Lindsey Konkel is a Worcester, MA–based journalist who reports on science, health, and the environment. She is an editor for Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate.
“The focus in immunotoxicity studies has often been on immunologic intermediates, such as immune cell counts. This study is unique in that it looks at a long-term clinically relevant outcome,” says Todd Jusko, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Rochester, who was not involved in the study.lthough previous research has suggested that prenatal exposures to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) may be harmful to a child’s developing immune system,
1 few studies have investigated long-term outcomes in this regard. Findings reported in this issue of
EHP provide evidence that exposure to certain POPs in the womb may be associated with an increased risk of developing asthma that persists into young adulthood.
2
