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Prenatal and childhood polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) exposure and attention and executive function at 9-12
Sharon K Sagiv1, Katherine Kogut1, Fraser W Gaspar1
1Center for Environmental Research and Children's Health (CERCH), School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants (PBDEs) is linked to lasting attention and executive function deficits in children. These findings highlight PBDEs as potential neurodevelopmental toxicants affecting the prefrontal cortex.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- California children exhibit high exposure levels to polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants (PBDEs).
- Previous studies linked prenatal and childhood PBDE exposure to cognitive and motor deficits in children.
- The CHAMACOS cohort provides a unique dataset for studying long-term effects of environmental exposures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between prenatal and childhood PBDE exposures and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children aged 9 to 12 years.
- To extend previous findings on PBDEs and cognitive function in the CHAMACOS cohort.
- To examine the impact of PBDEs on attention and executive function in older children.
Main Methods:
- PBDEs were measured in serum samples from mothers and children at age 9 in two cohorts (CHAM1 and CHAM2).
- Predictive modeling was used to estimate prenatal PBDE exposure levels in the CHAM2 cohort.
- Neuropsychological tests and parent-reported questionnaires assessed attention and executive function at ages 9, 10.5, and 12 years.
Main Results:
- Prenatal PBDE exposure was consistently associated with poorer attention and executive function, including response consistency and working memory.
- A 10-fold increase in prenatal PBDEs correlated with significant decrements in cognitive performance.
- Childhood PBDE levels at age 9 were linked to attention and executive function issues in girls, but not in boys.
Conclusions:
- The prefrontal cortex may be a sensitive target for PBDE toxicity.
- These findings contribute to the evidence that ubiquitous PBDE toxicants can adversely impact neurodevelopment.
- Long-term neurodevelopmental consequences of PBDE exposure warrant continued investigation and public health attention.
Objective:
California children's exposures to polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants (PBDEs) are among the highest measured worldwide. We previously reported associations for prenatal and childhood PBDE exposures with decrements in attention, processing speed, fine motor coordination, and cognition in children at ages 5 and 7 years. Here, we investigate associations of PBDEs with attention and executive function at ages 9 to 12 years in the expanded CHAMACOS cohort.
Methods:
We measured PBDEs in prenatal and child age 9 year serum samples for families enrolled in the study since pregnancy ("CHAM1", N=321). In a subsequent cohort for which families were enrolled at child age 9 ("CHAM2", N=301), we measured PBDEs in maternal and child samples collected at child age 9, and used predictive modeling to estimate prenatal exposure levels. We examined associations of measured and estimated PBDE concentrations on children's attention and executive functioning at ages 9, 10½, and 12 years.
Results:
Geometric means for prenatal and childhood ΣPBDE levels (sum of PBDE-47, -99, -100, -153) for the expanded CHAMACOS cohort were 26.3 and 63.2 ng/g lipid, respectively, and did not differ significantly between CHAM1 and CHAM2 families. We found consistent associations of prenatal exposure to PBDEs with poorer attention and executive function, measured with parent report and direct neuropsychological testing of the child. For example, using GEE models of repeated outcome measures at ages 9 and 12, a 10-fold increase in prenatal ΣPBDE was associated with poorer response consistency on the Conners' Continuous Performance Test II (β=2.9; 95% CI: 0.9, 4.8) and poorer working memory on the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (β=2.5; 95% CI: 0.5, 4.4). Child age 9 ΣPBDE levels were associated with poorer parent-reported attention and executive function for girls but not boys.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that the prefrontal cortex may be a potential target for PBDE exposure and add to a growing literature showing that these ubiquitous toxicants may adversely affect neurodevelopment.
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