Why We Exist

And What You Need to Know
About Childhood Cancer and Disease

The world is full of genetic diseases,1 and some childhood illnesses and diseases are indeed genetic, including Down's syndrome, cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia. Yet scientists now know that the most chronic disorders / diseases are triggered by environmental factors.2

The World Health Organization estimates that the environment significantly affects more than 80 percent of major diseases. That would include childhood cancer, diabetes and asthma. In addition, more than a third of diseases in children under the age of five are caused by environmental exposures.3

What this means is that much childhood disease and illness can be prevented. That’s why, since 2001, The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology® has been working so diligently -- through research, education and advocacy -- to rid our environment of toxins.

The Environmental Center evolved from a life-long dream about a culture that would truly see children as its most important priority. The notion contributed to a commitment I made long ago to healthy living and providing the purest possible environmental conditions in both my home and the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer.

The Environmental Center is simply an extension of that vision -- providing a place of learning and performance focusing entirely on children and their environmental well being. With your help, our Center strives to bring about fundamental health improvements in the lives of our children today and in generations to come.

My motivation is simple: Children are our most precious natural resource. Their environment shouldn't harm them. They cannot protect themselves.

We must.

References

1 Gale's Encyclopedia of Genetic Diseases. (Click on link for A-Z list.)

2 Human Genome Project Information, "Genetic Disease Information."

3 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Children’s Health: 2007 Report.”


The State of Children’s Health Needs a Turnaround

    1. Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among U.S. children between infancy and age 15.  Approximately 10,730 new cases of pediatric cancer are expected to be diagnosed in children 0-14 years of age annually.  Most epidemiologists and cancer researchers would agree that the relative contribution from the environment toward cancer risk is about 80-90 percent.  (National Cancer Institute)

    2. A poor diet and lack of exercise have contributed to an epidemic in childhood obesity, which affects 1 in 6 kids. (National Institutes of Health) In the past 20 years, the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6-11 has more than doubled, and more than tripled for 12-19 year olds.  (JAMA in CDC)

    3. One in every 400 to 500 American children and adolescents has type 1 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, once known as adult-onset diabetes, is now becoming more common among children and adolescents. Approximately 15,000 youth (under age 20) in the United States are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes annually, and about 3,700 youth are newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes annually.   (CDC)

    4. One in every 11 children in the U.S. has asthma. Asthma is the most common long-term disease of children, and is one of the leading causes of school absenteeism. (CDC)

    5. About one in six children has a developmental disability. These include speech and language disorders, learning disabilities and ADHD.  (CDC)
    6. The prevalence rate for Autism Spectrum Disorders is 1 in 91 children between the ages of 3 and 17. The rate for boys is 1 in 57, which is four times higher than for girls. Nearly 40% of those ever diagnosed with the condition do not currently have an ASD. (Maternal & Child Health Bureau of Health Resources & Services Administration, US Dept. of Health & Human Services. Study published in Pediatrics, 2009)

    7. Nearly 1 in 8 babies are born premature.  This is an increase of 36 percent in the last 25 years.  (March of Dimes)

    8. Childhood arthritis is the 4th most common chronic disease in children, and it affects more than 1 in 1,000 kids. (Dr. Yukiko Kimura, Hackensack University Medical Center)

    9. Approximately three million children (3.9%) under 18 have a food or digestive allergy.  From 1997 to 2007, the prevalence of reported food allergy increased 18% among children under age 18 years. Children with food allergy are two to four times more likely to have other related conditions such as asthma and other allergies, compared with children without food allergies.  (CDC)

    10. In a 2007 UNICEF survey, the U.S. and Britain ranked last among 21 affluent countries assessed on the welfare of children. The criteria included a range of indicators, from infant mortality to whether children ate dinner with their parents or were bullied at school. (UNICEF, Innocenti Report Card 7: Child Poverty in Perspective, 2007)

    11. In the U.S., there are 7 child deaths per 1,000 live births.  Although the under-5 mortality rate in the United States has fallen in recent decades, it is still higher than many other wealthy nations – 2.3 times that of Iceland and more than 75 percent higher than the rate of the Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Japan, Norway, Slovenia and Sweden.  (Save the Children, State of the World’s Mothers 2007)
    12. Sickle cell anemia occurs in approximately 1 in every 500 African American births and 1 out of every 36,000 Hispanic American births. It is a condition in which red blood cells can become sickle-shaped and block blood flow.  (National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute - National Institutes of Health)

    13. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) claims the lives of nearly 7 babies every day, which is almost 2,500 infants in America each year. SIDS is one of the leading causes of death among infants from one month through one year of age in the U.S. (CJ Foundation for SIDS)

    14. SUDC, the sudden and unexpected death of a child over the age of twelve months, causes approximately 1.3 deaths per 100,000 children. In comparison, the incidence of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is 40 times more common. (CJ Foundation for SIDS)

    15. Approximately 1 in 6 children ages 0–17 live in poverty. (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. America’s Children in Brief: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2008)

    16. Approximately one in 100 Americans has some form of Tourette Syndrome. It is a neurological disorder characterized by multiple involuntary movements, called motor tics, and uncontrollable vocalizations called vocal or phonic tics. Early symptoms are almost always present in childhood, with average onset between 7 and 10 years.   Males are affected 3 to 4 times more often than females.  (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH)

    17. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or OCD, affects approximately 2.2 million adults; one-third developed symptoms as children.  OCD is an anxiety disorder characterized by persistent, unwelcome thoughts and/or repetitive behaviors, and can also be accompanied by eating disorders, other anxiety disorders, or depression. (National Institute of Mental Health, NIH)
    18. Bipolar disorder, or manic-depressive illness, is most often developed in the late teen or early adult years, with at least half of all cases starting before age 25. It is called early-onset bipolar disorder in children, is treatable and usually lasts throughout a person’s lifetime.  (National Institutes of Mental Health, NIH)


    Link to: The State of Women's Health
    Updated 1-29 2010