|
|
(HealthNewsDigest.com) – A recently published study on food allergies estimated that eight percent of American children are allergic to one or more foods. The study also found that of those with allergies, 38.7 percent had a history of severe reactions and 30.4 percent had multiple food allergies. Findings from the study suggest the prevalence of food allergies is higher than that reported by previous research, and that their severity has also increased.
Data from the food allergies study is extremely helpful to the medical community. The findings provide essential epidemiologic information that can assist in creating strategies to prevent, diagnose and manage children’s allergic reactions to food. However, additional research is needed to gain a better understanding of food allergies, how and why they develop, and why they are on the rise.
Unfortunately, food allergies are far from being an exception. In fact, in recent years various childhood conditions have increased in number and in reach across the United States. For example, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), asthma prevalence rates among children are at historically high levels following dramatic increases from 1980 to the late 1990s, with 7 million children diagnosed in 2009. Additionally, the CDC claims that obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has almost tripled since 1980.
Increasingly alarming data on childhood conditions has been the catalyst for government health agencies to put initiatives in place to learn more about patterns in these pathologies and develop strategies to turn these numbers around. One of these initiatives is the National Children’s Study (NCS), the most ambitious and unique observational research program on children’s health ever conducted in the country – and worldwide.
The NCS is a data-driven, evidence-based and community and participant-informed study that will examine the effects of the broadly defined environment – air, water, diet, sound, family dynamics, community, cultural influences and genetics – on the growth, development and health of 100,000 children across the United States, following them from before birth until they are 21. The goal of the Study is to improve the health and well-being of American children for generations to come and contribute to understanding the role that various factors have on health and disease. The Study hopes to gain understanding of how events and exposures early in life can lead to specific outcomes.
The NCS is led by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in collaboration with a consortium of federal government partners. Study partners include the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Study began in response to the Children’s Health Act of 2000, when Congress directed the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and other federal agencies to undertake a long-term national study of children’s health and development in relation to environmental exposures. A group of more than 2,000 scientists from across the U.S. have been designing and planning the study for the past several years.
The Study will be conducted in 105 locations across the United States. All locations were selected using a scientific sampling technique to ensure that children and families across the nation from diverse ethnic, racial, economic, religious, geographic, and social groups are represented. Within the selected locations, a number of areas were randomly chosen from which women who are pregnant or likely to become pregnant are eligible to participate in the Study.
The UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities is leading the research in California’s Los Angeles and Ventura counties. This Study Center is hoping to recruit a total of 5,000 participants (4,000 in Los Angeles and 1,000 in Ventura) from a total of 56 randomly selected areas in Los Angeles County and another 10-12 in Ventura County in the next several years.
Those who choose to participate in the Study will be asked to answer questions through periodic surveys. If the participant family decides to get more involved in the program, Study staff will also visit them at home and other places where their children spend much of their time. Every participant will be compensated for their time.
Data collected during the Study has the potential to shed light onto many conditions, including, but not limited to, allergies, but also birth defects and complications, injuries, asthma, obesity, diabetes, , behavior, learning and mental health disorders. These data may help establish links between children’s environments and children’s health. By taking a long-term view of children from before birth to adulthood, the Study hopes to learn more about how children grow healthy and how this leads to healthy adults.
Long-term research programs are extremely important to the advancement of medicine and have the potential to give the medical community in-depth insight on the subject matter. For example, the Framingham Heart Study, which began its research in 1948, resulted in a wealth of findings – for example cigarette smoking and high cholesterol increase the risk of heart disease- that have since saved millions of lives. Similarly, the NCS is hoping to achieve a better understanding of childhood conditions and significantly improve our children’s health.
Findings from the Study will benefit all Americans by providing researchers, health care providers, and public health officials with information from which they can develop prevention strategies and health and safety guidelines, as well as guide future research and influence policy.
Participating in the NCS provides a unique opportunity for families across the nation to be a part of a landmark health effort. These families can have a major impact on the health of future generations, helping their communities and country to gain a better understanding of children’s overall health and development.
Dr. Dena Herman is also the Co-Director of the National Children’s Study for the Los Angeles-Ventura Study Center (NCS-LAVSC). The National Children’s Study is the largest long-term research project of its kind ever conducted in the United States – and globally. The study, which will follow a cohort of 5,000 children in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties and 100,000 nationwide from before birth to age 21, is designed to examine and evaluate how the environment and genetics affect children’s health and development. The study seeks to identify the causes of a variety of childhood health conditions including birth defects, asthma, obesity, diabetes, injuries and learning and developmental disabilities.
Dr. Herman is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA School of Public Health. She is a registered dietitian with a specialty in pediatrics, is the recipient of a number of research awards and has authored more than 25 publications in scientific as well as popular journals.
###
Subscribe to our FREE Ezine and receive current Health News, be eligible for discounted products/services and coupons related to your Health. We publish 24/7.
www.HealthNewsDigest.com
For advertising/promotion, email: [email protected] Or call toll free: 877- 634-9180