Childhood Illnesses

Data on trends in childhood diseases and disorders provide important information on successes and shortcomings in efforts to protect children’s health. Many important diseases and other health disorders affect children. The causes of many of these conditions are not well established. In some cases environmental contaminants are known to play a role. In other cases clues suggest that environmental factors are important, but definitive proof is lacking.

This section of the site focuses on important childhood diseases and disorders for which evidence or clues indicate or suggest some influence by environmental contaminants, and for which nationally representative data are available. These diseases and disorders are asthma, acute bronchitis and acute upper respiratory infections, cancer, and neurodevelopmental disorders. Other diseases and disorders that may be influenced partially by environmental contaminants include other respiratory diseases, waterborne diseases, methemoglobinemia, and birth defects.

It is very difficult to develop conclusive evidence that environmental contaminants cause or contribute to the incidence of childhood health effects, particularly those effects occurring in a relatively small proportion of children or effects with multiple causes. In cases where exposure to an environmental contaminant results in a relatively modest increase in the incidence of a disease or disorder, many children would need to be included in a study in order to detect a true relationship. In addition, there may be factors that are related to both the exposure and the health effect (like socioeconomic status) that can make it difficult to detect a relationship between exposure to environmental contaminants and disease. There may, however, be suggestive (rather than conclusive) evidence from studies in humans and/or laboratory animals to suggest that exposures to environmental contaminants contribute to the incidence of a childhood health effect.

Tracking childhood diseases and disorders is an important element of research on potential links between health effects and exposure to environmental contaminants. Tracking establishes a basis for comparison so that increases or decreases in the incidence of a disease or disorder can be detected, often yielding important clues to its causes. Tracking helps researchers determine whether past and current actions have been effective in reducing the incidence of a disease or disorder. It also helps to identify opportunities for further action.

It can be difficult to assess the contribution of environmental exposures to childhood illnesses. Even though environmental exposures can contribute to some childhood illnesses, other factors may be more important, such as family history, nutrition, and socioeconomic factors. In addition, there can be interactions between environmental and genetic factors. America’s Children and the Environment does not address illnesses that may result from childhood exposures to environmental contaminants but do not manifest themselves until adulthood.