title: Korean Environmental Health Survey in Children and Adolescents (KorEHS-C): survey design and pilot study results on selected exposure biomarkers.
abstract: For the first nationwide representative survey on the environmental health of children and adolescents in Korea, we designed the Korean Environmental Health Survey in Children and Adolescents (KorEHS-C) as a two-phase survey and planned a sampling strategy that would represent the whole population of Korean children and adolescents, based on the school unit for the 6-19 years age group and the household unit for the 5 years or less age group. A pilot study for 351 children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years in elementary, middle, and high school of two cities was performed to validate several measurement methods and tools, as well as to test their feasibility, and to elaborate the protocols used throughout the survey process. Selected exposure biomarkers, i.e., lead, mercury, cadmium in blood, and bisphenol A, metabolites of diethylhexyl phthalate and di-n-butyl phthalate and cotinine in urine were analyzed. We found that the levels of blood mercury (Median: 1.7 ug/L) and cadmium (Median: 0.30 ug/L) were much higher than those of subjects in Germany and the US, while metabolites of phthalates and bisphenol A showed similar levels and tendencies by age; the highest levels of phthalate metabolites and bisphenol A occurred in the youngest group of children. Specific investigations to elucidate the exposure pathways of major environmental exposure need to be conducted, and the KorEHS-C should cover as many potential environmental hazards as possible.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Dandae-ro 119, Cheonan, Korea. Electronic address: minaha@dku.edu.
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Dandae-ro 119, Cheonan, Korea.
authors.forename: Ho-Jang
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Leem
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hwan-Cheol
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Information Statistics, College of Natural Science, Korean National Open University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Kee Jae
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, College of Natural Science, Pukyong National University, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Inho
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Institute for Environmental Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Young-Wook
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Safety and Protection, NeoEnBiz Co., Bucheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Hyeon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, National Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Seoul National Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yeni
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Ju-Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Korea Cancer Center Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo-Jong
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Korea.
authors.forename: Youn-Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeesuk
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Cancer Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeongseon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Do
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Environmental Health Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Bo-Eun
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000652:urine*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002104:Cadmium / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002947:Cities; D003367:Cotinine / Q000652:urine; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004782:Environmental Health; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000097:blood*; D010636:Phenols / Q000652:urine*; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000652:urine*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012574:Schools; D014481:United States; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
chemical_list: D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D015415:Biomarkers; D002104:Cadmium; D003367:Cotinine; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007854:Lead; D008628:Mercury; D010636:Phenols; D010795:Phthalic Acids; C032279:phthalic acid; C006780:bisphenol A; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
keywords: Children and adolescents; Environmental Health Survey; Framework; Human biomonitoring; Pilot study; Sampling strategy