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Published on: March 6, 2018
Maternal Exposure to Pyrethroid Insecticides during Pregnancy and Infant Development at 18 Months of Age
Aya Hisada1, Jun Yoshinaga2,3, Jie Zhang4
1Department of Public Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kumamoto University, Honjyo 1-1-1, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan. a_hisada@kumamoto-u.ac.jp.
Insights
Maternal exposure to pyrethroid insecticides (PYRs) during pregnancy may positively impact infant development. Higher metabolite levels (3-PBA) in urine correlated with better infant scores, suggesting a potential benefit.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Toxicology
Background:
- Pyrethroid insecticides (PYRs) are widely used, raising concerns about potential developmental effects from prenatal exposure.
- Assessing the impact of environmental contaminants on neurodevelopment is crucial for public health.
- Understanding factors influencing infant development requires investigating various maternal and environmental influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the association between maternal exposure to pyrethroid insecticides (PYRs) during pregnancy and infant development at 18 months.
- To identify specific maternal and environmental factors that correlate with infant developmental outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Maternal urinary metabolite (3-phenoybenzoic acid, 3-PBA) levels were measured in the first trimester to assess PYR exposure.
- Infant development was evaluated at 18 months using the Kinder Infants Development Scale (KIDS) questionnaire.
- Stepwise multiple regression analysis was employed, controlling for covariates like maternal/infant biological attributes, breastfeeding, and nursing environment.
Main Results:
- Maternal urinary 3-PBA levels and the nursing environment were significant positive predictors of the KIDS score at 18 months.
- Maternal fish consumption during pregnancy also emerged as a significant positive factor influencing infant development.
- Both PYR exposure (3-PBA) and fish consumption showed positive coefficients, suggesting a beneficial association with infant development.
Conclusions:
- Maternal pyrethroid insecticide exposure during pregnancy may have a positive association with infant development.
- The underlying mechanisms for this observed positive effect remain unclear, warranting further investigation into potential confounding factors.
- Dietary factors, such as fish consumption, also appear to play a role in supporting positive infant developmental trajectories.
Abstract:
The possible association between maternal exposure to pyrethroid insecticides (PYRs) during pregnancy and infant development was explored. Levels of exposure to PYRs was assessed by metabolite (3-phenoybenzoic acid, 3-PBA) concentration in maternal spot urine sampled in the first trimester of index pregnancy, and infant development was assessed at 18 months of age using the Kinder Infants Development Scale (KIDS), which is based on a questionnaire to the caretaker. The relationship between KIDS score and maternal urinary 3-PBA levels was examined by a stepwise multiple regression analysis using biological attributes of the mother and infant, breast feeding, and nursing environment as covariates. The analysis extracted 3-PBA and the nursing environment as significant to explain the KIDS score at 18 months of age with positive partial regression coefficients. Inclusion of fish consumption frequency of the mother during pregnancy as an independent variable resulted in the selection of fish consumption as significant, while the two variables were marginally insignificant but still with a positive coefficient with the KIDS score. The result suggested a positive effect of maternal PYR exposure on infant development, the reason for which is not clear, but an unknown confounding factor is suspected.
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