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Background: Childhood wheeze may be related to pesticide exposure, and diet and genetics (Paroxonase; PON1) may modify the effects of exposure. Methods: We analyzed data from the HOME Study, a prospective pregnancy and birth cohort, to examine the association of gestational urinary organophosphate (OP) and pyrethroid (3PBA) metabolite concentrations with child wheeze, forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) at ages 4 and 5 years, and wheeze trajectory patterns through age 8 years. Results: Among 367 singletons, the frequency of wheeze ranged from 10.6% to 24.1% at each measurement age. OP and 3PBA metabolite concentrations were not associated with wheeze at 8 years or from birth to 8 years, but there were three significant interactions: (1) maternal daily fruit and vegetable consumption (less than daily consumption and increasing 3PBA was associated with wheeze at age 8 years, OR = 1.40), (2) maternal PON1-108 allele (CT/TT genotypes and high DE was associated with wheeze at age 8 years, OR = 2.13, 2.74) and (3) PON1192 alleles (QR/RR genotypes with higher diethylphosphate (DE) and dialkyl phosphate (DAP) were associated with wheeze at age 8 years, OR = 3.84). Pesticide metabolites were not consistently related to FEV1 or wheeze trajectory. Conclusions: Gestational OP and 3PBA metabolites were associated with child respiratory outcomes in participants with maternal dietary and genetic susceptibility.

The use of pesticides on athletic fields presents many possible health hazards. Results indicate that there is a significant risk of exposure to pesticide for children engaged in sports activities. Given that children are also often concurrently exposed to pesticides as food residues and from home pest management, we need to examine opportunities to reduce their exposures. Both policy and practice questions are raised.

Nurse educators have long recognized the need for an increased focus on environmental health education in nursing. For decades, schools of nursing have answered the call to action put forth by the Institute of Medicine and the American Nurses Association to incorporate environmental health content into nursing curricula. This article details the experiences of faculty and staff at the University of Maryland School of Nursing as they launched a national environmental health nursing organization, developed individual undergraduate elective courses on environmental health and climate change, and created a post‐baccalaureate certificate program. We also report student registration and evaluation data from five environmental health courses over 10 years. Five hundred five undergraduate and 291 graduate nursing students from a variety of programs received formal environmental health education. Relevance of content was consistently highly rated, ranging from 4.17 to 4.61 out of 5, and students completed projects on a wide range of environmental health topics. Graduates of the certificate program have greatly impacted their communities in the areas of nursing practice, education, and policy.

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