학술논문
Opportunities for understanding the COVID-19 pandemic and child health in the United States: the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program
Document Type
article
Author
Bekelman, Traci A; Trasande, Leonardo; Law, Andrew; Blackwell, Courtney K; Jacobson, Lisa P; Bastain, Theresa M; Breton, Carrie V; Elliott, Amy J; Ferrara, Assiamira; Karagas, Margaret R; Aschner, Judy L; Bornkamp, Nicole; Camargo, Carlos A; Comstock, Sarah S; Dunlop, Anne L; Ganiban, Jody M; Gern, James E; Karr, Catherine J; Kelly, Rachel S; Lyall, Kristen; O’Shea, T Michael; Schweitzer, Julie B; LeWinn, Kaja Z
Source
Subject
Language
Abstract
ObjectiveOngoing pediatric cohort studies offer opportunities to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's health. With well-characterized data from tens of thousands of US children, the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program offers such an opportunity.MethodsECHO enrolled children and their caregivers from community- and clinic-based pediatric cohort studies. Extant data from each of the cohorts were pooled and harmonized. In 2019, cohorts began collecting data under a common protocol, and data collection is ongoing with a focus on early life environmental exposures and five child health domains: birth outcomes, neurodevelopment, obesity, respiratory, and positive health. In April of 2020, ECHO began collecting a questionnaire designed to assess COVID-19 infection and the pandemic's impact on families. We describe and summarize the characteristics of children who participated in the ECHO Program during the COVID-19 pandemic and novel opportunities for scientific advancement.ResultsThis sample (n = 13,725) was diverse by child age (31% early childhood, 41% middle childhood, and 16% adolescence up to age 21), sex (49% female), race (64% White, 15% Black, 3% Asian, 2% American Indian or Alaska Native,