EFFECTS OF CHILDHOOD EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS: NURSING REVIEW

A better understanding of the potential effects of environmental exposures on fetal and childhood growth is critical for public health because of the following factors: increased exposure levels to a variety of pollutants as a result of increased industrialization; the known ability of environmental pollutants to easily cross the placenta; plausible mechanisms linking environmental exposures to impaired fetal and childhood growth; and the influence of early life exposure. We search the electronic databases; PubMed, Embase for all papers that was published regarding our review’s topic, up to middle of 2021. The relevance of early environmental exposures in the development of childhood asthma is becoming more widely recognized. Although outdoor air pollution is a known asthma trigger, it is unknown whether exposure influences incident illness. There is some evidence that environmental toxins may play a role in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism (lead, PCBs, air pollution), respiratory and immunological health (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene - DDE - and PCBs), and obesity (DDE). Furthermore, there is now some evidence that some chemicals of recent concern, specifically perfluorooctanoate and foetal growth, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers and neurodevelopment, may be linked to poor child health outcomes.