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Neurodevelopment for the first three years following prenatal mobile phone use, radio frequency radiation and lead
Kyung-Hwa Choi1, Mina Ha1, Eun-Hee Ha2
1Department of Preventive Medicine, Dankook University College of Medicine, Cheonan, Republic of Korea.
Insights
Prenatal mobile phone use did not affect child neurodevelopment. However, high maternal lead exposure combined with mobile phone use increased risks for developmental delays in children up to 36 months.
Area of Science:
- Environmental health
- Neurodevelopmental pediatrics
- Toxicology
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to mobile phone radiofrequency radiation (RFR) and its impact on child neurodevelopment is debated.
- Existing studies show varied results depending on developmental stages.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between prenatal mobile phone use, RFR exposure, and child neurodevelopment up to 36 months.
- To examine these effects in relation to prenatal lead exposure.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of 1198 mother-child pairs.
- Mobile phone use assessed via questionnaires; RFR measured using a personal exposure meter (PEM) in a subset.
- Maternal blood lead levels (BLL) measured; child neurodevelopment assessed using the Korean Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Revised at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months.
Main Results:
- No significant association found between prenatal mobile phone use and child psychomotor or mental development indices (PDI/MDI).
- High maternal BLL in utero was linked to increased risk of low PDI and decreasing MDI with increased mobile phone use.
- No significant association between child neurodevelopment and prenatal RFR exposure.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal RFR exposure showed no association with neurodevelopment in the first three years.
- A potential combined effect of prenatal lead exposure and mobile phone use on child neurodevelopment is suggested.
Background:
Studies examining prenatal exposure to mobile phone use and its effect on child neurodevelopment show different results, according to child's developmental stages.
Objectives:
To examine neurodevelopment in children up to 36 months of age, following prenatal mobile phone use and radiofrequency radiation (RFR) exposure, in relation to prenatal lead exposure.
Methods:
We analyzed 1198 mother-child pairs from a prospective cohort study (the Mothers and Children's Environmental Health Study). Questionnaires were provided to pregnant women at ≤20 weeks of gestation to assess mobile phone call frequency and duration. A personal exposure meter (PEM) was used to measure RFR exposure for 24h in 210 pregnant women. Maternal blood lead level (BLL) was measured during pregnancy. Child neurodevelopment was assessed using the Korean version of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-Revised at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months of age. Logistic regression analysis applied to groups classified by trajectory analysis showing neurodevelopmental patterns over time.
Results:
The psychomotor development index (PDI) and the mental development index (MDI) at 6, 12, 24, and 36 months of age were not significantly associated with maternal mobile phone use during pregnancy. However, among children exposed to high maternal BLL in utero, there was a significantly increased risk of having a low PDI up to 36 months of age, in relation to an increasing average calling time (p-trend=0.008). There was also a risk of having decreasing MDI up to 36 months of age, in relation to an increasing average calling time or frequency during pregnancy (p-trend=0.05 and 0.007 for time and frequency, respectively). There was no significant association between child neurodevelopment and prenatal RFR exposure measured by PEM in all subjects or in groups stratified by maternal BLL during pregnancy.
Conclusions:
We found no association between prenatal exposure to RFR and child neurodevelopment during the first three years of life; however, a potential combined effect of prenatal exposure to lead and mobile phone use was suggested.
