Prenatal environmental chemical exposures and longitudinal patterns of child neurobehavior
Joseph M Braun, Kimberly Yolton, Shaina L Stacy, Bahar Erar, George D Papandonatos, David C Bellinger, Bruce P Lanphear, Aimin Chen, Joseph M Braun, Kimberly Yolton, Shaina L Stacy, Bahar Erar, George D Papandonatos, David C Bellinger, Bruce P Lanphear, Aimin Chen
Abstract
Background: Prenatal chemical exposures may adversely affect neurodevelopment, but few studies have examined the persistence of these associations. We examined whether associations between prenatal bisphenol A (BPA) or polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) exposures persist or resolve as children age.
Methods: We followed 346 mother-child pairs (enrolled 2003-2006) from Cincinnati, OH from pregnancy until children were 8 years old. We measured BPA in urine collected at 16 and 26 weeks gestation and PBDE-47 in serum collected at 16 weeks gestation. We administered repeated measures of children's behavior, mental/psychomotor development, and IQ from ages 1-8 years. We determined if associations of BPA or PBDE-47 with child neurobehavior persisted or resolved as children aged using linear mixed models and estimated neurobehavioral measure reproducibility using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs).
Results: Higher BPA in girls and higher PBDE-47 in both boys and girls were associated with more externalizing behaviors; these associations persisted from ages 2-8 years (exposure×age interaction p-values≥0.36). Higher PBDE-47 concentrations were associated with decreases in MDI from ages 1-3 years (PBDE-47x age interaction p-value=0.03) and persistently lower IQ at ages 5 and 8 years (PBDE-47×age interaction p-value=0.56). Mental/psychomotor abilities had fair reproducibility from ages 1-3 years (ICCs∼0.4), cognitive abilities from ages 5 to 8 years had excellent reproducibility (ICCs=0.7-0.8), and parent-reported behaviors from ages 2-8 years had poor to good reproducibility (ICCs=0.38-0.59).
Conclusions: Prenatal BPA and PBDE-47 concentrations were persistently associated with more externalizing behaviors. PBDE-47 concentrations were inversely associated with cognitive abilities that strengthened over time.
Keywords: Bisphenol A; Children; Epidemiology; Halogenated flame retardants; Neurodevelopment; Prenatal.
Conflict of interest statement
Competing financial interests: The authors have no competing financial interests to declare.
Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Source: PubMed