Tox in the Family: Generational Exposure and DDT

Adverse Reactions

Blood samples and health records for 15,000 pregnancies provides a wealth of scientific data. Add samples and records from the resultant children and grandchildren, and you have an invaluable cohort with which you can study the long-term results of events that occur during pregnancy. Barbara Cohn with the Public Health Institute is the Director of such a cohort and discusses it with co-hosts Anne Chappelle and David Faulkner, including what she and colleagues have discovered about the generational effects of exposure to DDT and other substances.
About the Guest
Barbara A. Cohn, PhD, is Director of the Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS) at the Public Health Institute. CHDS is home to a groundbreaking study, which originated in 1959, designed to shed light on the various factors impacting health during pregnancy and early childhood. Between 1959 and 1967, 15,000 pregnant women and their families were enrolled. Researchers continue to study these rich data and conduct important follow-up studies to further examine how events during pregnancy impact the subsequent health of fathers, mothers, and their children and grandchildren. Dr. Cohn consults with researchers around the world on the use of the CHDS data for health research.

In addition, Dr. Cohn directs research examining how pregnancy protects against breast cancer and influences other health problems in mothers and their children in order to identify natural protective mechanisms that can be used for prevention. She also investigates whether early life exposure to environmental chemicals during pregnancy affects obesity, immune function, reproductive health, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurodevelopment, cancer, and health disparities in mothers and their children across the life span.

Dr. Cohn holds a doctorate in epidemiology, a master’s degree in city and regional planning, a master’s degree in public health planning, and a bachelor’s degree in zoology, all from the University of California, Berkeley.

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1. Introduction to the Episode (00:00:00)

2. A Cohort of 20,000 Pregnancies (00:01:30)

3. Generational Changes in Disease Susceptibility (00:04:57)

4. How Three Generations Can Be Exposed at One Time (00:06:22)

5. What about the Fourth Generation? (00:09:47)

6. How Do You Control for Different Exposure Scenarios? (00:11:57)

7. Influencing Public Policy and Regulations (00:15:33)

8. Using Science for Good (00:19:52)

9. What Was a Significant Adverse Reaction in Your Life? (00:21:37)

10. Episode Credits (00:23:16)