Mohawk Culture, Behavior, Toxicant Exposure and Health

This study will determine the pathways between Mohawk cultural identification and specific behaviors related to pollutant exposure, and determine the effects of these factors and the pollutant exposure on physiologically and socially significant outcomes.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Detailed Description

Considerable concern now exists over possible effects on human physical and psychological development of endocrine disrupting environmental contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Native American communities are particularly at risk owing to subsistence systems and a cultural ethos involving greater contact with the physical environment. The proposed study follows-up 220 Mohawk adolescents aged 17-21 years, who participated in a previous study when they were 10-16 years old. All adolescents are members of the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne which is located on the St. Lawrence River and is adjacent to hazardous waste sites where PCBs have contaminated the local ecology. The investigation examines the interrelationship between Mohawk cultural identity, traditional Mohawk customs, behaviors related to toxicant exposure and current toxicant burden. Serum level of PCBs will be assessed by congener specific analysis. The study will determine the relationship of congeners and their hydroxylated metabolites to thyroid function (levels of triiodothyronine, free triiodothyronine, thyroxine, free thyroxine, thyrotropin and anti-thyroid antibodies), and 2) psychosocial outcomes including school behavior and performance, hyperactivity, and adaptation to the community. Data gathered for the past study will be employed to assess variation in metabolism of PCBs, as well as how earlier measures of cognition and hyperactivity relate to 17 year old psychosocial outcomes. Variation in susceptibility to PCB effects will be determined by examining the effects of concurrent toxicant exposure (hexachlorobenzene, Mirex, dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene, lead), diet, and indicators of PCB metabolism, on the focal measures of adult functioning. The proposed study will clarify the causal pathways between culturally identifying behavior, PCB exposure and body burden, thyroid functioning, cognitive functioning, social behavior and school functioning while identifying activities that are important to maintain cultural identify and unrelated to exposure.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Anticipated)

220

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • New York
      • Akwesasne, New York, United States, 13655
        • First Environments Research Project Office

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

17 years to 18 years (ADULT, CHILD)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Participation in previous study of Mohawk adolescent well-being is required for participation in this project.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

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Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

July 1, 2005

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

July 1, 2005

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 7, 2002

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 7, 2002

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

August 8, 2002

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

April 14, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 13, 2015

Last Verified

April 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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