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G. HEALTH RISKS FACED BY EARLY HEAD START CHILDREN
All the children enrolled in Early Head Start are at increased risk of health problems due to the low socioeconomic status of their families. Specific environmental conditions, such as exposure to cigarette smoking and lead, may also pose health risks for Early Head Start children.
More than half of the Early Head Start children (57 percent) were exposed to household smoking, which appears to have increased the likelihood that they experienced several health problems. Children exposed to household smoking were more likely than those who were not to have recurrent ear infections (55 percent compared to 47 percent) and more likely to have asthma or respiratory problems (31 compared with 24 percent) (not shown). National studies have shown similar relationships between environmental tobacco smoke exposure and ear infections and asthma (Gergen et al. 1998; Adair-Bischoff and Sauve 1998; and Stathis et al. 1999).
High blood lead levels can cause serious health effects, and somewhat elevated blood lead levels have been associated with adverse effects on cognitive development and behavior among preschool-age children. In 1994, an estimated 5.9 percent of children 1 to 2 years old had elevated blood lead levels (Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention 2000). A similar proportion (6 percent) of the Early Head Start children were reported by their parents to have been diagnosed with a high lead level.
Children in center-based Early Head Start programs were less likely to be diagnosed with a high lead level. One percent of children in center-based programs, compared to 6 percent of children in home-based programs and 8 percent in mixed-approach programs were reported by their parents to have been diagnosed with a high lead level. This may reflect less economic disadvantage and better living conditions among families in center-based programs, where parents were more likely to be employed and less likely to be receiving welfare cash assistance.
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