PREVALENCE OF SOIL MOUTHING INGESTION AMONG HEALTHY-CHILDREN AGED 1 TO 6/

Ingestion of non-food items/mouthing behavior results in exposure of c hildren to contaminants in soil/dust. We characterize the prevalence o f such behaviors in healthy children. The relative frequency of such b ehaviors was assessed by parent interviews for 533 children age 1 to 6 . Thirty-eight percent of children put soil in their mouths at least m onthly, 24% at least weekly, and 11% daily. High-risk behavior decreas ed quickly for children aged 2 or more, but was still reported at leas t monthly by 3 to 9% of parents of children up through age 6. Highest outdoor object mouthing rates occur among 1-year-old children, who are reported to play daily in sand/dirt and have generally high levels of mouthing. Such children may have higher soil/dust ingestion and highe r exposure to contaminants when soil/dust contains lead or other agent s These high-risk groups may help focus educational interventions and/ or risk assessments.