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Prenatal exposure to organophosphates, paraoxonase 1, and cognitive development in childhood

Stephanie M Engel1, James Wetmur, Jia Chen

  • 1Department of Preventive Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA. Stephanie.Engel@unc.edu

Environmental Health Perspectives
|April 22, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal organophosphate pesticide exposure harms child cognitive development, especially perceptual reasoning. The enzyme Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) may influence susceptibility to these neurotoxic effects.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Neurodevelopmental Toxicology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Prenatal organophosphate pesticide exposure is linked to adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in children.
  • Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) plays a crucial role in metabolizing organophosphates.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between organophosphate exposure biomarkers, PON1 status, and cognitive development in children.
  • To assess cognitive development at 12 and 24 months, and 6-9 years of age.

Main Methods:

  • The Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Study enrolled 404 mother-child pairs.
  • Organophosphate metabolites were measured in maternal urine, and PON1 activity/genotype in maternal blood.
  • Children underwent neurodevelopmental assessments at multiple ages.

Main Results:

  • Higher prenatal organophosphate metabolite levels correlated with lower mental development at 12 months in Black and Hispanic children.
  • These effects were more pronounced in children with the PON1 Q192R QR/RR genotype.
  • In later childhood, organophosphate exposure was linked to reduced perceptual reasoning in children of mothers with the QQ genotype (slow PON1 activity).

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal organophosphate exposure is negatively associated with cognitive development, particularly perceptual reasoning, from infancy through early childhood.
  • PON1 genotype may act as a significant susceptibility factor, modulating the impact of prenatal organophosphate exposure on child development.
Abstract

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