The epidemiology of pediatric environmental exposures

Currently, the only national databases that are available to aid in a search to assess the effect of environmental exposures on children's health are those provided by the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units and poison control centers. Both have limitations and are largely deficient in accurate, helpful numbers. Both, however, offer insight into factors that are important to the public and health care professionals and provide some outcome data to measure morbidity and mortality. This article presents an analysis of the information in these databases about children's exposure to toxic environmental substances.