Following Children to Identify Health Risks

April 28, 2004

" Following Children to Identify Health Risks "

Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com) (04/27/04) P. A19; Stein, Rob

A number of federal agencies are coordinating their efforts to conduct the

National Children's Study, a 25-year project aimed at identifying threats

to children's health. The project is being led by the National Institute

of Child Health and Human Development in conjunction with the National

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Researchers will

follow the physical, emotional, and mental development of over 100,000

children nationwide from birth until they reach the age of 21 to determine

how various biological and environmental factors affect a child's long-term

development and health. They will study genetic dispositions,

environmental factors affecting the mother during pregnancy, and a host of

other influences, including television viewing habits, discipline and care,

chemical exposure, diet, vaccines, and infections throughout each child's

early life. Congress has so far allocated $18 million to the planning

stages of the project, which is expected to cost about $2.7 billion over

the 25-year span. Although many health and industry groups have thrown

support behind the study, some say the money could be better spent on other

types of medical research, such as finding cures for known diseases. The

study's supporters are planning to ask for more federal funding during a

congressional briefing Wednesday, as they hope to begin studying pregnant

women in 2006.

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