Genetic Susceptibility in Migrant Farmworker Children

Participants in this study are either MSF children and their mothers or non-MSF women (women who have never worked in agriculture) and their children. If a mother has more than one child in the school system, only one child can participate in the study. A major effort of this study is to collect, store and analyze blood and urine samples from MSF women children and a group of non-MSF women and children. Only the MSF children will be matched by ethnicity, sex, age (2 or more years), and place of residence to non-MSF children. All mothers and children participants will be recruited from the school rosters of the Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District in Harris County, and the La Joya School District in Hidalgo County. The names and addresses of all the children and their mothers are also included in the rosters. Each mother will be contacted by a telephone call or letter inviting her and her child to participate in the study. If they agree, they will then be asked if they would like to complete the interview by telephone with the interviewer from M. D. Anderson or prefer to do the interview at the on-site visit. A bilingual interviewer will ask each child's mother if she and her child would like to participate in the study. The interviewer will ask each participating mother about her and her child's age, child's gender, her and her child's exposure to chemicals, medical history, places they have lived, places she has worked, family history of disease, reproductive and breast feeding histories, diet, alcohol and tobacco use. The interview will take from 60 to 70 minutes to complete the mother's and the child participants' questionnaires. All interviews will be completed by telephone or on-site in the language of choice (English or Spanish). Two (2) members of the research team will collect the blood and urine samples, and transport them to M. D. Anderson since an overnight carrier is not available on the required days of collection. About 5 teaspoons of blood will be drawn and a urine sample will be collected. In addition, the height and weight of the mothers and the children will be measured. All blood and urine collected will be used only by the researchers involved in this study. If the child's mother agrees, the type(s) and levels of the pesticides detected will be provided to the child's physician for diagnostic purposes only. The data will be analyzed in a way that will help maintain confidentiality. This is an investigational study. A total of 400 children participants and their mothers (N=400) will take part in this study. All 800 participants will be enrolled at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.