Tulve Nicolle S, Suggs Jack C, McCurdy Thomas, Cohen Hubal Elaine A, Moya Jacqueline
National Exposure Research Laboratory, US EPA, MD-E20504, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.
J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 2002 Jul;12(4):259-64. doi: 10.1038/sj.jea.7500225.
Young children may be more likely than adults to be exposed to pesticides following a residential application as a result of hand- and object-to-mouth contacts in contaminated areas. However, relatively few studies have specifically evaluated mouthing behavior in children less than 5 years of age. Previously unpublished data collected by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) were analyzed to assess the mouthing behavior of 72 children (37 males/35 females). Total mouthing behavior data included the daily frequency of both mouth and tongue contacts with hands, other body parts, surfaces, natural objects, and toys. Eating events were excluded. Children ranged in age from 11 to 60 months. Observations for more than 1 day were available for 78% of the children. The total data set was disaggregated by gender into five age groups (10-20, 20-30, 30-40, 40-50, 50-60 months). Statistical analyses of the data were then undertaken to determine if significant differences existed among the age/gender subgroups in the sample. A mixed effects linear model was used to test the associations among age, gender, and mouthing frequencies. Subjects were treated as random and independent, and intrasubject variability was accounted for with an autocorrelation function. Results indicated that there was no association between mouthing frequency and gender. However, a clear relationship was observed between mouthing frequency and age. Using a tree analysis, two distinct groups could be identified: children < or = 24 and children >24 months of age. Children < or = 24 months exhibited the highest frequency of mouthing behavior with 81+/-7 events/h (mean+/-SE) (n=28 subjects, 69 observations). Children >24 months exhibited the lowest frequency of mouthing behavior with 42+/-4 events/h (n=44 subjects, 117 observations). These results suggest that children are less likely to place objects into their mouths as they age. These changes in mouthing behavior as a child ages should be accounted for when assessing aggregate exposure to pesticides in the residential environment.
由于在受污染区域存在手与嘴、物体与嘴的接触行为，幼儿在住宅施用农药后接触农药的可能性可能比成年人更高。然而，相对较少的研究专门评估了5岁以下儿童的啃咬行为。对弗雷德·哈钦森癌症研究中心（FHCRC）收集的此前未发表的数据进行了分析，以评估72名儿童（37名男性/35名女性）的啃咬行为。总的啃咬行为数据包括嘴和舌头与手、身体其他部位、表面、自然物体及玩具接触的每日频率。进食事件被排除在外。儿童年龄在11至60个月之间。78%的儿童有超过1天的观察数据。将总数据集按性别分为五个年龄组（10 - 20、20 - 30、30 - 40、40 - 50、50 - 60个月）。然后对数据进行统计分析，以确定样本中的年龄/性别亚组之间是否存在显著差异。使用混合效应线性模型来检验年龄、性别和啃咬频率之间的关联。将受试者视为随机且独立的，并使用自相关函数来考虑受试者内部的变异性。结果表明，啃咬频率与性别之间没有关联。然而，观察到啃咬频率与年龄之间存在明显关系。通过树状分析，可以识别出两个不同的组：24个月及以下的儿童和24个月以上的儿童。24个月及以下的儿童表现出最高的啃咬行为频率，为81±7次/小时（平均值±标准误）（n = 28名受试者，69次观察）。24个月以上的儿童表现出最低的啃咬行为频率，为42±4次/小时（n = 44名受试者，117次观察）。这些结果表明，随着年龄增长，儿童将物体放入口中的可能性降低。在评估住宅环境中农药的总暴露量时，应考虑儿童随着年龄增长啃咬行为的这些变化。
