Interaction between airborne copper exposure and ATP7B polymorphisms on inattentiveness in scholar children

Recent research indicates that airborne copper exposure in scholar children negatively affects brain functioning. These effects are likely to be influenced by the efficiency of copper metabolism, which is partly regulated by the ATPase copper transporting beta (ATP7B) gene. We investigated whether indoor and outdoor airborne copper exposure is differentially associated with child inattentiveness depending on genetic variation within the ATP7B gene in 1645 scholar children from the BREATHE project. Outdoor (courtyard) and indoor (classroom) air pollution levels were measured during class hours in each school. Inattentiveness was assessed through a follow-up with four measurements via the Attentional Network Test (4475 observations). Linear mixed models considering repeated measures were conducted to assess genetic and exposure main and interaction effects. Two interactions were detected indicating that ATP7B-rs1061472 (P for interaction 0.016) and ATP7B-rs1801243 (P for interaction 0.003) polymorphisms modified the association between indoor copper exposure and inattentiveness. Stratified analysis by genotypes revealed that both outdoor and indoor copper exposure increased inattentiveness in rs1061472-CC and rs1801243-CC carriers. These findings suggest that the genetic background promotes the association between airborne copper exposure at school with inattentiveness in children.