Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Moderate Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Quantification of Social Behavior in Adult Rats
Published on: December 14, 2014
Manganese exposure through drinking water during pregnancy and size at birth: A prospective cohort study
Syed Moshfiqur Rahman1, Maria Kippler2, Sultan Ahmed1
1Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Box 210, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b), GPO Box 128, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
The essential element manganese (Mn) might be toxic at excess exposure. We assessed the impact of elevated Mn exposure through drinking water during pregnancy on birth size in a population-based cohort(n = 1695) in rural Bangladesh. Concentrations of water Mn (median = 236 μg/L, range = 7.1-6336; n = 1177) and erythrocyte Mn (median = 30 μg/kg, range = 6.3-114; n = 758) were measured using ICP-MS. In regression analyses, newborns of women in the highest tertile of water Mn (median = 1495 μg/L) were 0.49 cm (0.20 SD) shorter (B = -0.42; 95% CI: -0.77, -0.08) than those in the lowest tertile (56μg/L). The inverse association was significant in girls and also in boys of mothers with lowest hemoglobin values, likely due to higher absorption of Mn. Manganese concentrations in water and erythrocytes did not correlate, and the associations of the latter with birth size were less obvious. This study suggests that consumption of water with highly elevated Mn levels during pregnancy may impair fetal growth.
The essential element manganese (Mn) might be toxic at excess exposure. We assessed the impact of elevated Mn exposure through drinking water during pregnancy on birth size in a population-based cohort(n = 1695) in rural Bangladesh. Concentrations of water Mn (median = 236 μg/L, range = 7.1-6336; n = 1177) and erythrocyte Mn (median = 30 μg/kg, range = 6.3-114; n = 758) were measured using ICP-MS. In regression analyses, newborns of women in the highest tertile of water Mn (median = 1495 μg/L) were 0.49 cm (0.20 SD) shorter (B = -0.42; 95% CI: -0.77, -0.08) than those in the lowest tertile (56μg/L). The inverse association was significant in girls and also in boys of mothers with lowest hemoglobin values, likely due to higher absorption of Mn. Manganese concentrations in water and erythrocytes did not correlate, and the associations of the latter with birth size were less obvious. This study suggests that consumption of water with highly elevated Mn levels during pregnancy may impair fetal growth.
More Related Videos
15:27Construction of Vapor Chambers Used to Expose Mice to Alcohol During the Equivalent of all Three Trimesters of Human Development
Published on: July 13, 2014
03:19Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
Published on: June 28, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Teratogenicity
Development of the Oral Microbiota
Upper Respiratory Drugs: Antitussives, Expectorants, and Mucolytics
Antitussives include codeine, dextromethorphan (Robitussin), and benzonatate (Tessalon). Codeine and dextromethorphan exert their effects centrally by suppressing the cough reflex center in the medulla. Benzonatate operates peripherally within the respiratory tract by...
Vitamins