家用化学药品与儿童语言延迟有关 Household chemical use linked to child language delays

Children in low-income homes at risk, study finds

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Young children from low-income homes whose mothers reported frequent use of toxic chemicals such as household cleaners were more likely to show delays in language development by age 2, a new study found.

In addition, the children scored lower on a test of cognitive development. These developmental delays were evident even when the researchers took into account factors such as the education and income of mothers, which are also linked to their children’s language and cognitive skills.

The findings provide additional evidence of the need for pediatricians and other health care providers to counsel parents of young children to restrict their use of toxic household chemicals, said Hui Jiang, lead author of the study and senior research associate at The Ohio State University.

“We found that a significant percentage of mothers with young children may commonly expose their children to toxic household chemicals, possibly because they are unaware that such materials may be harmful,” said Jiang, who is with Ohio State’s Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy.

The study was published online recently in the journal Clinical Pediatrics.

The researchers used data on 190 families from the Kids in Columbus Study, a Crane Center research project that followed children born into low-income families in Columbus for five years after birth.

When they first started the study, mothers were asked about their use of household chemicals such as floor and toilet cleaners and solvents during pregnancy. They were asked again when their child was 14 to 23 months old. Mothers also reported whether they had mold in the home, their use of pesticides, and neighborhood pollution sources.

Children’s language development was measured when they were between 14 and 23 months old and again when they were 20 to 25 months old. The researchers used a standardized test that examines children’s understanding and expression of language – for example, recognition of objects and people, following directions, and naming objects and pictures.

Findings showed that neighborhood pollution, mold in the house and pesticide use were not significantly linked to child outcomes.

But the more household chemicals mothers reported using regularly after childbirth, the lower the child language and cognitive outcomes at 2 years of age.

There was no link between chemical use during pregnancy and child outcomes, possibly because mothers reported using significantly fewer chemicals during pregnancy.

Exposure to toxic chemicals was reported by about 20 percent of mothers during pregnancy, but that increased to 30 percent when their children were between 1 and 2 years old. Mothers also reported using more household chemicals after childbirth.

“A lot of mothers seem to know to limit exposure to toxic chemicals during pregnancy, but once their child is born, they may think it is no longer a problem,” Jiang said.

But research has shown these early years of a child’s life are key in many ways, said Laura Justice, co-author of the study and professor of educational psychology at Ohio State.

“When kids reach about 2 years old, that is a peak time for brain development,” said Justice, who is executive director of The Crane Center.

“If the use of toxic chemicals is interfering with that development, that could lead to problems with language and cognitive growth.”

While many mothers may use household cleaners and other toxic chemicals when their children are young, low-income mothers may face particular challenges, Jiang said.

For example, they often live in smaller apartments where it may be more difficult to keep children away from chemicals, particularly while they are cleaning.

Jiang noted that this study simply analyzed the relationship between mothers’ use of toxic chemicals and later child development and as such can’t prove that chemical use caused the developmental delays.

“Future studies are need to more carefully examine the mechanisms through which household toxicants may disrupt early language development,” she said.

The findings do show that pediatricians need to emphasize that pregnancy is not the only time for mothers to be concerned about chemical use, Justice said.

“Parents need to understand the delicacy of brain development in the first several years of life and their children’s susceptibility to chemical exposure,” she said.

Other co-authors were Kelly Purtell and Randi Bates, both of Ohio State.

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Contact: Hui Jiang, [email protected]

Laura Justice, [email protected]

Written by Jeff Grabmeier, 614-292-8457; [email protected]

4517/5000一项新的研究发现，来自低收入家庭的年幼儿童的母亲报告说，他们经常使用有毒化学物质（例如家用清洁剂），到2岁时他们的语言发展可能会出现延迟。

此外，孩子们的认知能力测验得分较低。即使研究人员考虑了诸如母亲的教育程度和收入等因素，这些发育迟缓也是明显的，这些因素也与孩子的语言和认知能力有关。

这项研究的主要作者，俄亥俄州立大学高级研究员惠江说，这些发现提供了进一步的证据，表明有必要让儿科医生和其他医疗保健提供者向年幼的父母提供咨询，以限制他们使用有毒的家用化学品。

“我们发现，有很多年幼母亲的母亲通常可能使他们的孩子接触有毒的家用化学物质，这可能是因为他们不知道这些物质可能有害，”俄亥俄州立大学起重机研究中心的姜说。政策。

该研究最近在线发表在《临床儿科》杂志上。

研究人员使用了起重机中心研究项目“哥伦布儿童研究”中190个家庭的数据，该研究追踪了哥伦布低收入家庭的孩子出生后五年的情况。

当他们刚开始研究时，母亲被问及他们在怀孕期间如何使用家用化学品，例如地板和马桶清洁剂以及溶剂。他们的孩子何时在14至23个月大时再次被问到。母亲们还报告了他们是否在家中发霉，使用农药和周围污染源。

在14到23个月大之间以及20到25个月大之间对儿童的语言发展进行了测量。研究人员使用了一种标准化测试，检查孩子对语言的理解和表达方式，例如，对物体和人物的识别，遵循指示以及对物体和图片的命名。

研究结果表明，邻里污染，房屋霉菌和农药使用与儿童结局没有显着相关。

但是，母亲报告的分娩后经常使用的家用化学品越多，两岁以下儿童的语言和认知结果就越低。

怀孕期间使用化学药品与儿童结局之间没有联系，这可能是因为母亲报告说，怀孕期间使用的化学药品明显减少。

据报告，大约20％的母亲在怀孕期间接触了有毒化学物质，但当孩子的年龄在1至2岁之间时，这一比例上升到30％。母亲还报告说，分娩后使用更多的家用化学品。

江说：“许多母亲似乎知道在怀孕期间限制接触有毒化学物质，但是一旦孩子出生，他们可能会认为这不再是问题。”

俄亥俄州立大学这项研究的合著者，教育心理学教授劳拉·正义说：“但是研究表明，儿童的早期生活在许多方面都很关键。”

“当孩子达到2岁左右时，这是大脑发育的高峰期，” The Crane Center执行董事Justice说道。

“如果使用有毒化学物质干扰了这一发展，可能会导致语言和认知能力增长方面的问题。”

江泽民说，虽然许多母亲年轻时可能会使用家用清洁剂和其他有毒化学物质，但低收入母亲可能面临特殊挑战。

例如，他们经常住在较小的公寓里，在这种情况下，让孩子远离化学药品可能更加困难，尤其是在清洁时。

江指出，这项研究只是分析了母亲使用有毒化学物质与后来儿童发育之间的关系，因此不能证明使用化学物质会导致发育迟缓。

她说：“未来的研究需要更仔细地研究家庭有毒物质可能破坏早期语言发展的机制，”她说。

研究结果确实表明，儿科医生需要强调指出，怀孕并不是母亲担心化学药品使用的唯一时间。

她说：“父母需要了解孩子出生后头几年大脑发育的妙趣，以及孩子对化学物质的敏感性。”

其他合著者是俄亥俄州立大学的Kelly Purtell和Randi Bates。