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Persistent Associations between Maternal Prenatal Exposure to Phthalates on Child IQ at Age 7 Years

Pam Factor-Litvak1, Beverly Insel1, Antonia M Calafat2

  • 1Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.

Plos One
|December 11, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Maternal exposure to di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) during pregnancy is linked to lower IQ in children by age 7. These findings highlight the public health impact of ubiquitous phthalate exposure on child development.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Developmental Toxicology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Previous studies indicated prenatal phthalate exposure negatively impacts preschooler development.
  • Research gaps existed regarding the persistence of these effects into school-age years.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between maternal prenatal phthalate metabolite concentrations and cognitive development in school-aged children.
  • To determine if previously observed associations in preschoolers extend to 7-year-olds.

Main Methods:

  • Follow-up study of 328 inner-city mother-child pairs.
  • Measurement of prenatal urinary phthalate metabolites (DnBP, BBzP, DiBP, etc.) in late pregnancy.
  • Cognitive function assessed at age 7 using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV).

Main Results:

  • Prenatal DnBP and DiBP metabolite concentrations were inversely associated with child full-scale IQ (IQ).
  • Children in the highest quartile of DnBP/DiBP exposure had significantly lower IQ scores compared to the lowest quartile.
  • Associations remained significant after controlling for earlier cognitive development and affected specific cognitive domains like processing speed and verbal comprehension.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal prenatal exposure to DnBP and DiBP is associated with intellectual deficits in 7-year-old children.
  • Given the widespread nature of phthalate exposure, these findings have significant public health implications for child development.
Abstract

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