Research Guides: Aldo Leopold Distinguished Lectures @ UNI: Dr. Jennifer Lowry, MD

Events - Dr. Lowry

Protecting children’s health where they live, learn and play

Not only do children have more opportunities to be exposed to environmental chemicals, but as children grow and mature, their unique physiologic, developmental, and behavioral differences make them especially vulnerable to chemical exposures. Because children are smaller than adults, their surface area–to–body mass ratio is greater. Children eat more food and drink more water per unit of body weight than do adults, and breathe at a faster rate. Infants and children of all ages spend more time on the floor or ground than adults. Therefore, children will come into more contact with contaminants on these surfaces. Chemical exposures can disrupt the critical and rapid stages of development that occur in prenatal and early childhood life that can affect their health for a lifetime.

Wednesday, September 5, 2018 ~ Schindler Education Center 220, 7:00 p.m.

Lectures and accompanying materials are archived in UNI ScholarWorks:

UNI ScholarWorks: Aldo Leopold Distinguished Lecture Series

Readings and Resources - Dr. Lowry

Selected news articles:

EPA Chief’s Refusal To Ban Brain-Damaging Pesticide Shows Profit Trumps Public Safety
D'Angelo, C. (March 31, 2017). EPA Chief’s Refusal To Ban Brain-Damaging Pesticide Shows Profit Trumps Public Safety. Huffpost.
Dr. Jennifer Lowry shares concerns after refusal to ban brain-damaging pesticide
Use Science to Keep Kids Healthy
Lowry, J. (April 16, 2017). U.S. News and World Report.
Opinion piece by Dr. Lowry: Washington's aversion to science-based policy is costing children their health.

Selected articles:

Iodine Deficiency, Pollutant Chemicals, and the Thyroid: New Information on an Old Problem
Rogan, W. J., Paulson, J. A., Baum, C., Brock-Utne, A. C., Brumberg, H. L., Campbell, C. C., ... & Spanier, A. (2014). Iodine deficiency, pollutant chemicals, and the thyroid: new information on an old problem. Pediatrics, 133(6), 1163-1166.
Many women of reproductive age in the United States are marginally iodine deficient, perhaps because the salt in processed foods is not iodized. Iodine deficiency, per se, can interfere with normal brain development in their offspring; in addition, it increases vulnerability to the effects of certain environmental pollutants, such as nitrate, thiocyanate, and perchlorate. Although pregnant and lactating women should take a supplement containing adequate iodide, only about 15% do so. Such supplements, however, may not contain enough iodide and may not be labeled accurately. The American Thyroid Association recommends that pregnant and lactating women take a supplement with adequate iodide. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pregnant and lactating women also avoid exposure to excess nitrate, which would usually occur from contaminated well water, and thiocyanate, which is in cigarette smoke. Perchlorate is currently a candidate for regulation as a water pollutant. The Environmental Protection Agency should proceed with appropriate regulation, and the Food and Drug Administration should address the mislabeling of the iodine content of prenatal/lactation supplements.
Prevention of Childhood Lead Toxicity
Campbell, C., & Osterhoudt, K. C. (2000). Prevention of childhood lead poisoning. Current opinion in pediatrics, 12(5), 428-437.
Blood lead concentrations have decreased dramatically in US children over the past 4 decades, but too many children still live in housing with deteriorated lead-based paint and are at risk for lead exposure with resulting lead-associated cognitive impairment and behavioral problems. Evidence continues to accrue that commonly encountered blood lead concentrations, even those below 5 mu g/dL (50 ppb), impair cognition; there is no identified threshold or safe level of lead in blood. From 2007 to 2010, approximately 2.6% of preschool children in the United States had a blood lead concentration >= 5 mu g/dL (>= 50 ppb), which represents about 535 000 US children 1 to 5 years of age. Evidence-based guidance is available for managing increased lead exposure in children, and reducing sources of lead in the environment, including lead in housing, soil, water, and consumer products, has been shown to be cost-beneficial. Primary prevention should be the focus of policy on childhood lead toxicity.