 16.

Behavioral predictors of injury in school-age children.

The behavior of 10,394 British children was related prospectively to their injury history between ages 5 and 10 years, obtained from parents. Aggressive and overactive behaviors at age 5 years were measured by subscales of the Rutter Child Behavior Questionnaire completed by the parents. Multivariate techniques were used to assess the association between behavior and injuries while controlling for social, demographic, and psychological characteristics.

The National WIC Evaluation: evaluation of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. VII. Study of food expenditures.

Recalls of monthly family food expenditure, taken before and after maternal WIC benefits, were obtained from 4,219 WIC and 785 control women; 1-wk expenditure diaries (at follow-up) were obtained from 1,031 WIC and 551 control women chosen randomly. Control families had higher incomes, spent more on groceries and in restaurants, and received fewer food stamp benefits. Women probably underreported the value of WIC benefits by recall (WIC vouchers are not dollar denominated).

Childhood accidents, family size and birth order.

The relationship between accidents and number of children in the household was assessed in 10,394 children surveyed at ages 5 and 10 years. The analyses suggest that living in a household with 3 or more children during the preschool period increases a child's risk of experiencing accidents that result in hospitalization; and that living in a household with 4 or more children increases the risk of such accidents to school-age children. The number of older rather than younger children had the greatest impact on accident risk.