{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,24]],"date-time":"2026-07-24T11:08:24Z","timestamp":1784891304688,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778544000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Children are susceptible to harmful substances found in indoor dust through frequent hand-to-mouth and object-to-mouth contacts. Despite the importance of this exposure route, few studies have quantified the frequency, duration, or patterns of mouthing behaviors in indoor residential settings, creating uncertainty in exposure and risk models.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study quantified the frequency and duration of indoor mouthing contacts for children 6\u202fmonths to 6\u202fyears across sociodemographic variables including age, sex, ethnicity, race and geographic region using advanced videotaping and video translation methodologies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Ninety-nine children were videotaped for 3\u20134\u202fh during natural indoor play across three U.S. regions (Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina). 360-degree cameras were mounted in different rooms to capture natural behavior without researcher presence. Footage was tracked and merged sequentially, then translated into Micro-Level Activity Time Series (MLATS) using the Virtual Timing Device (VTD), documenting each mouthing contact with specific surfaces and household locations to generate frequency (contacts\/h) and duration (minutes\/h) data.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Mouthing duration showed significant age-related differences (Kruskal\u2013Wallis\n                      <jats:italic>\u03c7<\/jats:italic>\n                      <jats:sup>2<\/jats:sup>\n                      \u202f=\u202f12.0,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.007), with median duration declining from 18.67\u202fmin\/h in children 6\u2013&amp;lt;12\u202fmonths to 5.02\u202fmin\/h in children 3\u2013&amp;lt;6\u202fyears. Four surfaces accounted for the majority of mouthing duration: \u201cother food\u201d (4.25%), \u201cpacifiers\u201d (3.91%), \u201cfood containers\u201d (3.41%), and \u201chands\u201d (2.92%). Pacifier use showed complete discontinuation by age 3\u2013&amp;lt;6\u202fyears (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.008). No significant differences in total mouthing duration or frequency were observed across sex, race, ethnicity, or geographic region, suggesting that age-stratified exposure factors may be sufficient without additional demographic stratification.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study provides age-specific mouthing contact data to improve children\u2019s exposure and risk estimates. The finding that duration decreases significantly with age while frequency remains stable suggests that exposure models should incorporate both parameters. The 360-degree camera methodology reduced observer interference while capturing comprehensive behavioral data across household microenvironments.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1817680","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,12]],"date-time":"2026-05-12T05:43:46Z","timestamp":1778564626000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Analysis of durations and frequencies of mouthing behaviors in children 6\u202fmonths to 6\u202fyears: an advanced videotaping and translation approach"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Foluke","family":"Adelabu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Built Environment, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University","place":["Greensboro, NC, United 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States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maribeth","family":"Gidley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Cooperative Institute For Marine And Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami","place":["Miami, FL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Paloma I.","family":"Beamer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Community, Environmental and Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona","place":["Tucson, AZ, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helena","family":"Solo-Gabriele","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Cooperative Institute For Marine And Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami","place":["Miami, FL, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alesia","family":"Ferguson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Built 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