Science of The Total Environment VSI: Asian Birth Cohorts

Edited By Adrian Covaci, Kyungho Choi, Reiko Kishi and Yankai XIA Developing fetuses and infants are exposed to and affected by myriads of chemicals. Exposures during early life stages may influence the health of later stages of life and even that of the next generations. Therefore, understanding the exposure profiles and their linkage with adverse health effects are important tasks of environmental health sciences. It is very challenging but highly rewarding task in environmental health sciences and management. Asia is unique in that many historic/cultural backgrounds are shared, which may influence the pattern of chemical exposure. At the same time, Asia includes diverse ethnic groups and many countries with different levels of development, and economic status. Therefore, understanding the exposure profiles and the effects of a given country does not only help addressing outstanding environmental health challenges of the given country, but also assist in better understanding and resolving the public health concerns of other countries with similar characteristics. Dozens of prospective birth cohorts have been designed and maintained in Asia, which include government-funded large cohorts as well as more research-oriented smaller sized ones. These cohorts have generated significant amounts of new knowledge about temporal and spatial profiles of exposure, possible sources of chemical exposure, potential risks associated with the exposure, and links with adverse health effects, etc. These experiences have helped other researchers in the design of new prospective birth cohort programs. In order to understand recent progresses in birth cohort studies of Asia and to promote active communication and collaboration among the current and future studies, a special issue dedicated to major accomplishments of birth cohorts in Asia is proposed.
Contains articles from 07 October 2017 to 01 April 2018
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697/vsi/105NJHXQBT4