Grantee Research Project Results
2022 Progress Report: Connecting Early Life Chemical Stressors and Caregiving Environment to Neurodevelopmental Outcomes for Children Attending Licensed Child Care Centers
EPA Grant Number: R840221Title: Connecting Early Life Chemical Stressors and Caregiving Environment to Neurodevelopmental Outcomes for Children Attending Licensed Child Care Centers
Investigators: Redmon, Jennifer Hoponick , Levine, Keith , Willoughby, Michael , Kondash, AJ , Aceituno, Anna , Pilkington, William , Kumar, Deepak , Colley, Sarah
Current Investigators: Redmon, Jennifer Hoponick , Levine, Keith , Willoughby, Michael , Kondash, AJ , Aceituno, Anna , Pilkington, William , Kumar, Deepak
Institution: Research Triangle Institute
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: August 1, 2021 through May 13, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 1, 2021 through July 31,2022
Project Amount: $1,899,906
RFA: Center for Early Lifestage Vulnerabilities to Environmental Stressors (2020) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Children's Health , Endocrine Disruptors
Objective:
The overarching objective of this Center is to make causal linkages between cumulative environmental exposures, caregiving environments in early childhood, and changes in neurodevelopment for preschoolers.
Project 1: The objective of Project 1 is to identify the occurrence, concentration, and variation of chemicals found in toddler’s caregiving environments at home and in child care, and evaluate how the cumulative chemical exposures are causally associated with neurodevelopmental functioning in early childhood.
Project 2: The objective of Project 2 is to test whether nonchemical factors, specifically home caregiving environment, alter the impacts of early life chemical exposures (i.e., metals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and cotinine as a biomarker of tobacco exposure) on neurodevelopmental outcomes in early childhood.
Progress Summary:
During this reporting period, our project team created materials and processes necessary to recruit, train, and enroll child care centers and families and we piloted initial study activities within a child care center. Enrollment officially opened near the end of the reporting period. Participatory science materials were developed to train caregivers to conduct environmental and biological sampling at the participating child’s home. Center sampling kits (water, dust) and home sampling kits (water, dust, hair, saliva, wristbands) were also constructed. Laboratory cleaning methods were piloted and refined for silicone wristbands.
Future Activities:
In the next reporting period, we will advance activities to recruit and enroll up to 300 children in the study area. We will complete study activities related to the first study timepoint, including caregiver interviews, caregiver surveys, the first round of neurodevelopmental assessments, deployment of participatory science sampling kits for caregivers to collect environmental and biological samples at home, and environmental sampling completed by study staff at participating child care centers. We will begin to analyze biospecimen and environmental media samples, and develop results and recommendations reports.
Supplemental Keywords:
Lead, metals, PFAS, PDBE, environmental exposure, self-regulation, attention, executive function, ADHD, toddlerhood, early childhood, parent–child interaction, parenting stress, economic stress, moderation, conditional effects, silicone wristbands, inverse probability of treatment weightingRelevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.