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Prenatal and postnatal lead exposures and intellectual development among 12-year-old Japanese children

Nozomi Tatsuta1, Kunihiko Nakai1, Yuichi Kasanuma2

  • 1Development and Environmental Medicine, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8575, Japan.

Environmental Research
|July 18, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Postnatal lead exposure negatively impacts boys' IQ and language skills. Prenatal and postnatal lead exposure affects boys' language ability, but not girls'.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Neuroscience
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Childhood lead exposure is linked to lower IQ.
  • The impact of prenatal lead exposure on child IQ is inconsistent.
  • Understanding lead exposure effects on cognitive development is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between prenatal/postnatal lead exposure and child IQ at age 12.
  • To analyze lead exposure effects on cognitive and language abilities in children.
  • To differentiate lead exposure impacts based on sex.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective birth cohort study (Tohoku Study of Child Development) with 286 children.
  • Measured cord-blood and 12-year-old child blood lead levels.
  • Assessed IQ using Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition and language using Boston Naming Test (BNT).

Main Results:

  • IQ and BNT scores were lower in boys than girls.
  • In boys, IQ correlated with child-blood lead levels, not cord-blood lead.
  • Language ability (BNT) in boys was associated with both prenatal and postnatal lead exposure.

Conclusions:

  • Postnatal lead exposure adversely affects intellectual ability in boys.
  • Language ability in boys is sensitive to both prenatal and postnatal lead exposure.
  • No significant associations were found for girls.
Abstract

Keywords:
Child neurodevelopmentIntelligence quotientLead exposureMethylmercury exposure

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