ECHO Review Explores Statistical Approaches for Investigating Periods of Susceptibility in Children's Environmental Health Research

Author(s): Jessie Buckley, Ghassan Hamra, and Joseph Braun 

Who sponsored this study?

This research was supported by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, Office of The Director, National Institutes of Health.

What were the study results?

We found that there are many different ways to study this topic. However, several new ways stand out as more advanced.*

*Results reported here are for a single study. Other or future studies may provide new information or different results. You should not make changes to your health without first consulting your healthcare professional.

What was the study's impact?

Learning about the ages that children are most likely to be affected by their environment is important. Knowing that information will help create programs, health practices, and policies that may help children better avoid things in their environment that can have a bad effect on them. This study finds recent improvements in ways of looking at which ages children are most affected. It also explains terms about this topic and why we need ways to study it.

Why was this study needed?

Many researchers are interested in studying the ages that children are most likely to be affected by environmental factors. There are many ways to study this topic, so we looked at several different ways to decide which ones were the best.

Who was involved?

There were no participants involved in this review. This is because we looked at different ways to use math to learn more information about a topic.

What happened during the study?

During this study, we reviewed different ways to study the age ranges that children are most likely to see effects from the environment around them. Environment is not just the outdoors, but other things about a child’s life, such as where they live, their family, what they eat, and more.

What happens next?

Our team will use this information to improve the design of future studies.

Where can I learn more?

Access the full journal article titled, “Statistical Approaches for Investigating Periods of Susceptibility in Children's Environmental Health Research.”

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Published: March 2019