Toddlers assessed during the COVID-19 pandemic had slightly fewer emotional and behavioral problems compared to children assessed before the pandemic, suggesting some toddlers may have shown resilience during this time. This finding comes from a study of over 3,000 children across the United States using data from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort Consortium collected between September ...

Exposure to certain organophosphate esters (OPEs)—chemicals commonly used as flame retardants and plastic softeners in a variety of household and industrial products—during pregnancy was associated with more behavioral issues in young children, according to a new ECHO Cohort study led by Jiwon Oh, PhD and Deborah Bennett, PhD of the University of California, Davis. Previous research has linked exposure to OPEs ...

Exposure to certain phthalates during pregnancy is associated with small to modest increases in behavioral issues, such as aggression and attention problems, in children aged 1.5 to 5 years, according to ECHO Cohort research led by Jiwon Oh, PhD and Deborah Bennett, PhD of the University of California Davis. Researchers analyzed 27 phthalate and 6 alternative plasticizer metabolites in a large ...

Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—man-made chemicals found in a variety of consumer products and contaminated water, air, and food—during pregnancy was associated with changes in maternal gut microbiome, according to a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. The composition of the gut microbiome is dependent on factors ...

Dietary patterns during pregnancy can affect maternal blood sugar levels and birth outcomes, with important differences depending on racial and ethnic backgrounds, according to a recent ECHO Cohort study led by Luis E. Maldonado, PhD, MPH, of the University of Southern California. Which combination of foods most influences blood sugar and birth outcomes during pregnancy remains unclear, especially across different racial and ...

The ECHO Coordinating Center is pleased to announce that the NIH ECHO Program Office selected 12 investigators to receive research funding through the ECHO Opportunities and Innovation Fund (OIF). The OIF is an NIH-funded grant mechanism to support early career investigators who propose projects that introduce new research, tools, and technologies to the ECHO Program. Each OIF investigator is sponsored by ...

Exposure to phenols—chemicals used in a variety of consumer products and industrial processes that can disrupt hormones—during pregnancy was associated with changes in patterns of infant non-nutritive suck, according to ECHO Cohort research led by Megan Woodbury, PhD and Emily Zimmerman, PhD, CCC-SLP of Northeastern University, and Andréa Aguiar, PhD of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Non-nutritive sucking is a common behavior ...

Higher exposure to fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ground-level ozone was associated with increased asthma incidence in children up to age 10, according to a new study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program at the National Institutes of Health. Notably, children living in areas with higher proportions of Black residents or higher population density ...

Higher vitamin D levels during pregnancy may be linked to better scores on cognitive tests, according to a new study by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort. Researchers found that children whose mothers had higher vitamin D levels while pregnant tended to perform better on cognitive tests assessing skills like problem-solving and processing new information at ages 7 ...

Living in a low-income neighborhood with low food access was associated with higher risks of developing asthma, according to a recent ECHO Cohort study led by Veronica A. Wang, PhD, Antonella Zanobetti, PhD, and Diane Gold, MD of Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Rima Habre, ScD of the University of Southern California. Asthma is characterized by chronic ...