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Updated: Jul 2, 2025
Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
Prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) and child neurodevelopment: The role of breastfeeding
Jordyn T Wallenborn1, Carly Hyland2, Sharon K Sagiv3
1Center of Excellence for Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA; Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Basel, Switzerland; University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Insights
Prolonged breastfeeding may protect children from the negative effects of prenatal exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Longer breastfeeding durations were associated with better executive function in children exposed to PBDEs.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Neurodevelopmental Toxicology
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Prenatal and early-life exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) is linked to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in children.
- Breastfeeding, a primary source of infant nutrition, may increase or decrease PBDE exposure risks.
- The interaction between breastfeeding and prenatal PBDE exposure on child neurodevelopment requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine whether breastfeeding mitigates or exacerbates the neurodevelopmental effects of prenatal PBDE exposure.
- To assess the association between maternal PBDE levels, breastfeeding duration, and child neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 321 mother-infant dyads from the CHAMACOS longitudinal birth cohort.
- Measurement of PBDE concentrations in maternal serum samples.
- Longitudinal assessment of children's attention, executive function, and cognitive scores from ages 7 to 12, stratified by breastfeeding duration.
Main Results:
- Higher maternal prenatal PBDE concentrations were associated with poorer executive function in children with shorter durations of complementary breastfeeding (<7 months).
- Specifically, preservative errors were worse in children with shorter complementary breastfeeding durations.
- Global executive function scores showed a trend towards being less affected by PBDEs with longer complementary breastfeeding durations (≥7 months).
Conclusions:
- Prolonged breastfeeding (≥7 months) does not worsen, and may mitigate, adverse neurodevelopmental effects associated with prenatal PBDE exposure.
- These findings suggest a protective role for extended breastfeeding in the context of environmental chemical exposures.
Background:
Prenatal and early-life exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) is associated with detrimental and irreversible neurodevelopmental health outcomes during childhood. Breastfeeding may be a child's largest sustained exposure to PBDE- potentially exacerbating their risk for adverse neurodevelopment outcomes. However, breastfeeding has also been associated with positive neurodevelopment. Our study investigates if breastfeeding mitigates or exacerbates the known adverse effects of prenatal exposure to PBDEs and child neurodevelopment.
Methods:
Participants included 321 mother-infant dyads from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas (CHAMACOS), a longitudinal birth cohort in California. PBDE concentrations were measured in maternal serum blood samples collected during pregnancy or at delivery. Using generalized estimated equations (GEE), we estimated associations of PBDE concentrations with children's attention, executive function, and cognitive scores assessed longitudinally between 7 and 12 years of age, stratified by duration of exclusive and complementary breastfeeding.
Results:
We observed that higher maternal prenatal PBDE concentrations were associated with poorer executive function among children who were complementary breastfed for a shorter duration compared to children breastfed for a longer duration; preservative errors (β for 10-fold increase in complementary breastfeeding <7 months = -6.6; 95 % Confidence Interval (CI): -11.4, -1.8; β ≥ 7 months = -5.1; 95 % CI: -10.2, 0.1) and global executive composition (β for 10-fold increase <7 months = 4.3; 95 % CI: 0.4, 8.2; β for 10-fold increase ≥7 months = 0.6; 95 % CI: -2.8, 3.9).
Conclusions:
Prolonged breastfeeding does not exacerbate but may mitigate some previously observed negative associations of prenatal PBDE exposure and child neurodevelopment.
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