It has been suggested that in addition to genetic factors, fetal and post-natal growth influence cognition in early adulthood. However, most studies have been in developed populations, so it is unclear if the same findings would be seen in other, less developed, settings, and have used testing tools not applicable to an Australia Aboriginal population. This study investigated the relationships ...

BACKGROUND In late October 2003, a series of wildfires exposed urban populations in Southern California to elevated levels of air pollution over several weeks. Previous research suggests that short-term hospital admissions for respiratory outcomes increased specifically as a result of these fires. OBJECTIVE We assessed the impact of a wildfire event during pregnancy on birth weight among term...

background: the incomplete maturation of brain in preterm children results in long-term neurodevelopmental impairment. this study aimed to investigate the static balance function in children with a history of preterm birth. methods: participants were 31 preterm children including 21 moderately preterm (mpt), 10 very preterm (vpt), and 20 term children aged 5.5 and 6.5 years. the cervical vestib...

  Background and Objective: Preterm birth occurs in 8% to 11% of all pregnancies and is responsible for 75% to 80% of all neonatal deaths. Cytokines may be involved in the etiology of preterm birth through their stimulation of prostaglandin synthesis. Cytokines may be released intocervicovaginal fluid during the breakdown of the chorio-decidual adhesion or from an inflammatory reactio...

Previously we identified associations between the mother's air pollution exposure and birth weight for births in Connecticut and Massachusetts from 1999-2002. Other studies also found effects, though results are inconsistent. We explored potential uncertainties in earlier work and further explored associations between air pollution and birth weight for PM10, PM2.5, CO, NO2, and SO2. Specificall...

BACKGROUND Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a potential cause of adverse pregnancy outcomes, but previous studies have been limited by low exposures and small study size. OBJECTIVES Using birth certificate information, we examined the relation between estimated PFOA exposure and birth outcomes in an area of West Virginia and Ohio whose drinking water was contaminated by a chemical plant. ME...

This second paper in the Born Too Soon supplement presents a review of the epidemiology of preterm birth, and its burden globally, including priorities for action to improve the data. Worldwide an estimated 11.1% of all livebirths in 2010 were born preterm (14.9 million babies born before 37 weeks of gestation), with preterm birth rates increasing in most countries with reliable trend data. Dir...

Background and Objective: Sensory processing patterns refer to a person’s ability to receive and respond to sensory events which are important to succeed in daily routine activities. This study aims to determine the sensory processing patterns in infants/toddlers. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 518 infants/toddlers participated in this study. Their ages ranged from birth...

OBJECTIVES A relationship between ambient air pollution and adverse birth outcomes has been found in a large number of studies that have mainly used a nearest monitor methodology. Recent research has suggested that the effect size may have been underestimated in these studies. This paper examines associations between birth outcomes and ambient levels of residential and workplace sulphur dioxide...