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. 2024 Sep;11(3):390-403.
doi: 10.1007/s40572-024-00456-5. Epub 2024 Jul 10.

Advancing Understanding of Chemical Exposures and Maternal-child Health Through the U.S. Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: A Scoping Review

Emily S Barrett  1 , Jennifer L Ames  2 , Stephanie M Eick  3 , Alicia K Peterson  2 , Zorimar Rivera-Núñez  4 , Anne P Starling  5 , Jessie P Buckley  5 ; ECHO Cohort Consortium
Collaborators, Affiliations

Advancing Understanding of Chemical Exposures and Maternal-child Health Through the U.S. Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program: A Scoping Review

Emily S Barrett et al. Curr Environ Health Rep. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Environmental chemical exposures may disrupt child development, with long-lasting health impacts. To date, U.S. studies of early environmental exposures have been limited in size and diversity, hindering power and generalizability. With harmonized data from over 60,000 participants representing 69 pregnancy cohorts, the National Institutes of Health's Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program is the largest study of U.S. children's health. Here, we: (1) review ECHO-wide studies of chemical exposures and maternal-child health; and (2) outline opportunities for future research using ECHO data.

Recent findings: As of early 2024, in addition to over 200 single-cohort (or award) papers on chemical exposures supported by ECHO, ten collaborative multi-cohort papers have been made possible by ECHO data harmonization and new data collection. Multi-cohort papers have examined prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), phthalates, phenols and parabens, organophosphate esters (OPEs), metals, melamine and aromatic amines, and emerging contaminants. They have primarily focused on describing patterns of maternal exposure or examining associations with maternal and infant outcomes; fewer studies have examined later child outcomes (e.g., autism) although follow up of enrolled ECHO children continues. The NICHD's Data and Specimen Hub (DASH) database houses extensive ECHO data including over 470,000 chemical assay results and complementary data on priority outcome areas (pre, peri-, and postnatal, airway, obesity, neurodevelopment, and positive health), making it a rich resource for future analyses. ECHO's extensive data repository, including biomarkers of chemical exposures, can be used to advance our understanding of environmental influences on children's health. Although few published studies have capitalized on these unique harmonized data to date, many analyses are underway with data now widely available.

Keywords: Chemical exposures; Children’s health; ECHO; Pregnancy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Emily S. Barrett, Jennifer Ames, Stephanie Eick, Anne Starling, Zorimar Rivera-Nunez, Alicia Peterson, and Jessie Buckley declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Overview of process to identify relevant papers
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Single award ECHO papers examining chemical exposures through 12/31/23 (n=214) by (2a) chemical group; and (2b) outcome of interest
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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