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MEASUREMENT OF MULTI-POLLUTANT AND MULTI-PATHWAY EXPOSURES IN A PROBABILITY-BASED SAMPLE OF CHILDREN: PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE FIELD STUDIES
Citation:
Adgate, J. L., C. A. Clayton, J J. Quackenboss, K W. Thomas, R. W. Whitmore, E. D. Pellizzari, P. J. Lioy, P. Shubat, C. Stroebel, N. G. Freeman, AND K. G. Sexton. MEASUREMENT OF MULTI-POLLUTANT AND MULTI-PATHWAY EXPOSURES IN A PROBABILITY-BASED SAMPLE OF CHILDREN: PRACTICAL STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE FIELD STUDIES. JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE ANALYSIS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 10(S6):650-661, (2000).
Impact/Purpose:
The objectives for the current task are to 1) evaluate the utility of screening survey design and questionnaires for identifying households/individuals with higher exposures; and 2) compare estimates of dietary exposure derived from food consumption and residue databases with direct measurements of dietary exposure obtained in this study. (Results of the environmental, exposure, and biological measurements will be reported in collaboration with the other investigators.)
Description:
The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the practical strategies developed for the implementation of the Minnesota Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (MNCPES), which is one of the first probability-based samples of multi-pathway and multi-pesticide exposures in children. The primary objective of MNCPES was to characterize children's exposure to selected pesticides through a combination of questionnaires, personal exposure measurements (i.e., air, duplicate diet, hand rinse), and complementary monitoring of biological samples (i.e., pesticide metabolites in urine), environmental samples (i.e., residential indoor/outdoor air, drinking water, dust on residential surfaces, soil), and children's activity patterns. A cross-sectional design employing a stratified random sample was used to identify homes with age-eligible children and screen residences to facilitate over sampling of households with higher potential exposures. Numerous techniques were employed in the study, including in-person contact by locally based interviewers, brief and highly focused home visits, graduated subject incentives, and training of parents and children to assist in sample collection. It is not feasible to quantify increases in rates of subject recruitment, retention, or compliance that resulted from the techniques employed in this study. Nevertheless, results indicate that the total package of implemented procedures was instrumental in obtaining a high percentage of valid samples for targeted households and environmental media.
Although the research described in this article has been funded, in part, by the EPA, it has not been subjected to review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred.