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Relationship between prenatal metals exposure and neurodevelopment in one-year-old infants in the CLIMB study

Xiao-Yuan Fan1, Xian-Shu Lin1, Bing-Rui Yang1

  • 1School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
|February 7, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Prenatal exposure to metals like arsenic and strontium is linked to lower neurodevelopment scores in infants. Combined metal exposure also negatively impacts infant cognitive and motor development.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Health
  • Neuroscience
  • Toxicology

Background:

  • Prenatal exposure to metals is a growing concern for infant neurodevelopment.
  • Most research examines single metals, overlooking the impact of combined exposures.
  • Understanding mixed metal effects is crucial for public health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the neurodevelopmental effects of single and combined prenatal metal exposure in infants.
  • To identify specific metals and their interactions affecting infant neurodevelopment.
  • To assess impacts on both psychomotor and mental development.

Main Methods:

  • Analyzed umbilical cord blood serum from 189 mother-infant pairs for 21 metals and 2 metalloids using ICP-MS.
  • Assessed infant neurodevelopment at one year using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) for Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) and Mental Development Index (MDI).
  • Employed linear models, restricted cubic splines (RCS), weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) to analyze data.

Main Results:

  • Prenatal arsenic (As) and strontium (Sr) exposure correlated with lower PDI scores.
  • Strontium (Sr) exposure was also linked to lower MDI scores.
  • Nonlinear relationships were observed between manganese (Mn), calcium (Ca), As, and zirconium (Zr) and neurodevelopmental indices. Manganese (Mn) emerged as a primary contributor to the negative effects of metal mixtures.

Conclusions:

  • Prenatal exposure to specific metals and their mixtures is associated with impaired neurodevelopment in one-year-old infants.
  • Findings highlight the importance of considering combined metal exposures in environmental health research.
  • This study underscores the need for policies to reduce prenatal metal exposure for better infant outcomes.
Abstract

Keywords:
MetalloidsMetalsMixturesNeurodevelopmentPrenatal exposure

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