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The Effect of a Child's Environment on Health

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2002;156:853-854.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

IT IS IMPORTANT that we ask as many questions as we can about a child's environment. In clinical practice, as in pediatric research, one learns a great deal by asking the right question. We have all been taught that the patient's history provides the answer or diagnosis 95% of the time. In the case of pediatric illnesses such as lead poisoning and asthma, the comprehensive environmental history provides a window into a child's world, allowing one to identify environmental hazards to health that might not be discussed otherwise.

Although environmental factors can affect the health of all individuals, children are much more vulnerable than adults to environmental agents. Children breathe faster than adults and have more efficient gastrointestinal absorption. Their organ systems are more susceptible to damage by toxic agents because their bodies are undergoing rapid change and development. Younger and cognitively impaired children often possess behavioral characteristics that place . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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