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Updated: Apr 16, 2026
Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
Prenatal and early-life polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels and behavior in Inuit preschoolers
Marc-André Verner1, Pierrich Plusquellec2, Justine Laura Desjardins3
1Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 401 Park Drive, HSPH-BWH-301W, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, Nobelsväg 13, Solna 171 77, Sweden.
Insights
Early childhood exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is linked to increased inattention. Postnatal PCB-153 levels at 2 months were associated with longer inattention duration in Inuit children.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Epidemiology
- Developmental Toxicology
- Pediatric Environmental Health
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is known to affect child behavior.
- Early postnatal PCB exposure's impact on neurodevelopment is less understood.
- Research highlights the need to investigate early life exposure risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess prenatal and postnatal PCB-153 exposures in Inuit children.
- To examine the relationship between PCB-153 exposure and inattention/activity at age 5.
- To identify critical windows of vulnerability for PCB neurotoxicity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized cord plasma PCB-153 for prenatal exposure assessment.
- Employed a pharmacokinetic model to estimate infant PCB-153 levels during the first year.
- Assessed child inattention and activity via video coding during fine motor tasks.
Main Results:
- Prenatal PCB-153 levels showed no association with inattention or activity.
- Increased postnatal PCB-153 at 2 months correlated with higher inattention duration.
- Postnatal exposure effects on inattention and activity became more significant after adjusting for breastfeeding duration.
Conclusions:
- Postnatal exposure windows are critical for neurodevelopmental susceptibility to PCBs.
- Findings support the vulnerability of infants to environmental neurotoxicants.
- Highlights the importance of early life environmental exposure monitoring.
Background:
Whereas it is well established that prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can disrupt children's behavior, early postnatal exposure has received relatively little attention in environmental epidemiology.
Objectives:
To evaluate prenatal and postnatal exposures to PCB-153, a proxy of total PCB exposure, and their relation to inattention and activity in 5-year-old Inuits from the Cord Blood Monitoring Program.
Methods:
Prenatal exposure to PCBs was informed by cord plasma PCB-153 levels. We used a validated pharmacokinetic model to estimate monthly infants' levels across the first year of life. Inattention and activity were assessed by coding of video recordings of children undergoing fine motor testing. We used multivariable linear regression to evaluate the association between prenatal and postnatal PCB-153 levels and inattention (n=97) and activity (n=98) at 5years of age.
Results:
Cord plasma PCB-153 was not associated with inattention and activity. Each interquartile range (IQR) increase in estimated infant PCB-153 levels at 2months was associated with a 1.02% increase in the duration of inattention (95% CI: 0.04, 2.00). Statistical adjustment for the duration of breastfeeding slightly increased regression coefficients for postnatal level estimates, some of which became statistically significant for inattention (months: 2-4) and activity (months: 2-5).
Conclusions:
Our study adds to the growing evidence of postnatal windows of development during which children are more susceptible to neurotoxicants like PCBs.
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