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Prenatal phthalate exposures and executive function in preschool children
Giehae Choi1, Gro D Villanger2, Samantha S M Drover1
1Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Environment International
|February 1, 2021
Summary
Prenatal exposure to certain phthalates, like MBzP, MiBP, and MnBP, is linked to poorer executive function (EF) in preschoolers. These effects were more pronounced in boys for some measures, highlighting the need for updated regulations.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Pediatrics
Background:
- Prenatal phthalate exposure is associated with neurodevelopmental issues, including ADHD.
- Inconsistent findings across studies may stem from varied neurodevelopmental assessment tools.
- Executive function (EF) offers a synthesized framework to understand these complex neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the relationship between prenatal phthalate exposure and comprehensive assessments of executive function in preschool-aged children.
- To investigate potential sex differences in the association between prenatal phthalate exposure and executive function.
Main Methods:
- The study included 262 children with ADHD symptoms and 78 typically developing children from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort (MoBa) study.
- Twelve phthalate metabolites were measured in maternal urine samples collected during pregnancy.
- Executive function was assessed using parent/teacher-rated BRIEF-P and performance-based tests (NEPSY, SB5, CDT) at approximately 3.5 years of age.
Main Results:
- Elevated mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) exposure was linked to poorer EF across all domains and instruments in both sexes.
- Mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP) and mono-iso-butyl phthalate (MiBP) also showed adverse associations, with stronger effects on inhibition reported by parents for boys.
- Sex differences were not consistently observed across all EF measures and raters.
Conclusions:
- Mid-pregnancy exposure to MBzP, MiBP, and MnBP is associated with adverse executive function profiles in preschoolers.
- Some phthalate-EF associations were specific to boys, indicating potential sex-specific vulnerabilities.
- Expanded phthalate regulations to include pregnancy exposures are warranted given these findings.
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