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Cohort profile: Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development in Puerto Rico

Justin Manjourides1, Emily Zimmerman2, Deborah J Watkins3

  • 1Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA j.manjourides@northeastern.edu.

BMJ Open
|July 22, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Puerto Rican infants face higher risks for premature birth, asthma, and obesity. This study examines environmental exposures and their impact on child development, moving beyond single-exposure analyses.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Pediatric Health
  • Developmental Toxicology

Background:

  • Puerto Rican children exhibit elevated rates of asthma and obesity.
  • Infants born in Puerto Rico have a higher risk of premature birth compared to those in mainland USA.
  • Environmental exposures during critical developmental periods may contribute to adverse child health outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of multiple environmental exposures on infant and child health in Puerto Rico.
  • To move beyond single-exposure studies and examine combined environmental factors.
  • To assess potential modifications by psychosocial factors on environmental health effects.

Main Methods:

  • Recruitment of pregnant women and their infants/children through the Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) cohort.
  • Collection of demographic data, birth outcomes, and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
  • Measurement of urinary concentrations of parabens, phenols, dichlorophenols, triclosan, and triclocarban in maternal samples.

Main Results:

  • Data collected on 437 mother-child pairs, with birth outcomes for 420 infants and neurodevelopmental data for 319 children.
  • Mothers in the Center for Research on Early Childhood Exposure and Development had higher urinary concentrations of dichlorophenols, triclosan, and triclocarban.
  • Lower levels of certain parabens were observed in the study population compared to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reference values.

Conclusions:

  • Ongoing data collection aims to reach 600 children, with further follow-up visits planned.
  • The research supports parents in accessing early intervention services.
  • This study provides crucial insights into the complex interplay of environmental exposures and child health in Puerto Rico.
Abstract

Keywords:
community child healthdevelopmental neurology & neurodisabilitypaediatric neurology

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