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Maternal cadmium exposure and neurobehavior in children: The HOME study
Weili Yang1, Ann M Vuong2, Changchun Xie1
1Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Insights
This study found no significant link between maternal cadmium (Cd) exposure during pregnancy and child neurobehavioral outcomes up to age 8. Further research is needed to understand potential long-term effects of early-life environmental exposures.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
- Toxicology
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants like cadmium (Cd) may impact child neurodevelopment.
- The association between fetal cadmium exposure and later child neurobehavior remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between maternal urinary cadmium levels during pregnancy and neurobehavioral outcomes in children.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of 276 children (HOME Study).
- Maternal urinary cadmium measured at 26 weeks gestation.
- Child cognitive function (MDI, FSIQ) and behavior (Externalizing, Internalizing, Behavioral Symptoms Index, Adaptive Skills) assessed at multiple ages (1-8 years).
- Linear mixed-effects models used for analysis.
Main Results:
- Maternal urinary cadmium concentrations were not significantly associated with cognitive function at ages 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 years.
- No significant associations were found between maternal cadmium levels and behavioral composite measures at ages 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 years.
Conclusions:
- This study did not find significant associations between maternal cadmium exposure during pregnancy and child cognitive or behavioral outcomes from age 1 to 8 years.
Background:
It is unclear whether cadmium (Cd) exposure during fetal brain development is associated with child neurobehavior.
Objective:
To examine the potential associations between Cd exposure during pregnancy and neurobehavior among children.
Methods:
We used data from 276 children in the Health Outcomes and Measures of the Environment (HOME) Study, a well-established prospective pregnancy and birth cohort. We measured maternal urinary Cd concentrations at 26 weeks of gestation. For cognitive function, we assessed Mental Development Index (MDI) and Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence-III, or the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children-IV at ages 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 years. We assessed child behaviors using the Behavior Assessment System for Children-2 at ages 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 years, yielding four composite measures: Externalizing Problems, Internalizing Problems, Behavioral Symptoms Index, and Adaptive Skills. We used linear mixed models with covariate adjustment to estimate the associations between maternal urinary Cd concentrations and child neurobehavior.
Results:
We categorized study participants into three groups based on maternal urinary Cd concentrations (Group 1: < limit of detection (LOD), Group 2: 0.06-0.22 μg/g creatinine, Group 3: ＞0.22 μg/g creatinine). In linear mixed models adjusting for maternal and child characteristics, maternal urinary Cd levels were not significantly associated with cognitive function at ages 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8 years or with behavioral composite measures at 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8 years.
Conclusions:
No significant associations were observed between maternal urinary Cd and cognitive or behavioral measures in children at 1-8 years of age in this study.
