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Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers and predisposition to frustration at 7 months: Results from the
Youssef Oulhote1, Émilie Tremblay2, Tye E Arbuckle3
1Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, Qc, Canada; École de Psychologie, Université Laval, Québec, Qc, Canada; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) was linked to increased infant crying and delayed discomfort reactions, suggesting a predisposition to frustration. This study highlights potential neurobehavioral impacts in infants under 12 months.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
- Toxicology
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) is linked to cognitive and behavioral issues in children.
- No prior studies have investigated PBDE exposure and neurobehavioral development in infants under 12 months using observational tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between prenatal PBDE concentrations and infant predisposition to frustration.
- To assess neurobehavioral development in Canadian infants using the arm restraint task (ART).
Main Methods:
- A prospective longitudinal study in Canada measured nine PBDE congeners in maternal plasma during the first trimester.
- The arm restraint task (ART) assessed frustration in 333 infants (mean age 6.9 months) via negative vocalizations and physical reactivity.
Main Results:
- Maternal plasma PBDE-47 concentrations correlated with increased negative vocalizations (aRR=1.04).
- Prenatal PBDE-99 and PBDE-100 were associated with altered timing of negative vocalizations.
- Sex modified the association between PBDE-47/PBDE-153 and physical reactivity.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal PBDE exposure is associated with increased infant crying and delayed motor responses.
- These findings suggest a potential predisposition to frustration and reduced habituation in infants exposed prenatally.
- The study provides insights into early-life neurobehavioral effects of PBDEs in the general infant population.
Background:
Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) has been associated with cognitive deficits and behavioral problems in children. To date, no study has examined this exposure in association with neurobehavioral development in infants younger than 12 months assessed with observational tasks.
Objectives:
This study examined the relation between prenatal PBDE concentrations and predisposition to frustration, assessed by the arm restraint task (ART), in Canadian infants.
Methods:
In a prospective longitudinal study conducted in Canada, exposure to nine PBDE congeners was measured in maternal plasma during the first trimester of pregnancy. The ART was used to measure predisposition to frustration in infancy (N = 333; mean age = 6.9 months), as assessed by negative vocalizations (crying and screaming) and physical reactivity (discomfort movements).
Results:
Maternal plasma PBDE-47 concentrations collected during pregnancy were associated with negative vocalizations using the ART (adjusted Relative Risk [aRR] = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.09). Prenatal PBDE-99 concentrations during pregnancy were also related to a shift to the left in the tail of the distribution of onset of negative vocalizations as measured by a decrease of 38 s (95% CI: -78.1, 1.3) in the 75th quantile of the distribution for infants whose mothers had detectable levels of PBDE-99 compared to infants of mothers with undetectable levels. Similarly, infants whose mothers had detectable levels of PBDE-100 showed an increase of 24.1 s (95% CI: 4.1, 44.1) in the 75th quantile of the distribution of proportion of time in negative vocalizations compared with infants of mothers with undetectable levels. Finally, the association between PBDE-47 and PBDE-153, and physical reactivity was significantly modified by sex (p < 0.1), with opposite patterns in girls and boys.
Conclusions:
Prenatal exposure to PBDEs was associated with increased incidence of crying and screaming with delayed onset of discomfort movement, which may indicate a predisposition to frustration and lack of habituation in infants younger than 12 months from the general population.
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